Messages Quartet

“Messages Quartet (...) is currently one of the best Polish string quartets.”

Anna Woźniakowska, polskamuza.eu (04/2017)

Małgorzata Wasiucionek-Potera, Oriana Masternak – violin
Maria Shetty – viola
Beata Urbanek-Kalinowska – cello

MESSAGES QUARTET, described by critics as “currently one of the best Polish string quartets”, was founded in 2014, and only a year later won the 2nd Prize, Silver Medal and Special Prize for its interpretation of Shostakovich’s quartet at the 2nd International Chamber Music Competition in Plovdiv (Bulgaria, October 2015). Since then, the ensemble has been regularly performing in Poland and around the world, including: in Vienna, London, Sao Paulo, Bautzen, San Francisco and Moscow.

The Messages Quartet is interested in Polish music, especially the lesser-known and the newest, and the artists have been awarded and appreciated for their interpretations of it many times. In 2016, the ensemble became a laureate of the "Young Poland" Scholarship Program, thanks to which, under the DUX label, they released their debut album containing a recording of Szymon Laks' string quartets. The album received excellent reviews in the French, German, British, American and Polish press. In 2019, also under the DUX label, the ensemble's second album entitled "Messages" was released, featuring music by Moniuszko, Panufnik and Penderecki. The album "De invitatione mortis" by Andrzej Karałow with the participation of the Quartet was nominated for the Fryderyk 2021 award. Another significant recording of the ensemble is the album containing piano quintets by Grażyna Bacewicz and Aleksander Tansman, recorded in 2021 in collaboration with pianist Julia Kociuban, nominated for the Fryderyk 2021 award and awarded the "Musical Eagle" 2022 as the best chamber ensemble. Messages Quartet was also distinguished by a nomination for the Koryfeusz Muzyki Polskiej award in the "Personality of the Year" category (2023).

The quartet's repertoire includes works by Polish composers (including Laks, Panufnik, Penderecki, Weinberg, Szymanowski, Moniuszko, Tansman, Bacewicz) and world masterpieces of quartet literature. The ensemble has also premiered works both by Polish and foreign composers. The quartet has presented a versatile and innovative repertoire several times as part of a series of chamber concerts at the NOSPR in Katowice, and has also collaborated with the Department of Composition at the Fryderyk Chopin University of Music in Warsaw. In 2023, as part of a residency at the Imago Dei Festival in Austria, the Messages Quartet presented Polish music during a series of concerts, after which it was hailed as a "discovery for the audience and music critics".

In addition to their concert activities, the artists of the Messages Quartet are lecturers at the Academy of Music in Katowice and Kraków, and have received awards and distinctions at international solo and chamber competitions. They are also winners of scholarships from the Minister of Culture and National Heritage and other institutions supporting artists around the world.

What distinguishes the Messages Quartet is – as critics emphasize – its unique sound. In its interpretations, the ensemble emphasizes the homogeneity resulting from four artistic individualities and looks for new meanings in music. By establishing a dialogue with the audience, the artists presents art that is lively, emotional and rooted in contemporary times.