Polish Quintets: Grażyna Bacewicz and Aleksander Tansman

Polish Quintets: Grażyna Bacewicz and Aleksander Tansman

Discover two fascinating Polish voices of the 20th century through the rich sound of the quintet: piano joined by two violins, viola and cello.

The programme brings together Grażyna Bacewicz and Aleksander Tansman, two composers with deep roots in Łódź, Poland, yet very different musical personalities. Bacewicz draws on the energy and rhythms of Polish folk music, transforming them through her bold and colourful musical language, while Tansman combines tradition with a search for new forms, harmonies and sonorities.

Their connection to Łódź is still very much alive today. The city’s Academy of Music bears the name of Grażyna and Kiejstut Bacewicz, while Tansman’s legacy continues through festivals and competitions dedicated to his music. The Łódź connection extends to the performers too: two of the musicians studied in the city, with one also born there.

The quintets will be performed by Polish and Hungarian musicians, including members of the Malta Philharmonic Orchestra.

The concert is supported by the Embassy of Poland in Malta.

Agnieszka Kuźma, Violin – Performer Biography

Agnieszka Kuźma was born in Poland and started her musical education at the age of seven. After graduating from the Music University in Wrocław, Poland, with a Master’s degree, she continued her studies in the class of Katalin Sebastyen at the Royal Conservatory of Music in Brussels, where she graduated with a distinction.

She was a member of various orchestras such as The World Orchestra, Leopoldinum Chamber Orchestra (Poland), and Symphonia Assai (Belgium). She is the founder of the Omnia String Quartet.

Agnieszka joined the Malta Philharmonic Orchestra in 2014. In 2016 she performed as soloist and premiered Concerto Notturno by Gorecki with the MPO.

Emilia Wiśniewska, Violin – Performer Biography

Born in Poland, Emilia Wiśniewska started learning the violin at the age of five. She made her violin debut with Zielona Gora Philharmonic at the age of sixteen, winning first prize at the national competition, and special award at the international violin competition in Dubai. She studied in Sweden and Hungary, graduating with a postgraduate degree in violin performance.

She has participated in numerous international competitions, masterclasses and festivals, and played in prestigious concert halls around the world. In 2012, she toured China performing Brahms’ Double Concerto with a Swedish orchestra, and in 2018 received an award at the International Violin Competition, Kazakhstan.

She worked with Copenhagen Philharmonic, BBC Manchester, Malmö Opera.

Emilia joined the Malta Philharmonic Orchestra in 2014.

Mateusz Kuźma, Viola – Performer Biography

Mateusz Kuźma was born in Poland to a musical family and started his violin education at the age of seven. After this, he graduated from the Music University in Łódź, Poland, in the class of Anna Wódka with a Master’s degree.

He continued his studies in the class of Katalin Sebastyen at the Royal Conservatory of Music in Brussels. He was a member of Symphonia Assai (Belgium), Fundacao Orchestra Estudio (Portugal), and Koszalin Philharmonic Orchestra.

Mateusz joined the Malta Philharmonic Orchestra in 2017. He is a member of the Omnia String Quartet and violin teacher at the Malta School of Music.

Ákos Kertész, Cello – Performer Biography

Hungarian cellist Ákos Kertész studied at the Liszt Academy of Music (Budapest) and the Royal Conservatory of The Hague (Netherlands), obtaining a Master’s degree.

He played in several professional orchestras, including the Hungarian State Opera, the Hyogo Performing Arts Center (HPAC) Orchestra in Japan, and the Limburgs Symfonie Orkest in Maastricht.

Ákos joined the Malta Philharmonic Orchestra in 2012. Since 2019, he has been the MPO’s principal cellist and has appeared as soloist in Haydn’s Sinfonia Concertante with Toru Yasunaga and the HPAC Orchestra, and in Haydn’s Cello Concerto with the MPO.

Julia Miller, Piano – Performer Biography

Polish-born pianist Julia Miller is an internationally active soloist, chamber musician and educator based in Malta. A graduate of the Music Academy of Łódź, where she studied piano performance and chamber music, she has performed across Malta, Poland and Italy, appearing at festivals and events including the Malta Baroque Festival, Malta International Spring Festival, Gaulitana Festival, TEDx Lublin and Festival Musicale delle Nazioni in Rome.

Since moving to Malta in 2012, Julia has collaborated regularly with leading musicians and ensembles, including the Malta Philharmonic Orchestra and KorMalta. In 2024, she made her concerto debut with the Malta Philharmonic Orchestra under Michael Laus, performing Grieg’s Piano Concerto in A minor. She is also the creator of the recital series Julia Miller Plays and has initiated and curated a number of international and interdisciplinary concert projects.

Julia completed her Doctor of Music degree at the University of Malta in 2026. Her research explored music by late nineteenth-century women composers from Sweden and the United States, reflecting her particular interest in bringing lesser-known repertoire into contemporary concert life.

Alongside her performing career, she teaches at the Malta School of Music and the Malta Visual and Performing Arts School. Her work brings together performance, research and education, driven by a continuing curiosity for repertoire, collaboration and musical discovery.

Sunday, 8 November 2026, 7.30pm

Doors open: 7pm

Concert Hall of the Malta Society of Arts,
Palazzo de La Salle,
219, Republic Street,
Valletta