Axiom Quartet, Holocaust Museum Houston and Consulate General of Poland join forces to present a powerful and intriguing program of chamber music written by Polish and Polish-born composers. 

Experience the rarely heard string quartets by Mieczysław Weinberg and Mark Nowakowski, along with the colorful impressionist work by Karol Szymanowski:

Mieczysław Weinberg:

String Quartet No 5

Mark Nowakowski: 

String Quartet No 1 “Songs of Forgiveness”, mov 2

Karol Szymanowski: 

String Quartet No 2

Weinberg’s output, tragically marked by a life under Soviet regime, was barely recognized during composer’s lifetime (1919-1996) but experienced a blossoming revival after his death. His chamber music is completely original, although somewhat akin to that of Shostakovich, who made a great impression on young Weinberg when they met in Moscow. Mark Nowakowski is a living composer, currently a professor at Kent University, with whom Axiom Quartet was delighted to make contact. Nowakowski’s String Quartet No. 1 “Songs of Forgiveness” is somber and eerie, full of deep emotional reflection rooted deeply in the memories of WW2. Finally, String Quartet 2 by Szymanowski, originally written for a chamber music competition in Philadelphia in 1927, is considered one of his most avant-garde compositions. Full of impressionist and modernist colors, it also uses the Polish Highlander folklore, with quotations from a well-known song of the Polish Tatra mountains. 

This varied program full of musical discoveries is generously sponsored by Consulate General of Poland and hosted by Holocaust Museum Houston.