The Meccorre String Quartet, photo by A. Bryła, www.meccorrequartet.com
The Polish musicians stood out with their rendition of Schubert’s String Quartet in D minor D.810 No.14 Death and the Maiden
The Wigmore Hall London International String Quartet Competition is regonised worldwide as one of the most significant contests of its kind. The Competition takes place in London every three years since its initial edition in 1979. Although a single success is no guarantee of fame, several previous winners of the Competition have gone on to make major musical careers. Among some of the past victors are the ensembles Takàcs, and the Hagen.
During the four days of this year’s Preliminary Rounds, each quartet played two recitals before an audience and an international jury made up of Christoph Richter, Sylvia Rosenberg, Krzysztof Chorzelski and many other prominent artists.
Only 3 quartets were qualified for the Competition’s Final, which took place on the 1st of April, 2012. Poland's Meccorre String Quartet was among the selected three ensembles, and similiarly to the other competitors, it performed a piece of their choice from the Romantic repertoire.
Nick Kimberley commented the performance of Polish musicians in his review of the London International String Quartet Competition at Wigmore Hall,
The Meccorre String Quartet (Polish) literally stood out from the rest: only the cellist played sitting down. In Schubert’s Death and the Maiden, the opening attack was loud and vehement, the sound resonant. Elsewhere, aggression gave way to delicacy, but at times the Meccorre’s high-res contrasts were disorientating.
The Meccorre String Quartet was established in 2007. In 2011, the Quartet took home both the Final and and the Special Awards at the 9th Premio Paolo Borciani International String Quartet Competition in Reggio Emilia. In 2010, Meccore was presented with the First Prize at the International Chamber Music Competition in Weiden, and in 2009 it won First Prize at the Max Reger International Chamber Music Competition in Sondershausen. Members of the Quartet were initially tutored by musicians of the Camerata Quartet, and since 2009 they have been studying with the Artemis Quartett at the Universität der Künste in Berlin.
The ensemble further honed its skills during masterclasses at the Reggio Emilia String Quartet Festival, Beethoven Haus Masterclass in Bonn, and the Jeunesses Musicales in Weikersheim. Among the prominent artists which have mentored the Polish quarter are such acclaimed musicians as Barthold Kuijken, Heime Müller, Antonello Farulli, Peter Cropper, the Kuss Quartet, and Cuarteto Casals. The Quartet has also made numerous recordings for Bayerischer Rundfunk, Rai3, Radio Merkury and NDR. Its performance of Schubert’s Death and the Maiden for Polish TV Kultura was nominated for the Gwarancje Kultury 2011 award, a competition which aims to highlight the best accomplishments of the Polish cultural scene.
Since 2010, the Meccorre String Quartet has been hosting and organising the Q’arto Mondi International Chamber Music Festival in Poznań, featuring top quartets from all over the world. In 2011 Meccore musicians were nominated for the Passport award given by Polityka magazine in the classical music category. In her speech following the announcement of Meccore’s nomination, Ewa Solińska commented
Meccorre String Quartet musicians boldly break conventions and stereotypes. Enriching their performances with elements of jazz, literature and multimedia projections, they make the usually elite genre of classical music, which they have devoted themselves to find its way of reaching a contemporary audience, and they are notably succesful even in addressing the youth.
www.polityka.pl
The First Prize of the Wigmore Hall London International String Quartet Competition went to the Arcadia Quartet and the Third Prize was awarded to Tesla Quartet.
Source: www.wigmore-hall.org.uk, www.thisislondon.co.uk