“(…) Mr. Cogito
suspends without answer
reflexions on the essence of music
but the tyrannical power of this art
does not leave him in peace
the momentum with which it forces
its way into our interior (…)”
Zbigniew Herbert, trans. by John Carpenter and Bogdana Carpenter
Created in 2013, Herbert Piano Trio adopted as their patron one of the greatest Polish poets, Zbigniew Herbert, and in 2014 they started the collaboration with The Zbigniew Herbert Foundation. The band consists of Bartłomiej Wezner – piano, Joanna Kreft – violin and Dominik Płociński – cello. They are the graduates of outstanding Polish artists: Ewa Pobłocka, Marcin Baranowski and Andrzej Bauer.
The ensemble have drawn inspiration from great musicians – Gregor Sigl (Artemis Quartet), Ulf Schneider, Martin Löhr, Eckhart Heiliger (Jean Paul Trio), Sebastian Schmidt, Clive Brown, Niklas Schmidt (Trio Fontenay), Pierre Amoyale and Anne Queffelec.
Bartłomiej and Joanna – as the Herbert Duo – are laureates the 16th Premio Trio di Trieste International Chamber Music Competition, the Beethoven Chamber Music Competition in Lusławice and The Violin and Piano Academy in Lausanne.
Herbert Piano Trio have made the debut in the concert studio of Polish Radio in Katowice. The ensemble toured among others in the Beethoven-Haus in Bonn, Polish Radio in Warsaw, Opole Philharmonic (the Triple Concerto by Beethoven), Bydgoszcz Philharmonic, Teatro Verdi in Trieste, Teatro Comunale Giuseppe Verdi in Pordenone, Concert Hall of Chopin Centers in Szafarnia and Żelazowa Wola. The Trio performed in the TransVocale and PianOdra Festivals in Frankfurt (Oder), The Mendelssohn Summer School in Hamburg, the Krystyna Jamroz International Music Festival in Busko-Zdrój.
They recorded for the Radio Suisse, the Polish Radio 2 and the Polish Radio Pik. The repertoire includes works from classical to contemporary music. A special place in emploi of Herbert Trio is taken by an interdisciplinary project carried out together with the actor, combining music with readings of Zbigniew Herbert’s poetry.
Joanna Kreft (violin)
Joanna was a semi-finalist in the 14th International Henryk Wieniawski Violin Competition in Poznań (2011), where she also received two special awards for the best musician representing 1. the city of Poznań and 2. the region of Greater Poland. For winning the Grand Prix at the Music Festival and Masterclass in Piła (2012) she was honoured with the opportunity of giving exclusive concerts with the best Polish orchestras. Joanna is a winner of the International Karol Lipiński and Henryk Wieniawski Competition for Young Violinists in Lublin, and the International Karol Szymanowski Competition in Łódź. She is a recipient of scholarships awarded to her by the Minister of Culture (the ’Young Poland’ Scholarship Programme) and the Hans and Eugenia Jütting Foundation. She is a graduate of the Ignacy Jan Paderewski Academy of Music in Poznań, where she is presently also a teacher. As a soloist she has performed with such chamber orchestras as the Polish Radio Chamber Orchestra ’Amadeus’ under Agnieszka Duczmal, the Tychy Chamber Orchestra ’Aukso’ under Marek Moś, the ’Feel Harmony’ Orchestra under Bartłomiej Nizioł, the Münchener Kammerorchester, or the State Youth Orchestra of Armenia under Sergey Smbatyan.
Dominik Płociński (cello)
In February 2013 Dominik won the 2nd Prize in the 9th International Witold Lutosławski Cello Competition in Warsaw. In May the same year he received an award from the Minister of Culture and National Heritage, having won the Concert of the Year Competition for the best students of Polish state higher education musical institutions. He is a winner of a number of competitions at home and abroad, such as the 4th International David Popper Cello Competition in Varpalota (Hungary, 2009), or the Kazimierz Wiłkomirski Youth Cello Competition in Poznań (2006). Dominik is a graduate of the Fryderyk Chopin University of Music in Warsaw, where he studied under Prof. Andrzej Bauer. He has performed at such venues as the National Philharmonic Hall in Warsaw, the Witold Lutosławski Polish Radio Concert Studio in Warsaw, the Tadeusz Baird Philharmonic Hall in Zielona Góra, the splendid Ballroom of the Łańcut Castle, the Philharmonic Hall in Lviv (Ukraine), and the Royal Festival Hall in London (UK). He is a member of the Warsaw ’Cellonet’ Group, with whom he has appeared in a number of festivals, such as the ’Premieres’ Festival in Lviv, the Musical Tradition and Avant-Garde Festival ’Codas’ in Lublin, the Bronisław Huberman Cello Festival in Częstochowa, the Artus Jazz Festival in Toruń, or the World Premieres Music Festival in Katowice, to name but a few.
Bartłomiej Wezner (piano)
Together with his BMF Piano Trio Bartłomiej was the winner of such famous competitions as the St Martin’s Chamber Music Competition in London (2011) or the 19th International Chamber Music Competition in Thessaloniki (2010). He also participated in the ARD Music Competition in Munich (2013). Accompanying the mezzo–soprano Agata Schmidt, he was among the finalists of the 50th International Vocal Competition in the Dutch city of ‘s-Hertogenbosch in the lied duo category (2014), and he was the winner of the 3rd Prize in the 17th International Kiejstut Bacewicz Chamber Music Competition in Łódź (2010). As a soloist, Bartłomiej was presented with the Special Award at the 6th International Ignacy Jan Paderewski Piano Competition in Bydgoszcz (2004) and the Distinction Award at the 15th International Leoš Janáček Piano Competition in Brno (2008). He is a graduate of the Feliks Nowowiejski Academy of Music in Bydgoszcz, where he was a student in Prof. Ewa Pobłocka’s class. He has recorded for such companies as CdAccord, Dux, Fonoteus and Acte Préalable.