The latest album by Atom String Quartet - "Universum", is a natural consequence of the band's activities, and at the same time a completely new approach to composing. Each musician mastered great form and composed a full-scale, multi-part string quartet. These works are autonomous entities and tell different stories, precisely showing the individual character of each composer. "Atomizations" by Dawid Lubowicz talk about the vastness of the universe, are a reflection on the infinity of events, a story about a road that always surprises and never ends. "Varsovia" - Mateusz Smoczyński is a musical record of the heroism of Warsaw and the pain of its inhabitants, interwoven with images of the bustling metropolis of the times. present; "Bolero" by Michał Zaborski tells about dance, passion and love, while "Atlas of Butterflies" by Krzysztof Lenczowski is a musical illustration of a children's book with drawings and descriptions of butterflies. Stylistically and formally, the songs are close to classical music, i.e. to the natural environment of a string quartet, but they do not lack elements characteristic of Atom String Quartet, such as improvisation or new performance techniques.
The new album by the Warsaw Philharmonic features music by eminent Polish composer Karol Szymanowski. His Litany to the Virgin Mary, Stabat Mater and Song of the Night were written between 1914 and 1933, which is considered to have been the most fruitful period in his creative life.
This hour-long concert album offers a chance to hear McCoy Tyner in a rare solo performance. His playing is fast and daring, as the ideas tumble one after another in his improvisations, whether he is addressing an original like "Suddenly," an old favorite written by his old boss John Coltrane, "Giant Steps," or a ballad standard like "Darn That Dream." A virtual retrospective on a long career by a still-vital artist, Live in Warsaw offers the listener an opportunity to hear Tyner's mature reflections on the music of his past and present in an unfettered context.
The concept of TALKING WITH THE BLUES is based on a view of the various US states as blues regions. Even casual blues listeners are familiar with the fact that there is Chicago Blues or Mississippi Blues and the gripping social history of the music is very much marked by its geography. But there is much more that just those two places and to this day blues music stays committed to local styles. Moreover, many US states are endowed with a unique cultural identity grown out of the prevailing social, historical and ethnic realities. Reflections of these specific identities are also expressed in the blues.