Szymanowski Quartet
Download Bio (.docx)
Download Bio (.pdf)
Download Photo
Website
Discography
Agata Szymczewska, violin
Robert Kowalski, violin
Volodia Mykytka, viola
Karol Marianowski, cello
“It was hard not to fall in love with the Szymanowski Quartet at the Frick Collection
on Sunday afternoon. All professionals perform with intensity but playing from the heart
is another matter. The sound was unusually warm, filling this small space to capacity.”
New York Times
Founded in Warsaw in 1995, the Szymanowski Quartet has developed into one of the most exceptional international string quartets of its generation. Their sophisticated programs present a perfect balance between intellect and passion, characteristics with which the Quartet has captivated its audiences at prestigious festivals and concert halls throughout Europe, North and South America, Asia and Australia. Characterized by a constant search for new inspiration and an openness to the unpredictable, great musicians have contributed their voices to the sound of the renowned ensemble. Its members are unified by an extraordinary common understanding of music, a shared basic inspiration grounded in a commitment to Polish music and the composer, Karol Szymanowski. His music, with its immense freedom and infinite possibilities of expression, still exercises a strong power of identification on the ensemble even after 30 years. For the musicians, with their Polish and Ukrainian roots, it represents both an intense preoccupation with their origins and identities and a clear commitment to crossing borders; concerns that constitute the basis of the quartet’s extraordinary career.
The ensemble performs throughout the world and has appeared in New York’s Carnegie Hall, London’s Wigmore Hall, the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, Vienna’s Musikverein, the Konzerthaus in Berlin, the Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg, and Shanghai’s Symphony Hall. Regular North American tours have included concerts in New York, Washington DC, Los Angeles, San Diego, Santa Fe, Vancouver, and Montreal. They have been guests at prominent international festivals including Schleswig-Holstein and Rheingau, "Schubertiade" and Schwetzingen as well as Lockenhaus, Luxemburg, Paris, London, Warsaw, Moscow, Cheltenham, Basel, Bath and Perth. In 2008 the SQ founded the Lviv Chamber Music Festival at the UNESCO World Heritage site on the border between the Ukraine and Poland. For seven years this became a musical and cultural meeting place for distinguished international artists and ensembles.
In 2017 the Szymanowski Quartet released two recordings: “Les Vendredis” on SWR Music and the Piano Quintet of Dmitri Shostakovich with Michail Lifits on Decca. More recently Avie released a CD of Haydn, Bacewicz and Dvorák. They recorded a series of 3 CD's for Cavi-music focusing on composer Karol Szymanowski in the context of the music capitals Paris, Vienna and Moscow. Other recent recordings include the Shostakovich and Weinberg quintets for Hänssler Classics and on Hyperion, music of Zelenski / Zarebski, and Friedman / Rózycki., released in 2016. Recordings from several seasons of BBC concerts document the early artistic versatility of the ensemble. They were the cover feature for the February/March 2012 issue of Ensemble magazine.
Along with standard classical-romantic repertoire, the Quartet has a strong commitment to contemporary music. They perform the music of Krzysztof Penderecki, Sofia Gubaidulina, Magnus Lindberg, Elena Kats-Chernin, Philip Cashian, Thomas Larcher. Matan Daniel Porat, and Andrew Toowey; several of whom have dedicated their works to the Szymanowski Quartet.
The Szymanowski Quartet received numerous prizes and distinctions for its extraordinarily high standards. They won first prizes at the “Premio Vittorio Gui” Competition in Florence and at Hanover’s “In Memoriam Dimitri Shostakovich” Competition and were prizewinners at the Osaka and the Melbourne International Chamber Music Competitions. They participated in the “New Generation Artists Scheme” of BBC Radio 3 in London. In 2005 they were honored with the “Szymanowski Award” of the Karol Szymanowski Foundation in Warsaw, and In 2007, the Medal of Honor by the Polish government for their service to Polish culture.
The Karol Szymanowski Quartet is honored by the support of many important mentors, notably Hatto Beyerle, Eberhard Feltz, Walter Levin, Alfred Brendel, Seiji Ozawa, Bernard Greenhouse, and Friedemann Weigle, as well as members of the Amadeus, Emerson, Juilliard and Guarneri Quartets Quartet. were other important mentors.
THE MUSICIANS
AGATA SZYMCZEWSKA
Born in Gdansk, Poland, violinist Agata Szymczewska won the 13th H.Wieniawski International Violin Competition in 2006, the "Paszport Polityki" award, the Coryphaeus of Polish Music award, four "Fryderyk" Awards, and the London Music Masters award. In the course of an intense artistic career, she has shared the stage with Krystian Zimerman, Anne-Sophie Mutter, Martha Argerich, Maxim Vengerov, Seiji Ozawa, Krzysztof Penderecki and Mischa Maisky, among many others. She has recorded for Deutsche Grammophon, Sony, and Decca and is a Professor at the Fryderyk Chopin University of Music in Warsaw. Since June 2023 she has served as President of the H. Wieniawski Music Society in Poznań. Agata plays on a 1755 Nicolo Gagliano violin, on loan courtesy of Anne-Sophie Mutter. She has been a member of the Szymanowski Quartet since 2014.
ROBERT KOWALSKI
Born in Gdansk, Poland, Robert Kowalski is First Concertmaster of the Orchestra della Svizzera italiana in Lugano, Switzerland. He was a prizewinner in the Alexander Tansman International Competition of Musical Personalities, and was nominated for the International Classical Music Awards for his recording of the Richard Strauss Violin Concerto on CPOl. As a soloist and chamber musician, he has performed with Julian Rachlin, Sol Gabetta, Francois Leleux, and Maurice Steger. He is a regular guest at important stages and music festivals, including the Rheingau Festival and Kissinger Sommer. He plays on an 1860 J.B. Vuillaume violin, generously loaned by the Fondazione per l'Arte e Socialitá. He has been a member of the Szymanowski Quartet since 2016.
VOLODIA MYKYTKA
Born in Lviv, Ukraine, violist Volodia Mykytka is Professor at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater in Cologne/Aachen, Germany. He has been the winner of the international chamber music competitions in Osaka, Melbourne, Munich, Florence and Weimar. He has performed in the most prestigious concert halls in more than forty countries on five continents, including Carnegie Hall, Wigmore Hall, Philharmonie de Paris and Concertgebouw, Amsterdam. He has recorded for Decca, Hyperion and SWR Music, and was honored with the Karol Szymanowski Award for exceptional contribution to the perpetuation of the work of Karol Szymanowski and the Medal of Honor of the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage for his commitment to the appreciation and preservation of Polish music and culture. He is Artistic Director of the "Szymanowski Quartet and Friends" festival in Lviv. He is a founding member of the Szymanowski Quartet and plays a 1983 Hans Schicker viola..
KAROL MARIANOWSKI
Born in Warsaw, Poland. Cellist Karol Marionowski is Professor at the Fryderyk Chopin University of Music in Warsaw. A Laureate of numerous international and national competitions, he is a member of the Boarte Piano Trio and for twelve years was cellist of the Meccore String Quartet. He has recorded for Warner and MDG. His solo album of the complete J.S.Bach Cello Suites for Orphee Classics was awarded a "Fryderyk” prize for Best Solo Recital CD in 2022. He has been a member of the Szymanowski Quartet since 2020 amd plays a 1743 Johann Christian Schoenfeder cello.
IN THE PRESS
In Total Balance
“They offered an elegant version of Brahms' Quintet in B minor, always tight and in total equidistance between them. The contemporary quota was provided by the brief - but meticulous - Quartet No. 4, by the also Polish Penderecki, written in 2016. These Polish ambassadors have outlined a perfectionist version with virtuoso qualities. With Mendelssohn's exultant Quartet in F minor, Op. 80, No. 6, they left no doubt of the versatility and sonorous care of each of them.”
El Levante – November 15, 2023
I Could Happily have Listened for Hours
“The Szymanowski Quartet’s current ‘dream team’ is one of the best-known multi-voiced ensembles: regular guests here since its debut. To start, Waclaw of Szamotuly: three chorale movements, with historically little vibrato. Schnittke's String Quartet No. 3 was cleverly placed; the connection so imperceptible, listeners thought they were still in theRenaissance. The ensemble played with tremendous intensity that immediately drew the audience into the challengingly dialectical soul. A courageous, clever program combination. It was a good idea to bring Mendelssohn afterwards: his second quartet. Audience expectations are constantly surprised. The Adagio suddenly turns into a fugue, while the perpetuum mobile Scherzo begins ballad-like. In the Presto finale, the fugue suddenly reappears. And everything ends with the opening bars of the first movement, as if it had never ended. Delicate lyricism and passionate verve.Sensationally collegial, inspired quartet playing in which everyone contributes equally. Finally, generous encores: the Bach chorale ‘Vor Deinen Thron’ and Bartók's ‘Rumänische Volkstänze.’ One would have liked to listen to them for hours more. Great applause.”
Schwabisches Tagblatt – August 19, 2023
Szymanowski Quartet sets off fireworks
“This is a string quartet that already has a wonderful overall sound, cultivated with the greatest precision. The beginning of the first movement was extraordinarily sensitive and coherently played. A great tension arose, due to an equally great desire to make music. Dvorák's Piano Quintet No. 2 is music where sparks fly, where there is no really slow movement, where the most intricate rhythms chase each other, where emotions can be shaped and where you always have to fight. And the five musicians gave nothing away. All five instruments repeatedly had the opportunity to come to the fore and set specific accents. Tempos were always set at a sensible but rousing upper limit. There really were fireworks.”
Main Post – June 3, 2022
The Szymanowski Quartet and their chamber music: above the clouds”
“Pianist Nico Benadie gave a concert with the Szymanowski Quartet with Mozart, Beethoven and lastly, as a quintet, like in a jet stream above the clouds, also Robert Schumann. From the shortest phrases to the longest, it was presented in harmony, and connected like a heartbeat and breath. The applause increased from piece to piece, until finally so happy, nobody really wanted to leave after such a delight. Passionately at the side of violinist Agata Szymczewska, were Robert Kowalski (violin), Vladimir Mykytka (viola) and Karol Marianowski (cello). They presented their listeners with the magic sound world of pure string music with currents and waves, vibrations and delicate oscillations - a musical miracle of color. Finally there was Schumann: the creative power of the beloved composer, performed by five well-established friends of great chamber music, with a touch of daring. It was like holding your breath: clearly accentuated, moments of immersion. Five artists open themselves up, enjoying how they overcome everything difficult up to a grandiose powerful finale.”
Sschaumburger Zeitung - November 30, 20i21
Szymanowski Quartet Shines
“The audience experienced an extraordinary concert of chamber music in its purest form. With the pianist the quartet succeeded in creating a fascinating, atmospheric overall sound through the most sensitive cooperation. In Dvorák's String Quartet in E flat Major, you could feel that the Szymanowski Quartet has grown together even more after its ‘year of renewal’ in 2020. The two end movements lived on delicately played out nuances. Broad spaces in delicate piano merged into striking staccato playing. Played off each other, the motifs changed from the violin pair to viola, and cello. Musically, savoring the contrapuntal finesse, the accents clearly drawn and enjoyable, melancholy insertions resulted in a relaxed mood in the sweep of the last movement. The strings were in their element in the second movement of the ‘Slavic’ quartet. With a captivatingly uniform timbre, the simple, folk melody was transformed into a magical andante. Schumann composed the piano quintet in 1842. The hymn-like entry of the ensemble was full of sound and gripping energy. The finale lived from skillful rhythmic accents in the cheerful dance character. After a short fugato, a swift coda led to the brilliant final chord. Long applause for a memorable performance.”
Schwäbische Zeitung - July 19, 2021
String music for cannibals
“The Szymanowski Quartet has been playing for 25 years, most recently with the phenomenal cellist Karol Marianowski, who integrates perfectly into the playing of Agata Szymczewska, Robert Kowalski, and Vladimir Mykytka. Beethoven Op. 18/4, was excellently played in all parts: a mature mastery, a serene sovereignty, controlled intensity and a rich, creamy tone shaped the playing of the four. The interplay succeeds with blind trust to the tenth of a second. Every targeted ritardando goes synchronously. You enjoy Beethoven’s capricious ideas and surprising harmonic excursions, the velvety jokes of the two middle movements and the cheerfully chasing prestissimo of the final movement. But the unheard of happened earlier: Following this year's theme, the program featured ‘What the Waleship Saw’ by Deirdre Gribbin, dedicated to the Szymanowski Quartet and premiered by them. String music for cannibals, string music intended to portray the darkest sides of life, as Robert Kowalski explained. Indeed it was rousing, disturbing and stressful music: first excitingly shimmering, then a musical hell full of fortissimo tremolos, which dwindled again into deceptive, iridescent shimmering calm. The quartet played this brutal yet beautiful music with the utmost dedication. The evening began with Britten's String Quartet No. 3. The Quartet revealed a noble cantabile, full of restlessly wandering sounds, often delicately hidden. The first violin played her solo in the third movement with deep tenderness and painful sweetness. The Burlesque danced powerfully and the Passacaglia was very transparent in the final movement. The Quartet returned to its Polish roots in the encore: singing wistfully, the last, unfinished string quartet by Krzysztof Penderecki, who died in March: a real concert of the heart.”
Traunsteiner Tagblatt – September 8, 2020
Bright Tone
“The bright timbre of this ensemble was noticeable this evening, whether in Mozart's ‘Dissonant Quartet’ or Beethoven's Op. 135, the rarely heard 4th String Quartet by Tansman or the 1st Quartet by Szymanowski: fundamentally different soundscapes for the four composers with brightness, transparency and an almost shimmering excitement. Tansman's Quartet sounds like the Paris of the interwar period, full of memories of Debussy, jazz, and the ‘Groupe de Six.’ This mercurial music demands the highest elegance, exactly what the Szymanowskis offered. To their name patron’s piece, Szymanowski, they added a feverish intensity of sparkle, iridescence and intense ecstasy. The vitality and freshness was heightened by the four subtlety in the tuning of the four instrumental characters, the spare use of vibrato, mutual attention: the first commandment for a string quartet of the first order. With Mozart and Beethoven, this was demonstrated with alert cautiousness in. It was a pleasure to see them from the bright side.”
Süddeutsche Zeitung – September 9, 2018
“Although the Szymanowski String Quartet has long since taken its place in major concert halls around the world, it is also a regular guest at the Palace Concerts. The musicality and passion of musicians coming from Poland, Ukraine and Croatia, highly praised for their ensemble. The quartet once again cast a spell with a summer program circling around Russia. ‘Les Vendredis’ led to St. Petersburg’s legendary Friday concerts for music patron Mitrofan Belaieff. Borodin’s whirring swarms of mosquitoes and Sokolov's mazurka reminded of thunderstorms, rainstorm, music that approaches and leaves. Beethoven Op. 59 No. 3 was heard last, evoking a Slavic mood. It was exciting to follow the interplay of the players, who at once profiled themselves as soloists, soon became dialogical, allied in a change - a living togetherness that has recently become a fast-paced hunt. After enthusiastic applause, the musicians said farewell with a mazurka.”
Schwäbische Zeitung - June 17, 2018
“There is a gem in string quartet literature called ‘Les Vendredis,’ Friday evenings, which took on a key role in the artistic life of Saint Petersburg. Famous composers contributed works created for the occasion. With the Szymanowski Quartet the organizers invited an ensemble who treat these ‘Vendredis’ with love and respect. In each half the quartet played four of these astonishing miniatures. The effect of the musical powerhouses broke free and the audience broke into a vehement applause. Dramaturgically clever, the Szymanowskis juxtaposed the small works with two classics. Haydn's ‘Bird Quartet,’ in a modern interpretation, with elegant clarity and dance swing in beautiful balance. Beethoven's ‘Rasumovsky’ Quartet made for a perfect evening - and the remarkable quality of the ensemble was recognizable. Especially in the quieter passages, the quartet understood beautifully to fill the drama of the composition with energy and to provide it with an inner reverberation. The beating of the heart, the search for thoughts, the melancholy of the old folksong are immediately apparent. In the 4th movement the ruling mastery of the players in the spirit of the instruments became apparent in almost feather-light playing, as if phrases and dynamics were part of their DNA. The sometimes lightning-like construction and releasing of tension was carried out with dreamlike security, the handling of the multi-layered dynamics of the piece was exemplary. Thus, a compositional masterpiece became playful. It was pure joy to see Agata Szymczewska and Robert Kowalski make a symbiotic connection with the violin, Volodia Mykytka with the viola and Monika Leskovar with the cello that evening. The four have not only interpreted the work of others, but given them their own language, respectful and unobstructed, but at the same time self-confident, fresh and independent. The demanding audience in the well-attended hall rewarded this excellent performance with long, appreciative applause.”
Süddeutsche Zeitung - May 7, 2018
“Wednesday’s concert at the National Philharmonic was a unique artistic experience, giving an idea of the transformation that has taken place in the composition, quality of sound, and artistic level of the Quartet. From the first group, created in the mid 90’s only Vladimir Mykytka was left. The first-rate Agata Szymczewska, a member of ‘Szymanowski’ for the last few years, is a seasoned chamber musician. The second violin is the excellent Robert Kowalski, first concertmaster of the Orchestra della Svizzera Italiana in Lugano. The cellist is Monika Leskovar, a laureate of leading cello competitions, among others, ARD in Munich. Though they have been playing in this lineup for a year, they amazed me in Haydn with the enchanting consistency of sound and the quality of the sound: warm, round, ‘honey’, but with a silvery thread in the voice of the first violin, the leading voice in Seven Last Words, in the foreground almost all the time. Szymczewska still plays the Gagliano violin, given to her by Anne-Sophie Mutter. The noble sound of this instrument charmed me completely. I caught every note, every pause. The musicians of the Szymanowski Quartet have a great sense of the nature of Haydn's music, in which pause, temporary suspension of the narrative, has its sense and emotional content. The other musicians were wonderful - with jeweler precision playing - perfectly measured small notes under the arch, combined in sound and expressive terms with the leading party. Championship. Masterfully interpreted.”
Beethoven Magazine - March 29, 2018
Szymanowski Quartet Brings Strength and Beauty to Mozart String Quintets
“It has been years since the complete Mozart String Quintets have been performed here, and this traversal by the Szymanowski Quartet was especially rewarding. The quartet’s warm, burnished sound, transparency in voicings and structural awareness remain as conspicuous as before, and these are attributes that can be put to good work in Mozart. The works have almost unrivalled diversity and depth and demand unflagging concentration. Overall, the Szymanowski’s traversal found many instances of great beauty and insight, mining the rich diversity in the constructions and putting the finishing touch on the cycle with a strong reading of the heavenly G minor Quintet. One ingredient in the success of these performances was just how well each of the two violins and violas managed to work together, finding strong interactions in and between their voices, as set on top of Leskovar’s anchoring cello. The style of the playing was deliberative and patiently detailed. There was also a degree of rustic color present, in both accents and nuance. The sense of patience reminded me of the Chilingirian Quartet; the accents and color recall the Talich Quartet’s esteemed integral recording. Starting with the B flat major Quintet K.174 to the E flat major Quintet, the two were paired and received very convincing readings. The rhythmic cogency and colour of was inspiring: the counterpoint was judiciously exposed, with a consistently rewarding balance between the voices. This was playing of real character: the tonal strength and leadership abilities of first violin Agata Szymczewska were always on display, as were the colour and sinew of the violists. The second concert opened with the tempestuous C minor Quintet, and the Szymanowski Quartet certainly dug into its intimations to give a romantic, almost Schubertian, reading. By all standards, this was a thoughtful and beautiful account, deeply felt, full of subtle allusions and dramatic narrative. On its own terms, it was quite eye-opening in what it probed, and unusually sensual in the way some of the instrumental timbres were explored. The most of exalted piece of them all, the G minor Quintet, brought everything home in fine form: a judicious tempo for its famous opening Allegro, wonderful feeling and suspension in the final Adagio, followed by uplifting spring and purpose in the closing Allegro. These two concerts were a wonderful treat – and a remarkable success. The Szymanowski’s interpretations tend to the broad and sometimes romantic side. Nonetheless, in those readings which stand as the group’s most finished products one would be hard-pressed to find playing of greater thoughtfulness and tonal beauty. “
Seen and Heard International - March 6, 2018
Passionate game of longing and death shadows at Landenargen Castle: “The program suited the evening wonderfully, with the listeners honoring the intense, virtuoso performance of the world-famous quartet with hearty applause. Mozart’s C Major led to ever new, clear heights. The dialogue of the first violin and cello in the second movement was subtle. The third brought lightness and dark effervescence, the fourth playfully combining minor tones and cheerfulness. Between the wild forward rushing and the dancing, there were tender elements achieved in their interpretation. Violinists Agata Szymczewska and Robert Kowalski harmonized harmonically with Vladimir Mykytka on viola and Marcin Sienawski on cello. The Allegro assai was feverishly agitated, torn between restlessness and longing for peace. Szymanowski's Nocturne and Tarantella was mysterious, profound and unreal, yet interwoven with the folksong came the distant hint of wildly foaming, ardent passion. With an overt polka and a dreamy piece from the legendary ‘Les vendredis’ of St. Petersburg, the artists closed this concert.”
Schwäbische Zeitung – July 2, 2017
The Szymanowski Quartet: masters onstage “This now-famous quartet, who appeared at the first Ammerseerenaden Festival in 1995, brought something very special: Schumann’a Piano Quintet. The players produced an amazing homogeneity, finding lyrical responses to powerful passages, the synthesis that Schumann had thought when he first established the genre with this work. Vigor and freshness was heard, which the audience understood from the first notes. The four musicians are a captivating narrator who constantly create scenes and images that fit into a coherent context with each other. How easy and carefree the musicians brought the work to blossom, no less for its intense connection to the audience. Its members are all brilliant musicians. The evening’s culmination was the emotionally heightened intensity of Beethoven's third Razumovsky Quartet. The dramatic development of the concert program was a high point with its increasing tension from a heaving dialogue in the opening to the spectacular finale. A great musical production that left the audience euphoric.”
Süddeutsche Zeitung – September 2, 2016
“The Szymanowski Quartet made a really meaningful contribution for the 175th anniversary of Dvorák at the Rheingau Music Festival. The music sparked with a greater boldness in Dvorák’s Piano Quintet, with potent accelerations and decelerations, accents and impulses.”
Wiesbadener Tagblatt - August 8, 2016
“A virtuoso arrangement of the Nocturne and Tarantella acts as a fitting prelude to the Parisian pairing of a suavely played Ravel F Major Quartet and a suitably intense account of the 1945 Quartet by Szymon Laks. The Vienna disc centres on an absorbing, authoritative performance of Szymanowski’s multifaceted Quartet No.1. Beethoven’s Op.18 No.2 is fresh-faced, the players capturing its Haydnesque whimsy, while Schubert’s Quartettsatz is vigorous and well-articulated and Webern’s Langsamer Satz warm-hearted and touching. In Moscow, Szymanowski No.2 meets a hard-driven account of Prokofiev’s Second. Tchaikovsky’s First Quartet is played with much warmth and Romantic ardour, and Skoryk’s Melody in A minor makes a fitting conclusion. All three discs have been sensitively recorded and their diverse and well-chosen repertoire means that each can be enjoyed at a single sitting, the more so given the special qualities of the Szymanowski Quartet’s excellent sense of ensemble and interpretative freshness.”
The Strad - April 27, 2016
“From the beginning they showed an excellent sense of sound and ravishing musicianship demonstrated in the interpretation of the third Shostakovich string quartet, with cantabile playing and elegiac action in the Adagio and thrilling style. We are grateful for the vital, spirited playing in Dvorak, Op. 105. There was a sensually opulent tone in the subdued string sound - a showcase concert.”
Weisbadener Kurier - March 17, 2016
“The Szymanowski Quartet gave a splendid recital in Herbst Theater. The performance was evocative and deftly colored. The group boasts a distinctively understated sound, at once silky and emotionally urgent, and it deploys that texture in the service of readings that are dramatic without ever sounding overblown. Those qualities emerged most tellingly in Beethoven’s Op. 59, No. 3. From the sprightly rhetoric of the opening movement to the briskly contrapuntal finale, the quartet turned each musical paragraph into something that was both logically cogent and expressively direct. Most effective of all was the slow movement, rendered with a soft-grained intensity that made each melodic phrase and each rich harmony sound inviting.”
San Francisco Chronicle - Feb. 16, 2016
“Chamber Music San Francisco began its season with a return visit from the Szymanowski Quartet, an exploration of the exotic, well compensated by the attentiveness with which each player listened to the others and some well thought-out approaches to both dynamics and phrasing. The Quartet chose to play the last of the quartets from Beethoven’s Opus 59. The ensemble rose admirably to its challenges. The execution turned up thematic phrasings that endowed the entire composition with a stimulating freshness. The encore: the collaborative effort of Sokolov, Glazunov, and Lyadov, was clearly the result of all three artists enjoying themselves, and the Szymanowski Quartet delighted just as much in sharing the full measure of that joy with their audience.”
San Francisco Examiner - Feb. 15, 2016
Passionate interpretation by Szymanowskis:
“With this new CD the Szymanowski Quartet concludes a trilogy that leads from Paris via Vienna to Russia, playing works by Tchaikovsky, Prokofiev, Myroslav Skoryk - and its namesake Szymanowski. The four players bring this music to the boiling point.”Deutschlandfunk - January 1, 2016
Tettnang, Germany with actor Dominique Horwitz:
“They merged spoken word with music as new. Horwitz compiled excerpts from Bohumil Hrabal’s world of seemingly big events and everyday trifles. The string quartet responded to the different moods and events of the story, focusing on the String Quartet in F minor by Mendelssohn. Particularly striking, this tension erupted in an enthusiastic, prolonged applause for Horwitz and the Szymanowski Quartet.”
Südkurier - May 16, 2015
“The Szymanowski Quartet made a meal out of its program at the Segerstrom Center. It was impressive and always intense music making. They play in a manner that seeks intense expressivity from every phrase and every detail. They hone in on poetic flights, whispered asides and glowing rapture. The players do it very well and with the same mind. It is fine playing.”
Orange County Register - February 1, 2015
“The Szymanowski Quartet was the highpoint of Basel’s Christmas gifts this season. These musicians gave a concert full of contemplation. Elgar Op. 84 marked the end of a truly impressive and moving concert.”
Neue Merker - December 30, 2014
“The Haydn was a subtle, elegant, naturally flowing with sparkling spirit and, in the Finale, full, vital elan. Szymanowski’s second quartet was the perfect accompaniment, playing with great color and selective tone. So it went with the elegant, small miracle of Mozart, with many living colors and delicate facets.”
Süddeutsche Zeitung – October 2, 2014
“In place of the Guadagnini violin comes a brighter Stradivarius in the hands of the award-winning violinist. Agata Szymczewska fits in seamlessly in the sensitive and emotional playing of the Szymanowski Quartet, packing power and precision. Haydn was extremely rich and engrossing; a pearl in the gallant, lively dance of the Andante; the dramatic galloping finale, a swirl of design. Mendelssohn was a firework of colors and emotion, earning a prolonged ovation.”
Süddeutsche Zeitung - September 6-7, 2014
Additional live recordings available for download:
Ludwig von Beethoven - String Quartet in C major, Op. 29: Presto
Recorded at Kammermusikfest, Lockenhaus, Austria on July 9, 2007 with Dimitri Murrath, viola
Karl Szymanowski - String Quartet No. 1, Op. 37: Lento Assai. Allegro moderato
Karl Szymanowski - String Quartet No. 2, Op. 56: Vivace, scherzando
Recorded at Hochschule für Musik und Theater, Hanover, Germany on April 20, 2007
Ludwig von Beethoven - String Quartet in G major, Op. 18/2: Allegro Molto. Quasi Presto
Recorded at Symphony Hall, Birmingham, England on March 4, 2007