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Del Sol String Quartet: Charlton Lee, viola; Kate Sternberg, violin; Rick Shinozaki, violin; Hannah Addario-Berry, cello © Jim Block

Symphony Space
in association with the Polish Cultural Institute in New York
presents

US PREMIERES OF SZYMANSKI AND MYKIETYN
PERFORMED BY DEL SOL STRING QUARTET

Symphony Space's 2009/2010 season opener

Thursday, October 1, 2009, 6:30 PM
6:30 PM
Underscore: Conversation with Pawel Mykietyn and Tania Leon, moderated by Laura Kaminsky, Symphony Space's Associate Director
7:30 PM
US premieres of Pawel Szymanski and Pawel Mykietyn, NYC premieres of Tania Leon and Gabriela Ortiz

Symphony Space, Leonard Nimoy Thalia
1537 Broadway at 95th Street, New York, NY
Tickets: advance $25, day of $30, Members $20
Tel: 212.864.5400 or online

dazzling energy... - San Francisco Classical Voice
masters of all musical things they survey... - Gramophone Magazine
the Del Sol players produce a gloriously opulent, full-throated tone... - Strad Magazine
bracing& performed with sensitivity and flair... - The Boston Globe

Renowned San Francisco-based Del Sol String Quartet opens Symphony Space's 2009/2010 season with its New York debut. The adventurous, globe-trotting program features U.S. premieres of Pawel Szymanski - Five Pieces for String Quartet - and Pawel Mykietyn - String Quartet No.2 - the two most original voices in contemporary Polish classical music, as well as New York premieres of Cuban-American Tania Leon's Esencia, written for the Del Sol Quartet, and Mexican composer Gabriela Ortiz's String Quartet No.1.

Pawel Szymanski's (b.1954) music is sophisticated and disciplined, yet enthralls the listener with its emotional range. He has demonstrated a unique ability to twist and re-work traditional musical ideas - especially those from the Baroque period - into completely new and thrilling contexts. His music has won prizes in the UNESCO International Composers' Rostrum, the Competition for Composers of Sacred Music, and the Benjamin Britten Competition, among others. In 2006 the Festival of Pawel Szymanski's Music took place, from which the Polish Audiovisual Publishers released a four DVD set.

Pawel Mykietyn (b.1971) startled the contemporary music scene at the age of 18 when he became the youngest composer ever commissioned for the Warsaw Autumn Festival. His music is impetuous, often aggressive in character, while making use of traditional melodic structures. He is a model postmodernist, free to derive inspiration and material from all available sources. His awards include First Prize in the young composers' category in the UNESCO International Rostrum in Amsterdam, and the prestigious Polish OPUS award for his Symphony No. 2. In 2000 his 3 for 13 was presented at the Midem Classique in Cannes. Mykietyn also composes for film and theater, and has famously collaborated with Krzysztof Warlikowski for TR Warszawa.

More about Tania Leon
More about Gabriela Ortiz

More about Pawel Szymanski
More about Pawel Mykietyn
More about Del Sol String Quarter
Program