10/100 – Concert celebrating the 100th anniversary of Polish Radio

PREMIERE

The concert 10/100 forms part of the celebrations marking the centenary of Polish Radio – an institution that for decades has documented, supported and shaped the development of contemporary Polish music. The programme brings together composers of different generations and focuses on one of the most important forms of chamber music: the string quartet, placed here in dialogue with live electronic sound.

The central point of the programme is the world premiere of Paweł Malinowski’s String Quartet, commissioned by Polish Radio for its 100th anniversary. For the composer, the quartet is not only a musical form but also a striking stage situation: before the musicians enter, the audience sees only four chairs and four music stands – an almost shocking reduction in a world saturated with visual stimuli. Within this stripped-down setting, attention shifts to the subtle relationships between performers: fleeting glances, gestures and interactions that gradually shape the musical narrative. Malinowski imagines the work as a series of interwoven stories, where recurring images and echoes – from distant shadows of Old French ballads to unreal chorales and fragments of melancholic songs – form a layered, open-ended musical tale.

The programme also includes a String Quartet by Paweł Mykietyn, framed by three short electronic pieces – Prelude, Interlude and Postlude – performed live by composer Wojciech Błażejczyk. These works draw on material from his project Re-Used Sounds, in which sonic structures are created from various kinds of acoustic “waste”: sounds of discarded objects, electromagnetic interference emitted by everyday electronic devices, field recordings of urban environments, and fragments of contemporary media noise. Through live processing, Błażejczyczyk transforms this sonic debris into evolving textures that open and close the concert, creating a frame around the quartet repertoire.

The concert marks the premiere of Wojciech Błażejczyk’s album Re-Used Sounds, released by Crossroads Centre.

The programme will be performed by the musicians of Royal String Quartet, one of Europe’s leading chamber ensembles, together with Wojciech Błażejczyk. Their collaboration creates a space in which the classical string quartet meets live electronics and contemporary approaches to sound material.

Programme
Wojciech Błażejczyk – Re-Used Sounds: Prelude
Paweł Mykietyn – String Quartet No. 4
Wojciech Błażejczyk – Re-Used Sounds: Interlude
Paweł Malinowski – String Quartet (world premiere, commissioned by Polish Radio for its 100th anniversary)
Wojciech Błażejczyk – Re-Used Sounds: Postlude

Performers

Royal String Quartet
Izabella Szałaj-Zimak – violin I Elwira Przybyłowska – violin II Paweł Czarny – viola
Michał Pepol – cello

Wojciech Błażejczyk – electronics, object instruments

Concert Host – Adam Suprynowicz

Partner and co-organizer of the concert – Polish Radio Program 2