JÁNOS BÁLINT & SILESIAN QUARTET Presented by Liszt Academy

Forty years ago, students of the Szymanowski Academy established the Silesian String Quartet. In the decades since, they have become one of the foremost ensembles in Polish contemporary music. Nearly 200 of the quartet’s repertoire of more than 300 compositions were written by 20th-century composers. The number of world premieres associated with the formation – whether string quartets or specially compiled chamber works – exceeds 100. Asides from the Toshio Hosokawa work for flute and string quartet, exclusively works written for string quartet are performed in the Solti Chamber Hall, from such classical masters as Gubaidulina, Górecki and Vasks. The new generation is represented by the Dane Christian Winther Christensen; international critics reckon that he is one of few who has truly discovered their own musical ‘tongue’. “Of course, I am influenced by the older generation since it is them I have immersed myself in. I know all of Lachenmann’s and Ligeti’s works, but what I am really inspired by now is my own generation,” the composer said.