Kasparas Uinskas (grand piano) and the Baltic String Quartet: Slawomira Wilga (violin, 1st/2nd), Magdalēna Geka (violin, 1st/2nd), Karolis Rudokas (viola), Agata Nowak (cello)
This year, the Sapieha Palace has once again become part of the city’s cultural life. On 31 December, its grand hall will come alive with the magic of music. On New Year’s Eve, we invite you to a classical music concert that will be sure to create a truly festive atmosphere. Let us welcome the New Year in a place where history and the beauty of art combine for a truly a unique experience!
Performance begins at 6:00pm (doors open at 5:30pm). Feel free to enjoy a festive beverage in the South Gallery on the ground floor of the palace before the concert.
Programme:
A. Mozart. Divertimento K.136 for string quartet
B. Dvarionas. Two miniatures for solo piano from Winter Sketches: The First Snowflakes, Down the Hill on a Sledge
F. Chopin. Concerto for Piano and Orchestra No. 2 in F minor (version with string quartet)
Violinist Magdalēna Geka (1992) enjoys a busy and eclectic career and has performed in many prestigious European venues, including Wigmore Hall and Southbank Centre in London, UK; Auditorium du Louvre in Paris, France; Verbier Festival, Switzerland, and Kuhmo Festival in Finland among others. She is the winner of the Parkhouse Award in London, the International Marschner Competition in Germany, and various other violin and chamber music competitions. Since 2022, she is the 1st Violin of Quatuor Akilone and since January 2024, the concertmaster of the Latvian National chamber orchestra, Sinfonietta Rīga. Season highlights include world premieres of violin concertos by renowned Latvian composers Jānis Petraškevičs and Platons Buravickis as well as performing at the festival Printemps des Arts in Monaco with Quatuor Akilone.
Magdalēna has been nominated twice for the Latvian Grand Music Award (Lielā Mūzikas balva), and recently received nominations for the prestigious German Opus Klassik music prize in three categories, including Young Artist of the Year.
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Karolis Rudokas is a Lithuanian violist best known for his achievements in chamber music. He studied at the Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre under Professor Petras Radzevičius. Driven by his love for chamber music, Rudokas and three of his colleagues founded the Mettis Quartet.
As Mettis, they studied at the European Chamber Music Academy (ECMA) with renowned professors such as Hatto Beyerle and Johannes Meissl. Their exceptional talent was recognised early on, earning them prizes at the Bordeaux and Rimbotti string quartet competitions in 2016. Their success paved their way to the international stage, opening up opportunities to perform in prestigious venues and festivals in Europe, America, and Asia.
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Sławomira Wilga began her musical journey at the age of 7 in Bytom. She graduated with distinction from the Grażyna and Kiejstut Bacewicz Academy of Music in Łódź, where she studied under Łukasz Błaszczyk. She currently holds a violin fellowship at the same institution. An accomplished soloist and chamber musician, Sławomira is a laureate of numerous prestigious international violin and chamber music competitions.
Her achievements include:
- 1st Prize at the 1st Karol Szymanowski International Music Competition in Violin category at the NOSPR in Katowice
- Grand Prix at the Music Festival & Masterclass in Piła
- 1st Prize at the Grażyna Bacewicz International Violin Competition in Łódź
- 3rd Prize at the 11th International Michał Spisak Competition in Dąbrowa Górnicza
- 1st Prize and Master Title with Special Award at the International Chamber Competition in Bydgoszcz
- 2nd Prize and Special Distinction at the 18th and 19th International Chamber Music Competitions in Łódź
- 3rd Prize at the 2nd Karol Szymanowski International music Competition in String Quartet
category at the NOSPR in Katowice, among many others.
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Agata Nowak (cello) studied at the Feliks Nowowiejski Music Academy in Bydgoszcz and Hochschule für Musik in Detmold in the class of Andrzej Bauer, Magdalena Bojanowicz, Bartosz Koziak, Tomasz Strahl, and Alexander Gebert. In 2017, she participated in the Final Round of Anton Rubinstein Competition in Düsseldorf. In 2022, Agata received a Diploma for Outstanding Personality in the 1st Dominik Połoński Cello Competition and additional awards from the Polish broadcaster TVP CULTURE alongside concerts with AUKSO Chamber Orchestra and Radom Chamber Orchestra. In 2015, Agata played a concert with the AMADEUS Chamber Orchestra of the Polish Radio together with David Geringas (as part of receiving the 1st Prize in the Wiłkomirski International Competition). Agata Nowak has played with Danjulo Ischizaka, Alexander Sitkovetsky, Bartłomiej Nizioł, Leonora Armellini, and others.