ADAM BAŁDYCH QUINTET & AGATA SZYMCZEWSKA/ LEGEND / POL

Jazz variations on classical music motifs have long been nothing extraordinary. However, it is rare to recreate the original as naturally and relaxed as in the case of the Legenda album by the Polish violin master Adam Bałdych and his colleague from the “serious” world of music, Agata Szymczewska.

The Polish violinist and composer is a graduate of the Academy of Music in Katowice under the direction of Henryk Gembalski. He has been associated with the Munich-based music label ACT since 2012.

Called a “violin prodigy”, he began his career at the age of 14. He was immediately recognized as an innovator combining the achievements of classical music and contemporary violin language with the talent of an improviser. In a short time, he created his own style, which became an inspiration for a new generation of improvising violinists.

He presented his music at the most important jazz festivals and in prestigious concert halls around the world. He has performed and recorded with extraordinary artists such as: Yaron Herman, Agata Zubel, Cezary Duchnowski, Helge Lien, Aaron Parks, Lars Danielsson, Nils Landgren, Iiro Rantala, Marius Neset, Jacob Karlzon, Joachim Kuhn and Billy Cobham. He is the holder of a number of prizes and awards, e.g.: The Grand Prix and individual award of the Jazz on the Oder (Jazz nad Odrą) festival (2006), ECHO Jazz – award of the German music industry (2013), Polish Golden Cross of Merit (2016) and an honorary award for services to the Polish culture (2016). In 2020, together with the Adam Bałdych Quartet, he became a finalist for the prestigious BMW Welt Jazz 2020 award, the results of which will be announced in January 2021.

Adam Bałdych is increasingly active as a classical composer and writes compositions commissioned by renowned orchestras. In 2015, he composed the composition Mozaika-Impresje at the request of the Szczecin Baltic Neopolis Orchestra, and in 2016 he wrote Antiphony to the texts found in the Qumran caves for the Muzyki Nowej Orkiestra. In 2019, he prepared the Early Birds Symphony for the AUKSO orchestra for the Auksodrone festival and is preparing to perform other commissions for the AUKSO. Anew composition by Adam Bałdych commissioned by the Stuttgarter Kammerorchester premiered in Stuttgart in 2021. Adam Bałdych is appreciated for his creativity in the field of jazz and contemporary music, the creative blending of both areas and the great expressiveness of his musical interpretations. He has participated in the recording of almost 20 albums.

The LEGEND project

This latest project has not yet been performed in the Czech Republic. It presents original compositions by Adam Baldych, based on motifs of the XIX century composer and violinist Henryk Wieniawski.

The full sound and concept is released in a quintet together with the classical violin star Agáta Szymczewska, who won the Wieniawski competition a few years ago.

Together they show the plasticity of classical music and that improvisation in both jazz and classical music as well as in contemporary sonoric language can be a way into the unknown.

Adam Bałdych (violin)

Krzysztof Dys (piano)

Michał Barański (double bass)

Dawid Fortuna (drums)

Marek Konarski (saxophone)