Collaboration
GlassDuo and Sinfonia VarsoviaConcert performances with an orchestra are a chance to enjoy the exceptional tones of the glass harp and on the other hand to experience the power of orchestral sound.
There is a wide range of repertoire, both classical and modern, for glass harp and orchestra. As a result, GlassDuo are just as at home with philharmonic concerts, contemporary events, and New Year’s Eve performances.
GlassDuo have worked together with the majority of Polish orchestras, as well as with orchestras from outside Poland.
GlassDuo has collaborated with following orchestras:
- Warsaw National Philharmonic Orchestra
- Sinfonia Varsovia
- Zbigniewa Górnego Orchestra in Poznań
- Sinfonia Baltica
- Warsaw Camerata
- Elbląg Chamber Orchestra
- Capella Bydgostiensis
- Płock Philharmonic Orchestra
- Toruń Philharmonic Orchestra
- Kielce Philharmonic Orchestra
- Opole Philharmonic Orchestra
- Zielona Góra Philharmonic Orchestra
- Szczecin Philharmonic Orchestra
- Polish Baltic Frédéric Chopin Philharmonic
- Koszalin Philharmonic Orchestra
- Zabrze Philharmonic Orchestra
- Olsztyn Philharmonic Orchestra
- Lower Silesia Philharmonic
- Podlasie Philharmonic Orchestra
- Łomża Philharmonic Orchestra
- Gorzów Philharmonic Orchestra
- Sudety Philharmonic Orchestra
- Inowrocław Symphonic Orchestra „Pro Arte”
and:
- Klaipeda Chamber Orchestra, Lithuania
- Württemberg Chamber Orchestra, Heilbronn, Germany
- Bursa State Symphony Orchestra, Turkey
- Macedonian Virtuoso, Macedonia
- Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra in Eskisehir, Turkey
- St. Christopher Chamber Orchestra in Vilnius, Lithuania
- Symphony Orchestra of Musikkonservatorium
Winterthur, Switzerland - Izmir State Symphony Orchestra, Turkey
GlassDuo, accompanied by a string quartet, entrance the publicin Elblag, Poland.
GlassDuo plays not only in duo. They often perform accompanied by other musicians.
When ‘glassy’ sounds are enriched with string or other classical instruments tones, they have a special power.
The juxtaposition of the delicate music which exudes from the wine glasses together with a classical quartet achieves a special finesse. At the same time, we have a chance to appreciate the glass harp in a slightly wider musical context.
In glass harp and string quartet arrangements, we can enjoy classical hits such as Peter Tchaikovski’s Swan Lake or Dvorak’s Slavoic Dances, as well as Sting’s ‘Fragile’ or Astor Piazolla’s ‘Adios Nonino’.
GlassDuo has cooperated with following chamber ensembles:
- Krakow Philharmonic String Quartet
- Mucha Quartet
- Rubinstein Quartet
- Yossif Radionov Quartet
- Kaliningrad Philharmonic String Quartet
- Baltic Quartet
- Elbląg String Quartet
- String Quartet Cztery Kolory
- Hanseatica Quartet
- Primo Incontro
- KV617 Ensemble
We are often asked if you can play notes on a glass harp. The answer is simple: the glass harp is an instrument like any other and the notation is also similar.As well as composing their own material, GlassDuo play music written for other instruments which has been arranged for glass harp, and cooperate with composers who have realised how much inspirational potential there is in an instrument created from wine glasses.
The results of such collaborations are pieces written especially for the duo, sometimes with other musical accompaniment for the glass harp, and sometimes incidental music created for theatre or film productions.
Composers who has collaborated with GlassDuo:
- Zbigniew Preisner
- Mieczysław Litwiński
- Garry Eister
- Zbigniew Pniewski
- Piotr Salaber
- Tom Smail
- Anna Pęcherzewska
- Aleksander Przeradowski
- Jean Chatillon
- Daniele Furlati
‘Glassy’ music also inspires artists from the realm of theatre.
Music was formerly perceived as means of expressing very concrete meanings. Whereas today, although the symbolic dimension of the instruments themselves has lost its expressiveness, composers for theatre or opera discern in glass instruments elements which reflect conflicting forces: good with evil, light with darkness, godliness with satanic powers. In the ‘Mad scene’ in Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor, the appearance of a glass harmonica adds drama to the situation and provokes an absolute eruption of insanity.
Dubai: GlassDuo find collaborating with other artists on stage projects to be a source of great satisfaction.
To date, music recorded by GlassDuo has appeared in the following Polish theatre performances:
- A. Mickiewicz "Forefathers’ Eve" (music by Monika Zytke, New Theatre, Słupsk, 2007)
- W. Gombrowicz "The Marriage" (arrangements by GlassDuo, Stefan Jaracz Theatre, Łódź, 2007)
- M. Sałtykow-Szczedrin "Judas", based on the story "Mr. & Mrs. Gołowlew" (music by Piotr Salaber, Ateneum Theatre, Warsaw, 2010)
Articles written by GlassDuo have been published in two respected musical periodicals: Ruch Muzyczny and Twoja Muza.
Recordings by GlassDuo and information from our team about the glass harp have appeared in music textbooks for schools published by Nowa Era and Young Digital Poland.