Honorary Patronage of the President of the Republic of Poland Andrzej Duda under the 5th International
Karol Lipiński Violin Festival and Competition

Artists:
Konstanty Andrzej Kulka - violin
Andrzej Gębski - viola
Andrzej Wróbel – cello
Introduction: Piotr Matwiejczuk

Programme:
official part
Losowanie kolejności wystąpień uczestników Konkursu Skrzypcowego

artistic part
K. Lipiński - Trio A-dur op. 12, cz. III Rondo
K. Lipiński - Rondo koncertowe C-dur op. 18
K. Lipiński - Wariacje na tematy z opery „Kopciuszek” Gioacchino Rossiniego op. 10

Karol Lipiński (1790–1861), just as Fryderyk Chopin, Ferenc Liszt and other composers of the nineteenth century, was fascinated by opera music. This adoration was not only in keeping with the fashions of the day, but also resulted from the functions that Lipiński held in his professional life. Despite his very young age, he was appointed concertmaster at the Lviv Opera, which proved to be a greatly formative period of his artistic personality, as can be seen in the bel canto overtones noticeable in his later works. For twenty-two years he was also the first concertmaster of one of Europe’s best orchestras of the time, the Königliche musikalische Kapelle at the court of King Friedrich August II of Saxony in Dresden, which is also one of the oldest German opera orchestras. It was in Dresden that Lipiński met Richard Wagner. These experiences with opera enthused Lipiński’s performances with a melodious air, and are also discernible in his musical themes that have a proven record of being an inexhaustible source of inspiration. Among the opera hits that resound in Karol Lipiński’s music are the Variations Op. 11 on the theme of Gioacchino Rossini’s opera ‘Cinderella’ and Fantasia Op. 33 on the theme of Jan Stefani’s opera ‘The Supposed Miracle, or the Cracovians and the Highlanders’..

The programme also includes Trio in A major Op. 12 for two violins and cello dedicated to Prince Nikolai Golitsyn, who was a talented cellist. Taking into account the dedicatee’s and his own musical skills, Lipiński composed this piece with the audacious virtuosity characteristic of the brillant style, which is a dominant feature in both the cello and the first violin parts.

Konstanty Andrzej Kulka (born 5 March 1947) is a Polish violinist, recording artist, and professor of the Fryderyk Chopin University of Music in Warsaw since 1994, also heading the Institute of String Instruments there. Kulka graduated with honors from the Stanisław Moniuszko Academy of Music in Gdańsk in 1971. He played over 1,500 recitals internationally, including in the United States, Japan, and Australia. Kulka is a guest performer with the Berliner Philharmoniker, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, London Symphony Orchestra, English Chamber Orchestra, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra in Amsterdam, Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra, and Saint Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra. He took part in leading music festivals including in Lucerne, Bordeaux, Flandria, Berlin, Prague, Barcelona, Brighton, and Warsaw.