When two guitar virtuosos of Slavic heritage – Mak Grgić from Slovenia and
Mateusz Kowalski from Poland – join forces, something far greater than an
ordinary duo emerges. „Slavic Sessions” is a conscious artistic project in which two
musicians explore the richness of Slavic musical tradition through the prism of the
guitar duo – a chamber ensemble of particular intimacy and expressive flexibility.
The woodland setting that frames this collaboration speaks to something deeper
than aesthetic choice. The forest is the heart of Slavic mythology and culture – a
place inhabited by rusalkas, woodland spirits, and deities like Leshy. It was here
that fairy tales and legends unfolded, which later found their way into folk music.
Polish songs such as „W polu lipeńka” („The Lime Tree in the Field”) and „Gaik”
(literally meaning „grove”) directly reference nature.
The album’s program spans three centuries of music, creating a panorama of
Slavic sensibility from Romanticism to the contemporary era. Fryderyk Chopin’s
Nocturne in B-flat minor Op. 9 No. 1, in Jerzy Koenig’s transcription, opens the
album with a poetic meditation on the universal power of melancholy. The piano’s
intimacy gains a new dimension in the delicate texture of two guitars, emphasizing
the contemplative character of this miniature gem of Romanticism.
Antonín Dvořák’s output is represented by two Slavonic Dances in an arrangement
by Duo Mirić. The orchestral richness of the Czech master, with its characteristic
rhythms and harmonic language, is here transposed to a chamber scale while
preserving the full essence of Slavic character and dance energy.
Contemporary compositional language is represented by Marek Pasieczny’s cycle
„Polish Impressions” – a collection of twelve miniatures founded upon the most
recognizable Polish folk melodies. The composer creates a fascinating synthesis of
tradition and modernity, in which folk songs like „The Red Apple” and „In the Brick
Basement” gain the harmonic richness of 21st-century compositional techniques.
The album’s unique value lies in the world premiere recordings of works by
Miroslav Tadić. „Stana’s Lament” is an emotionally intense lament, while „Walk
Dance No. 2” reveals the wilder, more primal side of Balkan Slavic culture with its
characteristic irregular meters.
The recording venue provides symbolic completion to the whole – the Koszalin
Philharmonic in Mateusz Kowalski’s hometown, where these Slavic echoes find
their most natural resonance.