Ensemble MW2
Kontakt: Marek Mietelski
Kraków
e-mail: marekmietelski@wp.pl
The first Polish ensemble exclusively devoted to performing contemporary music, with emphasis on the avantgarde, founded by Adam Kaczynski in 1962. The ensemble is also the first in Poland that began playing graphic music, instrumental theatre and music happening. The ensemble has to its credit several dozen premieres of Polish and foreign compositions. Many composers wrote specially for the ensemble. The ensemble is a prize winner of the International Competition for the Young Performers of Contemporary Music in Utrecht (Holland) in 1965. Barbara Swiatek, flutist of the ensemble was a laureate of the Prize “Orfeusz” awarded for the best performance at the “Warsaw Autumn” Festival (Synchronisms I by Mario Davidovsky, USA) in 1964. In 1973 the ensemble received Polish Composers Association Medal awarded for its eminent merits in propagation of Polish contemporary music and in 1978 Polihymnia Medal at the Festival “Poznan Spring Music”. The same Medal was received by soprano of the group – Halina Skubis in 1979. In 1980 the ensemble`s actors performing Schaeffer`s Quartet under the direction of Mikolaj Grabowski received the First Prize from the Ministry of Culture and the Great Prize of the Public at the Festival of a Small Form Theatre in Szczecin. The newest informations concerning Ensemble MW2`s activity: in 1999 – 2000 the Ensemble had a tournee in Switzerland and Austria, took part at the Festival “Write and Play” in Cracow and performed at the Multi-Art Festival in Seoul (Korea). Ensemble MW2 took part in 87 international music festivals and performed in 21 countries.
