'Con Affetto' quartet concert at our anniversary celebrations

An important and beautiful part of our commemoration of the 82nd Anniversary of the Holocaust in Mszana Dolna, was an evening with music: a concert by the female string quartet ‘Con Affetto’.

We had several important reasons for inviting these extraordinary female artists, who are also music school lecturers. First, to continue to present the multicultural history of Poland, Europe and the world, to draw attention to the enormous contribution of Jewish composers to the richness of music and culture. We also wanted a valuable summary of the day and some relaxation for the participants after the emotionally difficult topic of the day: the evocation of the names of Holocaust victims.

It all worked out perfectly, as the quartet members - Angelina Kierońska - first violin, Karolina Bartczyszyn-Południak - second violin, Karolina Stasiowska - viola, Anna Podkościelna-Cyz - cello – are wonderful professionals, full of passion and affection for music. That was perfectly felt by the audience gathered in the Municipal Library, who gave the artists thunderous applause and demanded encores. The ladies not only played, but also amiably dialogued with the audience, which created a unique atmosphere.

The repertoire prepared by the quartet was excellently thought out, so as to include traditional Jewish songs, as well as well-known compositions by musicians of Jewish origin, inspired by and inspiring with this culture. Also included in the programme were famous tangos and waltzes, as well as film music for such productions as the musical Fiddler on the Roof, Scent of a Woman, Nights and Days and Polish Roads. The latter series, by the way, showed the intertwining of Polish fates, individuals and families of various origins, in the face of war and occupation. Its themes corresponded perfectly with what we are trying to show in our work on memory in Mszana Dolna: the richness and drama of the intertwining fates of Poles of different faiths or origins.

The ‘Con Affetto’ quartet thus presented us with: two compositions from the musical ‘Fiddler on the Roof’: ‘If I were a Richman‘  and ‘Sunrise, Sunset’, the traditional Jewish melody ‘Hava Nagila’, Karl Pamp Jenkins’ ‘Palladio’, Waldemar Kazanecki's ‘Barbara's Waltz’ from ‘Nights and Days’ and Andrzej Kurylewicz's music for the TV series ‘Polskie drogi’ (‘Polish Roads’). In addition, the audience had the opportunity to hear ‘Oberek’ by Romuald Twardowski, famous pre-war hits: ‘Nie kochać w taką noc to grzech’ (‘Not to love in such a night is a sin’) by Zygmunt Wiehler and ‘To ostatnia niedziela’ (‘This is the last Sunday’) by Jerzy Petersburski.

A special position in the quartet's repertoire is occupied by tangos, one of which, ‘Tango Affetto’ by Bartłomiej Szułakiewicz, was composed especially for them! We also listened to, bravely played: ‘La cumparsita’ by G. M. Rodríguez, ‘Libertango’ and ‘Muerte del Angel’ by Astor Piazzola, ‘Por Una Cabeza’ by Carlos Gardela, and the famous ‘Jealousy’ by Jacob Gade. The latter piece, composed as an accompaniment to the silent American film ‘Don Q. son of Zorro’, made such a furore that it soon appeared on the soundtracks of more than a hundred films, and lyrics to its melody were written in numerous languages.

So the audience gathered in the library had the opportunity to listen to both world hits and traditional Jewish and native Polish music.

After more encores and standing ovations, we thanked the ladies, presenting them with our monograph on the Jewish cemetery in Mszana Dolna, bags with our logo and symbolic bars - called ‘Konaffetto’.

‘Con Affetto’ means: with feeling, with affection - there was certainly no shortage of that during this extraordinary musical journey. We hope that this will not be our last meeting with this super-sympathetic female quartet, playing with extraordinary passion and love for music. Because - as they emphasise on their website https://conaffetto.pl - music is a woman

You can find the concert here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k18WCCNnjNA 

Subsidised with funds from the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage as part of the programme of the National Centre of Culture EtnoPolska. Edition 2024

Photos by Rachela Antosz-Rekucka