Cellos:

• Cecylia Stanecka
• Agata Nowak
• Weronika Kujawa
• Michał Koziński
• Jakub Grajewski
• Karolina Szczechowicz
• Katarzyna Bączkowska
• Zuzanna Pocztowska
   
• Urszula Urzędowska - host

Programme:

• M. Corrette – Le Phénix
• R. Wagner – Tristan und Isolde – Prelude
• A. Piazzolla – Las Cuatro Estaciones Porteñas (arr. for cello octet)
• A. Piazzolla – Fuga y Misterio

Did you know that the cello is often regarded as the instrument closest to the human voice? It can produce a deep, velvety tone, only to soar moments later into registers of remarkable brilliance and expressive intensity, rivalling even the violin. Now imagine not one or two cellos, but eight of them sounding together beneath the soaring Gothic vaults of the Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Toruń. This is the experience we have prepared for audiences as part of the fourth concert in the Musical Dialogues series. 

The star of the evening will be an energetic cello octet. Such ensembles remain a rarity in the world of chamber music, offering a unique combination of power and intimacy. Their sound can rival that of a small orchestra in richness and dynamic range, while retaining the flexibility, precision, and subtlety that are the hallmarks of chamber performance.

The programme presents a fascinating journey across centuries, countries, and contrasting musical landscapes. Familiar works will be heard in distinctive arrangements for eight cellos, revealing new colours, textures, and expressive possibilities. Among them is Le Phénix, a Baroque concerto regarded as one of the earliest works in music history composed specifically for bass instruments alone. Like the mythical phoenix from which it takes its name, the piece continues to be reborn through modern performances, captivating listeners with its courtly elegance and refined charm. The overture to Richard Wagner’s Tristan und Isolde promises to be one of the emotional high points of the evening. This celebrated operatic prelude transformed the course of Western music through the introduction of the so-called Tristan chord, one of the most influential and debated harmonic innovations in music history. Within the opera, the music embodies the protagonists’ unfulfilled love, longing, and emotional torment. A performance by eight cellos will heighten both the work’s lyricism and its dramatic intensity.

The programme will also feature music by Astor Piazzolla, the creator of tango nuevo, a style that revolutionised traditional Argentine tango by combining it with elements of jazz and classical music. The audiences will hear Fuga y Misterio, a work that brilliantly fuses Bach-inspired melody with the vibrant rhythms of Buenos Aires, as well as selections from The Four Seasons of Buenos Aires in a thrilling arrangement for cello octet. 

Guiding audiences through this musical world of striking contrasts and powerful emotions will be the journalist Urszula Urzędowska. 
 

Mecenas Główny: Miasto Toruń 
Partner Główny: Samorząd Województwa Kujawsko-Pomorskiego
Dofinansowano z Funduszy Europejskich
Patronat honorowy: Marszałek Województwa Kujawsko-Pomorskiego Piotr Całbecki, Prezydent Miasta Torunia Paweł Gulewski
Mecenas Kultury - Główny Sponsor: PGE Polska Grupa Energetyczna S.A.
Mecenas Strategiczny: Strabag Sp. z o.o.
Darczyńca: Konsul Honorowy Finlandii w Toruniu - Tadeusz Pająk 
Partnerzy: Pneuma Jarosław Pawlicki, Pirmedia Sp. z o.o., Maciej Zieliński - fotograf, KM Transport Jadwiga Łączyńska, Fisheye Production Marcin Rybicki, MZK w Toruniu Sp. z o.o., Filharmonia Pomorska im. Ignacego Jana Paderewskiego w Bydgoszczy
Partner motoryzacyjny: Toyota Bednarscy
Partner technologiczny: Vobacom Sp. z o.o.
Patronat medialny: TVP3 Bydgoszcz, TV Toruń, Nowości - Dziennik Toruński , Toruń Nasze Miasto, Polskie Radio PiK, POLMIC 
Organizator: Toruńska Orkiestra Symfoniczna Instytucja finansowana ze środków Gminy Miasta Toruń