|
 |
bio
The quartet Akademos was founded in 1997 by female graduates of the Academy of Music in Katowice. In the same year, they commenced their own concert cycle which has survived until now and which was a catalyst of intensive artistic activities of the group.
During their nine years of artistic existence, AKADEMOS have given over three hundred concerts in Poland and abroad, and have taken part in national and international festivals and music competitions winning prizes and distinctions. They have performed in musical centres of Austria, the Czech Republic, Germany, Lithuania, Slovakia, Romania, the United Kingdom, Italy, and the United States.
The ensemble are the laureate of the first prize at the 16. Concorso Internationale di Esecuzione Musicale "Provincia di Caltanisetta Musica da Camera" in Italy, third prize at the Beethoven International Competition in Hradec, Czech Republic, Radio Katowice special prize for the best performance of a ¦l±sk composer's work and the PWM (Polish Music Publishing) prize at the National String Quartets Competition in Katowice. They have also received a creative scholarship from the Ministry of Culture and Art, and a prize for special achievements in the field of culture from the President of the City of Bytom.
The Akademos quartet have taken part in dozens of music festivals, e.g. the Warszawska Jesień (Warsaw Autumn), Dni Muzyki Kompozytorów Krakowskich (Kraków Composers' Music Days), Hudobna Jar in Preąov, Festival di Mezza Estate Provincia di Verona, Central European Festival ®ilina, Bachfest in Leipzig, and Osterfestival Bayreuth.
The ensemble's repertoire encompasses more than one hundred compositions, including the masterworks of chamber music from the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, classics of the twentieth century, and the latest works. The quartet have numerous world premieres of contemporary pieces to their credit. Moreover, they often participate in interdisciplinary projects, cooperating with the ¦l±ski Teatr Tańca (Silesian Dance Theatre) and Orkiestra Muzyki Nowej (New Music Orchestra).
Furthermore, Akademos engage in their own artistic projects within the area of the province of ¦l±sk. Since 1997 until 2005, they served as the host and principal performer of a cycle of chamber concerts taking place in the palace of the former district council (now a branch of the Górny ¦l±sk Museum in Bytom). In 2006, this enterprise took a shape of a cycle called "Salony muzyczne ¦l±ska" ("The Music Salons of ¦l±sk") and is now delivering chamber music masterworks in the most beautiful interiors of palaces and museum in the province of ¦l±sk, e.g. Będzin, Bielsko-Biała, Pszczyna, Racibórz, and Tarnowskie Góry. The 2006/2007 season of the "Salony muzyczne ¦l±ska" was inaugurated with a new project entitled Not for Elise, with its aim of introducing the complete Beethoven quartets juxtaposed with exceptional works of the twentieth century.
During the summer season, AKADEMOS is the main performer of monographic Chamber Music Masterworks Festivals. The 2006 edition dealt with presentation of the chamber music masterworks by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, whereas in 2007 the ensemble is offering the most outstanding trios and quartets by Ludwig van Beethoven.
English translation: Adam Zbyszewski
 |
 |  |
 |
 |
 |
tel.: 032 386 0001, fax 282 46 81, kom. 0601 401 224