MW2 Ensemble

The MW 2 Ensemble was founded by Adam Kaczyński in 1962 and performed for 51 years (making it the first ensemble of its kind established in Poland and the longest-running one). Its final concert, celebrating the 50th anniversary of its founding, took place at the Academy of Music in Kraków on December 9, 2013 (delayed by over a year).

At the very beginning, the core lineup of the ensemble was as follows: Barbara Niewiadomska – soprano, Barbara Świątek – flute, Adam Kaczyński – piano (founder and director of the ensemble), Marek Mietelski – piano, and Stanisław Radwan – piano (until November 1965). It was this lineup that won a prize at the International Competition of Young Performers of Contemporary Music in Utrecht, Netherlands, in March 1965.

From the very beginning, the composer Bogusław Schaeffer took a keen interest in the ensemble's activities, offering his advice and assistance. As early as late 1963, the MW 2 Ensemble expanded to include an acting and ballet group to perform, among others, his instrumental theatre pieces, including the stage composition TIS-MW 2. This piece was dedicated to the MW 2 Ensemble and marked the first composition of its kind in Polish music history. The group consisted of actors Bogusław Kierc and Jan Peszek, and dancer Krystyna Ungeheuer-Mietelska. The world premiere of this composition took place in Kraków on April 25, 1964. By the end of 1964, the ensemble's lineup expanded further with the addition of cellist Jerzy Klocek. Thus, the lineup of permanent members of the MW 2 Ensemble – who spent 15 years developing their artistic level before entering the world stage – was as follows:

• Barbara Niewiadomska – soprano,
• Barbara Świątek – flute,
• Krystyna Ungeheuer-Mietelska – dance,
• Adam Kaczyński – piano (ensemble's director),
• Bogusław Kierc – actor (from 1968, his brother – Andrzej),
• Jerzy Klocek – cello,
• Marek Mietelski – piano,
• Jan Peszek – actor.

From 1998 onwards – following the death of Andrzej Kierc – the actors (Andrzej and Mikołaj Grabowski, as well as Jan Peszek) became non-permanent members of the ensemble.

During its final, end-stage period of activity from 2000 onwards, the permanent members of the Ensemble were: Adam Kaczyński – artistic director, piano; Krzysztof Langman – flute; Kazimierz Pyzik – cello, double bass; Marek Mietelski – piano; Krzysztof Suchodolski – sound projection; and Stanisław Janik – computer, coordination. Flutist Renata Guzik (replacing Krzysztof Langman), Olga Szwajgier – soprano, Agnieszka Glińska – dance, and actors Andrzej Grabowski, Mikołaj Grabowski, and Jan Peszek were engaged as non-permanent members.

It is impossible to mention all the artists with whom the MW 2 Ensemble collaborated during its half-century of concert activity. These included, among others: conductors Jerzy Maksymiuk, Andrzej Markowski, and Bohdan Wodiczko; director and painter Kazimierz Mikulski; choreographers Witold Gruca and Małgorzata Potocka; sculptor Wojciech Firek; actors Jacek Chmielnik, Jerzy Grałek, Tadeusz Huk, Zygmunt Józefczak, Bogdan Słomiński, and Grzegorz Matysik; reciter Martine Jeanneret (Switzerland); clarinetists and saxophonists Andrzej Godek, Marian Lato, Stanisław Przystaś, Paweł Krauzowicz, and David Setler (Yugoslavia); tubists Artur Mazurkowski and Zdzisław Piernik; pianists Danuta Byrczek, Piotr Grodecki, Mirosław Herbowski, and Roman Opuszyński; organist Leszek Werner; harpsichordist Ewa Gabryś; harpist Lucille Levandowski (France); percussionists Andrzej Dąbrowski, Andrzej Gliszewski, Piotr Kania, Feliks Kotarba, Janusz Stefański, Tomasz Sobaniec, and Stanisław Welanyk; violinists Maciej Czepielowski, Ariadna Lwowicz, Czesław Pilawski, and Bogdan Woźniak; violist Bogusława Hubisz; visual projection creator Kazimierz Urbański; and sound engineers Marek Chołoniewski and Edward Kulka.

The ensemble performed in over 20 countries, including the Netherlands, France, Switzerland, Belgium, Yugoslavia, Austria, Norway, Finland, Italy, Denmark, England, Czechoslovakia, Spain, Lebanon, Turkey, Iran, the former USSR, Mexico, Greece, Sweden, Germany, and South Korea. It participated in nearly 100 international music festivals. These included, among others, "Warsaw Autumn" (1963, 1964, 1966, 1981, 1997, 2017), the Wrocław Festival of Polish Contemporary Music (1972, 1976, 1984, 2004), "Poznań Musical Spring" (1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1978, 1981, 1984, 1985, 1990), "Semaines Musicales Internationales de Paris" (1966), "Reconnaissance des Musiques Modernes" (Brussels, 1966), "Muzički Biennale Zagreb" (1967, 1973), "Ny Musikk" (Oslo, 1968), "Autunno Musicale di Como" (Italy, 1971), the ICES Festival (London, 1972), the Holland Festival (1973), the Festival d’Avignon (1973), the 4th Istanbul Festival (1976), the Festival of Arts Shiraz-Persepolis (Iran, 1976), "Primer Foro Internacional de la Música Nueva" (Mexico, 1979), the "Festival of Athens" ISCM (1979), the Lucerne Festival (1980), festivals of the "International Society for Contemporary Music" in various countries, "Nuova Consonanza" (Rome, 1985), the Multi-Art Festival (Seoul, South Korea, 2000), and the 17th Dresden Days of Contemporary Music (2003).

In 1964, the MW 2 Ensemble's flutist, Barbara Świątek, was honored with the Orpheus accolade, awarded by the Organizing Committee of the International Festival of Contemporary Music "Warsaw Autumn" for the most captivating performance of the festival's 8th edition – her interpretation of Mario Davidovsky's Synchronisms I. In 1973, the ensemble was decorated with the Honorary Medal of the Main Board of the Polish Composers' Union for outstanding merit in promoting Polish contemporary music.

                                                                                                                                                                                                     ed. by Marek Mietelski (2026)

In the photo: Mr. and Mrs. Regamey visiting B. Świątek. Seated (from left): Marek Mietelski, Krystyna Ungeheuer-Mietelska, Constantin Regamey, his wife Anna Janina, née Kucharska, Barbara Niewiadomska, Barbara Świątek, Adam Kaczyński (Easter 1967).