News

Seifert Competition Invites

Seifert Competition Winners Play Online Concerts

On the eve of the 4th Zbigniew Seifert International Jazz Violin Competition, the Zbigniew Seifert Foundation invites you to three special online concerts given by Bartosz Dworak, Mateusz Smoczyński, and Mario Forte – the winners of the first three Seifert Competitions.

Dworak’s victory in the 1st edition (2014) was indisputable despite the excellent level represented by his rivals. All the auditions were assessed by a jury consisting of such international jazz stars as Mark Feldman, Glen Moore, and the much lamented Janusz Stefański. Dworak’s playing and interpretations won their hearts more than those of any other participant. By now he has become one of the most highly regarded Polish jazz violinists of the young generation. This graduate of Katowice’s Szymanowski Academy of Music (violin class of Henryk Gembalski) has won numerous accolades (in, among others, the Bielsko Jazz Blizzard and Jazz Juniors competitions), and released two highly critically acclaimed original albums entitled Polished and Reflection.

In the 2nd Seifert Competition, held two years after Dworak’s triumph, the main prize went to the violinist Mateusz Smoczyński, co-founder and member of the famous Atom String Quartet. This musician, very well known to the Polish audience, performs in the most important jazz venues and festivals nearly throughout the world, collaborating with such celebrities as Branford Marsalis, Bobby McFerrin, Glen Moore, and Tomasz Stańko. Winning the Seifert Competition confirmed Smoczyński’s due place among the world-class jazz violin masters.

The 2016 edition also saw the Competition debut of Algerian-born violinist Mario Forte, permanently residing in New York, who had to content himself with the 3rd prize, the first two having been taken by Smoczyński and the Catalan violinist Apel-les Carod Requesens. Forte returned in 2018 to score a great triumph in the 3rd Seifert Competition, where he won the 1st prize.

Mario Forte, Mateusz Smoczyński, and Bartosz Dworak, as well as the outstanding jazz musicians who accompany them, feature in our series of concerts and meetings entitled Seifert Competition Winners Play Online. Mateusz Smoczyński’s performance in a duo with pianist Dominik Wania, held at the Krzysztof Penderecki European Centre for Music, is already accessible on both the Competition’s YouTube channel and Facebook profile. At the same addresses you can watch and listen to the concert by Bartosz Dworak’s trio with bassist Max Mucha and drummer Dawid Fortuna. The performance by Mario Forte will be premiered LIVE at 9 pm on 5th July 2020 on the same social media channels.

For more information visit:

www.facebook.com/SeifertCompetition

www.youtube.com/seifertcompetition

www.seifertcompetition.com

Co-financed by the National Centre for Culture Poland as part of the ‘Culture in the Network’ programme.

June 29, 2020: Mateusz Smoczyński invites:

July 2, 2020: Bartosz Dworak invites:

July 5, 2020: Mario Forte invites: