The originator and organizer of the "Kwartesencja" Festival is the
Royal String Quartet, the winner of a number of international competitions and of the Fryderyk 2003 award in the chamber music category. In 2004 the Quartet was included in the New Generation Artists, a two-year BBC scheme promoting the most best young musicians from around the world, as well as being a quartet in residence at London's famous Wigmore Hall.
Born out of the desire to create a unique, unprecedented artistic event in Warsaw, "Kwartesencja" aims to bring chamber music - often thought unapproachable and elitist - closer to the public. The Festival provides an opportunity for people from various circles to come together: from music lovers to people involved in art and culture to young, ambitious, open-minded individuals, the forming elite. The concerts, followed by an invitation to share a glass of wine, are social events providing an opportunity to talk and exchange comments and reflections as well as to simply have a good time. "Kwartesencja" is intended as a relief from the mass culture, as a modern pastime inspired by ages-long tradition.
The first "Kwartesencja" took place in the Warsaw Fabryka Trzciny club on 9–12 September 2004. The
Royal String Quartet, the Festival's organizer and artistic mentor, performed with the invited guests: pianist Wojciech Switala, guitarist Michal Nagy, accordionist Klaudiusz Baran and the Camerata Quartet. The event proved hugely popular with the media, attracted a full house and was named the Event of 2004 by the Warsaw cultural magazine "WiK". The organizers were therefore encouraged to push for it to become an annual event, and the third edition of "Kwartesencja" took place on 8-12 November 2006.
Anna Iwanicka-Nijakowska Polish Music Information Center Polish Composers' Union November 2006 | |
The forth edition of "Kwartesencja" will take place on 3-7 October 2007.
ul. Otwocka 14
Warszawa
Phone: (+48) 606 47 47 53
WWW: www.kwartesencja.pl
Email: info@kwartesencja.pl