Concerto Avenna

Instrumental ensemble from Warsaw, Poland. Founded in 1985 as an initiative of harpsichordist Władysław Kłosiewicz and the double-bass player Andrzej Mysiński. It was formed by renowned musicians – graduates and faculty members of the Musical Academy in Warsaw, as well as former members of Jerzy Maksymiuk's Polish Chamber Orchestra.

The ensemble specialises in the interpretation of Baroque music, using the means of articulation, dynamics and colour, as well as the controlled vibrato and tempo realisations typical of the period. The contrast of Baroque sound aesthetics with contemporary instrumentation results in unexpected and surprising effects, approval of admired by listeners, and criticised and regarded controversial by critics.

Due to the unique sound quality and wide range of the means of articulation, Concerto Avenna could include in its repertoire, along with hundreds of compositions from the Baroque period, classical works as Haydn and Mozart concerti and symphonies, as well as chamber music by 20th century composers. The ensemble co-operates on a permanent basis with eminent polish and foreign soloists including Jadwiga Rappé, Artur Stefanowicz, Andrzej Hiolski, Michael Chance and Emma Kirkby, as well as with instrumentalists such as Władysław Kłosiewicz, Elżbieta Chojnacka and Ivan Monighetti.

The ensemble is known in Poland and abroad from its numerous radio and TV recordings (BBC, TV Mexico, various radio stations in the USA) and concerts, which have received many extremely favourable reviews. It made a series of concert tours abroad. Visiting the former Yugoslavia, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Bulgaria, Romania, Germany, Austria, Norway, France, Spain, Holland, England, Mexico, the USA (invited by Columbia Artists in 1993, the musicians gave over 50 concerts in 1o weeks), Japan, South America and the United Arab Emirates. The Ensemble took part in many prestigious music festivals (in Bergen, London, Copenhagen, Istanbul and Prague, to mention but a few).

The ensemble made recordings for record companies in Poland and abroad, with 30 CD’s already published. Concerto Avenna is sponsored by the President of Warsaw and the Ministry of Culture and Arts. In 1991, it won the award of the Governor of Warsaw Province for outstanding achievements in the field of performance of Baroque music.

The artistic supervisor of the ensemble is Andrzej Mysiński.