The Cracow Golden Quintet is appreciated both in Poland and abroad, which is evidenced by a number of prizes and awards: the 2nd prize and two special awards in the Stanisław Moniuszko International Competition of Polish Music in Rzeszów (2019); 1st prize in the Rome International Music Competition as part of the Rome Chamber Music Festival (2016); 1st prize in the Madrid International Music Competition (2016); 1st prize in the International Music Competition in London (2015); 1st prize in the International Review of Chamber Ensembles in Jawor (2015); 1st prize in the International Competition ‘Davorin Jenko’ in Belgrade (2015).
The Cracow Golden Quintet is regularly invited to international music festivals, such as the Paderewski Festival in the USA, Alexander Arutiunian International Wind Festival in Armenia, Crusell Music Festival in Finland, Leoš Janáček International Festival in the Czech Republic, ISA Festival in Austria, International Festival ‘Music Gardens’ in Warsaw, International Festival ‘Young Artists in Cracow’, or International Przemyśl Festival ‘Salesian Summer’, as well as to prestigious concert halls: Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia in Rome, seat of the Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra in Katowice, Krzysztof Penderecki European Centre for Music in Lusławice, Warsaw Philharmonic, Karol Szymanowski Cracow Philharmonic, Artur Malawski Subcarpathian Philharmonic in Rzeszów, or the Wawel Royal Castle.
The Cracow Golden Quintet also takes part in world premieres and recordings of 20th- and 21st-century pieces. The ensemble co-operates with such record labels as DUX, Warner Classics, and the Austrian ORF. In 2020, DUX released their debut album featuring Polish music, which was nominated for the Fryderyk 2021 in the category ‘Album of the Year – Chamber Music’. The album received favourable reviews both in Poland and abroad. In 2021, the ensemble collaborated with pianist and composer Aleksander Dębicz. On September 9, 2022, Warner Classics released the pianist’s latest album featuring the quintet. On the disc entitled “Sideways”, one can hear, among others, the Rhapsody in Blue by George Gershwin arranged for wind quintet and piano and a new piece by Aleksander Dębicz entitled The Portals. In December 2023, the album “Polish Wind Quintets vol. 2” was released – the second disc in a series promoting the music of Polish composers.
Website:
http://www.cracowgoldenquintet.com
Spółdzielnia Muzyczna contemporary ensemble is one of the most dynamic Polish ensembles specializing in the performance of contemporary music. So far, the musicians have appeared at such festivals as MaerzMusik in Berlin, Internationale Ferienkurse für Neue Musik in Darmstadt, “AFEKT” in Estonia, Contemporary Music Festival “Warsaw Autumn”, Sacrum Profanum, Audio Art, Unsound, Musica Moderna, NeoArte Art Synthesizer, Festival of Tradition and the Musical Avantgarde “KODY”, Musica Polonica Nova or the Young Musicians for a Young City 2.0 festival in Stalowa Wola.
Among the successes, it is worth mentioning the awarding of the prestigious Ensemble Prize by the Ernst von Siemens Musikstiftung and nominations for the Koryfeusz Muzyki Polskiej and Fryderyk 2022 awards in the Contemporary Music Album of the Year category.
The Ensemble had the pleasure of participating in ensemble master classes at the Ensemble-Akademie Freiburg, conducted by ensemble recherche, and as one of four ensembles at the Young Ensemble Academy, where it collaborated with the legendary Ensemble Modern.
Spółdzielnia Muzyczna has strong ties with its hometown of Kraków, where it has been developing a number of its cyclical activities for years, such as INTERAKCJE – concerts combined with open conversations between the creator-performer-recipient, PLAYGROUND: call for collaborations – a project with selected creators, which culminates in the performance of co-created compositions, OPEN SPACE – workshops on new instrumental techniques for composers, and OPEN YOUR EARS, OPEN YOUR EYES – educational and interdisciplinary events opening a wide range of audiences to new sounds.
In its programs, the ensemble tries to combine the classics of the 20th century with the music of the young generation, giving a special place to Polish artists such as: Zygmunt Krauze, Paweł Mykietyn, Agata Zubel, Andrzej Kwieciński, Artur Zagajewski, Piotr Peszat, Monika Szpyrka, Piotr Tabakiernik, Anna Sowa , Nina Fukuoka, Martyna Kosecka, Marta Śniady, Paweł Malinowski, Jacek Sotomski, Aleksander Nowak and Cezary Duchnowski.
The Cooperative’s repertoire also includes compositions by Alex Mincek, Anna Thorvaldsdottir, Malin Bång, Marco Ciciliani, Alex Paxton, Joanna Bailie, Oscar Escudero, David Fennessy, Johannes Kreidler, Ricardo Eizirik, Matthew Shlomowitz, Trondem Reinholdtsen, Gerard Grisey, Franco Donatoni, Giacinto Scelsi, Olivier Messiaen, Pierre Boulez, Luciano Berio, Morton Feldman, George Crumb, Georges Aperghis and Salvatore Sciarrino.
Spółdzielnia Muzyczna is currently made up of nine people:
— Małgorzata Mikulska – flute
— Tomasz Sowa – clarinet
— Krzysztof Guńka – saxophone
— Paulina Woś – violin / viola
— Barbara Mglej – violin / viola
— Jakub Gucik – cello
— Aleksander Wnuk – percussion
— Aleksandra Płaczek – piano
— Emilia Stefańska – coordination
