Karol Szymanowski Quartet
Founded in Warsaw in 1995, the Karol Szymanowski Quartet is one of the leading chamber ensembles of its generation. From the very beginning, the artists have shared a common understanding of music and a special bond with the works of Polish composers, especially the ensemble’s patron, Karol Szymanowski. His music, full of expression and artistic freedom, remains a source of constant inspiration for the quartet and an impulse to discover their own roots.
The musicians studied under outstanding teachers such as Hatto Beyerle, Eberhard Feltz, Walter Levin and Bernard Greenhouse, as well as with members of legendary quartets: the Amadeus Quartet, Emerson String Quartet, Juilliard String Quartet and Guarneri Quartet. An important moment in the ensemble’s history was their concerts at Carnegie Hall, which marked the culmination of a masterclass with Isaac Stern, as well as their successes at international competitions in Weimar, Hanover, Melbourne, Osaka and Florence. Between 2001 and 2003, the ensemble participated in the prestigious BBC Radio 3 New Generation Artists scheme.
The Karol Szymanowski Quartet performs at the world’s most important venues, such as Carnegie Hall in New York, Wigmore Hall in London, Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, Wiener Musikverein and Shanghai Symphony Hall, as well as at prestigious festivals, including the Rheingau Musik Festival, Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival and Kammermusikfest Lockenhaus. The ensemble has an extensive discography, including both classical chamber works and rarely recorded pieces by Polish and Eastern European composers, including Grażyna Bacewicz, Mieczysław Weinberg and Ludomir Różycki.
Each concert of the quartet is a unique encounter with the audience, full of energy and deep emotional communication, which has been the hallmark of the ensemble for nearly three decades.
[2025]