The Cracow Duo, Cellist Jan Kalinowski and pianist Marek Szlezer, in NY

The Cracow Duo was heard in concert all across Europe and Asia, including a tour celebrating the centenary of Witold Lutosławski's birth in 2013. In 2015 the Cracow Duo toured South Korea and the United States, performing at such prestigious venues as Seoul Arts Center in Seoul, Alfred Newman Hall in Los Angeles and Carnegie Hall in New York. Later that year, the artists performed the opening concert of their music tour in Mexico at the Instituto Nacional de Bellas Artes. Spring 2016 included their first tour in Argentina and Brazil with performances at the First Polish Music Festival at the State University in Campinas, Brazil. Their 2016 tour continued with a second visit to Mexico and concerts celebrating the 150th anniversary of the National Conservatory. Reinvited to Brazil for the Second Polish Music Festival in Campinas, the Cracow Duo will have a tour with concerts of Polish music across the United States in fall 2017.

Cellist Jan Kalinowski and pianist Marek Szlezer share a special commitment and fascination with music written by lesser-known Polish composers, whose works they tirelessly perform at home and abroad. Among their many programs, the Cracow Duo frequently presented compositions for cello and piano by Aleksander Tansman, Zygmunt Stojowski, Ludomir Rożycki and Tadeusz Majerski, as well as works by contemporary Polish and foreign composers written specially for them. In addition to concertizing, the Cracow Duo has been featured on several CD recordings. Their disc of works for piano and cello by Alexander Tansman (2009) was awarded the La Clef de Res Musica and nominated for Polish Music Awards. Published in 2010, their recording of Chopin's chamber music was also recognized with La Clef de Res Musica and received a nomination for the Polish Recording Academy Fryderyk Award 2011. In 2014 DUX Records issued a special CD featuring works dedicated to Jan Kalinowski and Marek Szlezer. Both artists were also involved in recording CD on the occasion of the 80th birthday anniversary of Krzysztof Penderecki. This recording was awarded the Gramophone Editor's Choice 2015 and nominated for the 2015 Fryderyk Award. Recorded with Jan and Marek, Joanna Freszel's CD real life song, received two Fryderyk nominations in 2016.

A similar understanding of music and common artistic vision coupled with an excellent command of the instrument and a high degree of experience on the concert platform have produced interpretations that are emotional, sincere and spontaneous.

Jan Kalinowski (born 1982) studied at the Music Academy in Cracow, the École Normale de Musique in Paris and the Staatliche Hochschule für Musik und Darstellende Kunst in Stuttgart under the guidance of Professors: Witold Herman, Paul Julien and Peter Buck. He has also taken part in master classes given by David Geringas, Ivan Monighetti and Arto Noras. He has held grants from Polish and foreign foundations, as well as the City of Cracow, the Malopolska Region and the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage. He has received awards and favourable reviews at numerous competitions and festivals. He has recorded for radio and television, including the cello concertos by Witold Lutosławski (Lebanese National Orchestra, Azerbaijan State Philharmonic) and Marek Stachowski (Beethoven Academy Orchestra). At present he focuses on the cello works by Chopin, Tansman, Rożycki, Stojowski, Lutosławski and Penderecki. In 2014 he has performed cello concertos: K. Pendereckiego (Kalisz Philharmonic Orchestra, cond. A. Klocek); M. Weinberg (Beethoven Academy Orchestra, cond. J. Kaspszyk); Andrzej Panufnik (Tbilisi Conservatory Orchestra, cond. P. Kotla). He holds his own cello class at the Music Academy in Cracow, where he received his postdoctoral qualifications in music in 2015. He has led courses in Bremen, Karlsruhe, Mannheim, Fermo and Tbilisi within the framework of an international academic exchange programme. In 2014 DUX recording producers published a CD with his artistic project Polish Cello Music containing works by polish composers for cello ensembles from one to eight instruments. He is a teacher of the Malopolska Academy of Talents.

Marek Szlezer (born 1981) is one of the most sought-after Polish pianists of his generation. His career started with the Grand Prix at the International Piano Competition in Rome at the age of 12. He has studied at the École Normale de Musique in Paris, the Music Academy in Cracow and the Chapelle Musicale Reine Elisabeth in Belgium with Ewa Bukojemska, Abdel Rahman El Bach, Dmitri Bashkirov and Marcella Crudeli. He has held grants from Polish and foreign foundations, as well as the City of Cracow and the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage. He is a prizewinner of many prestigious competitions in Poland and abroad. Many of his awards are for the interpretation of Chopin's music. One of his recitals was on a historic piano once owned by the composer. He has performed with leading orchestras, including the English Chamber Orchestra and the National Polish Radio SO, and at such venues as the Palais des Beaux Arts, Salle Cortot, the Wigmore Hall and St.Martin-in-the-fields. At present he concentrates on the music of Polish composers of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. He discovered the piano music of Jadwiga Sarnecka and recorded a selection of her compositions for DUX. He also prepared them for publication by the PWM Edition. He holds his own piano class at the Music Academy in Cracow, where he received his postdoctoral qualifications in music in 2015. He is the author of numerous research paper about piano works of Polish composers published by Polish Music Publishers PWM and Euphonium. He has recorded several albums for the recording companies Dux, EMI, Amadeus and Moderato Classics receiving an enthusiastic critical acclaim in prestigious musical magazines (among others Gramophone, Kulturspiegel, The Strad, Pizzicato, Fanfare, American Record's Guide). He is a teacher of the Malopolska Academy of Talents.

Tickets: $25 - KF Members, Seniors, Students/ $35 - Early Bird tickets (if purchased by Oct. 6)/ $45 - Regular ticket

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Founded in 1925, the Kosciuszko Foundation promotes closer ties between Poland and the United States through educational, scientific and cultural exchanges. It awards up to $1 million annually in fellowships and grants to graduate students, scholars, scientists, professionals, and artists, and promotes Polish culture in America. The Foundation has awarded scholarships and provided a forum to Poles who have changed history.