PENDERECKI STRING QUARTET
The Penderecki String Quartet, approaching the third decade
of an extraordinary career, has become one of the most celebrated
chamber ensembles of their generation. These four musicians,
each originating from different countries – Poland,
Canada, USA and the UK – bring their varied yet collective
experience to create performances that demonstrate their
“remarkable range of technical excellence and emotional
sweep” (Toronto, Globe and Mail).
The Quartet's performing schedule takes them annually
to the great concert stages of North and South America,
Europe and the Far East. Recent appearances include New
York (Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall), Madrid, Amsterdam
(Concertgebouw), Prague, St. Petersburg, Rome, Paris, Los
Angeles, Atlanta, Indiana University, Wieczory Arsenale
Festival in Poland, Is Arti Festival in Lithuania, Rive-Gauche
Concerti in Italy, the Festival Internacional de Musica
in Venezuela, Casalmaggiore Festival and Incontri in Terra
di Sienna in Italy, Musicarama Festival Hong Kong, and the
Shanghai International Arts Festival. The PSQ appears extensively
in Canada, giving numerous performances in all the major
centres from coast to coast and participating in this country’s
foremost concert series such as the Ottawa Chamber Music
Festival, Festival of the Sound, Festival Vancouver and
Music Toronto.
The Penderecki Quartet collaborates regularly with eminent
and diverse artists such as Martin Beaver, Atar Arad, Antonio
Lysy, Luba Dubinsky, Jeremy Menuhin, James Campbell, jazz
saxophonist Jane Bunnett, pipa virtuoso Ching Wong, choreographer
David Earle, NYC turntable artist DJ Spooky, and actor Colin
Fox.
The Penderecki Quartet was founded in Poland in 1986 at
the urging of the pre-eminent Polish composer Krzysztof
Penderecki. The fruit of their association includes Penderecki's
complete works for String Quartet on CD (United Records,
England). To this day the Quartet is a devoted champion
of the music of our time, and has performed a wide range
of repertoire from Bach to Brahms, Bartók to Ligeti,
Frank Zappa to John Oswald, as well as premiering over 100
new works from numerous composers including Brian Cherney,
Linda C. Smith, Randolph Peters, Harry Freedman, Glenn Buhr,
Alice Ho, Peter Hatch, Omar Daniel and Gilles Tremblay with
assistance from the Canada Council, the Laidlaw Foundation,
the CBC, the Ontario Arts Council, and the Hong Kong Arts
Development Council.
Described by Fanfare Magazine as "an ensemble of
formidable power and keen musical sensitivity", the
Penderecki Quartet's large discography includes over 25
recordings including the chamber music repertoire of Johannes
Brahms on both the Marquis and Eclectra labels, as well
as a new release of the six Béla Bartók quartets
under the auspices of Chamber Music in Napa Valley. The
Quartet has also recorded discs for CBC, CMC, Centaur, EMI,
United, and Artifact labels among others.
The Penderecki String Quartet devotes much of its time
to Quartetfest, an intensive Spring-term seminar held at
Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo, Ontario where guest
faculty have included the Tokyo Quartet, the Ying Quartet,
and the Colorado Quartet. The Penderecki Quartet's involvement
in education is a year-round commitment as they enter their
16th year as Quartet-in-Residence at Waterloo's Wilfrid
Laurier University. Under the Quartet's direction, the string
program has become one of the top programs in Canada, attracting
an international body of students.
