- Agnieszka Marucha – 1st violin
- Anna Szalińska – 2nd violin
- Magdalena Małecka – viola
- Olga Łosakiewicz-Marcyniak – cello
Opium String Quarter (O.S.Q.) are four alumni of the Frederic Chopin University of Music, all brought up in families with rich musical and artistic traditions, spanning back for several generations. The ensemble was established in the Spring of 2004. Only three months later, it had its debut during the Jerzy Waldorff Summer Festival in Radziejowice, to rave reviews. Since then, the Quartet firmly established its reputation among Polish chamber music ensembles, taking part in many festivals and musical events all around the country: Composers’ Portraits, Warsaw Music Meetings, Chopiniana Festival, “Sygnowano Fabryka Trzciny”, “…and Lutosławski”, Witold Lutosławski Festival Łańcuch IX, Jewish Culture Festival “Singer’s Warsaw”, International Star Festival Forte-Piano in Toruń, Frydreryki 2011 Gala, International Music Festival in Łańcut, Intercultural Galicja Festival, 2012 International Festival of Contemporary Music “Warsaw Autumn”.
O.S.Q. played in many famous concert halls, including National Philharmonic in Warsaw, Witold Lutosławski Concert Studio of Polish Radio, Agnieszka Osiecka Studio of Polish Radio, Warsaw Royal Castle, Gdansk Shipyard, Fabryka Trzciny, Cracow Opera House, Grand Theatre in Łódź. O.S.Q performed also in Germany, France and Ukraine.
Apart from the classical repertoire, O.S.Q. specializes in playing Polish music. The Quartet has played numerous concerts, drawing from such composers as: Frederic Chopin, Witold Maliszewski, Slawomir Czarnecki, Wojciech Kilar, Bartosz Kowalski-Banasewicz, Andrzej Krzanowski, Maciej Małecki, Piotr Moss, Tomasz Opałka, Dariusz Przybylski or Stanisław Radwan. Its musical interest included also Eunho Changa and Veronika Krausas. Numerous world premieres of contemporary musical works, focus on popularizing Polish oeuvre, active cooperation with Polish composers (who keenly dedicate their pieces to the Quartet) and ordering new pieces and arrangements are the mainstream of Quartet’s activities. As a result the Quartet recently established cooperation with Polish music publishers, such as CD Accord and Acte Préalable.
Each recording of music by Polish composers, made by the Quartet, presents different styles and musical genres, familiarizing the audience with pieces never recorded before. The ensemble’s first CD Back to Melody with the music of Polish composers was nominated to Fryderyk 2011 award. The second album, published in 2012 (featuring solely pieces that were never published before), is devoted to the works of Maciej Małecki. Another premiere album, Chagall for Strings, with the compositions of Piotr Moss inspired by the works of Marc Chagall and with special participation of Jadwiga Rappe, received the Fryderyk Award 2014 in the Contemporary Music category.
The Quartet cooperates with distinguished actors and musicians, such as Teresa Budzisz-Krzyżanowska, Paweł Gusnar, Krzesimir Dębski, Włodek Pawlik, Jan Nowicki, Jadwiga Rappé, Anna Seniuk, Tomasz Stańko, Tomasz Strahl, Jerzy Zelnik,. It took part in numerous recordings for the National Theatre in Warsaw and is the author of such programs as: The Cross: A Blossoming Tree (Krzyż – drzewo kwitnące), Salvaged Sounds (Ocalone Dźwięki) and Tango Therapy.
updated: 2018 (ac)
