Classical Concert and Cream Tea: The Ćwiżewicz Brothers – Violin Duo

Join us for the perfect Sunday afternoon out… 

We look forward to continuing our Launde Abbey Concert Series throughout 2025, bringing you intimate classical performances from the finest musicians. Join us for an hour of enchanting classical music in our medieval chapel, followed by the famous Launde Abbey Cream Tea.

The duo Ćwiżewicz Brothers is a unique chamber ensemble of two British-Polish violinists. They have been performing together since 2014 but their music-making began a decade and a half earlier when 13-year-old Michał began teaching 2-year-old Filip. Their performances include their own arrangements of classical and folk music, as well as hidden gems from the duo repertoire and new commissions from contemporary composers. They have collaborated with the Harlem Quartet, and the Ognisko Ensemble and have performed together as soloists with the Górecki Chamber Orchestra. While they both separately studied with celebrated violinists, their unusual musical upbringing also immersed them in the rich folk music of the Carpathian Mountains in Eastern Europe as well as the very different sound world of the Javanese Gamelan, which they played at London’s Southbank Centre throughout their youth. Their varied musical interests have led to two new duo works: Delirium by Richard Birchall and Quartets for Two Violins and Balinese Gender Wayang by Nick Gray. Drawing on Polish Highlanders’ folk tunes and Szymanowski’s ballet The Brigands, their own piece Tatra Melodies was premiered in Warsaw in 2015 together with dance and original choreography.

Michał Ćwiżewicz has given concerts across Europe, the Middle East and USA and his playing has been broadcast on BBC television, live on Radio 3’s ‘In Tune’ and Polish national television.  He leads the Górecki Chamber Orchestra and Ognisko Chamber Ensemble and his recent recording Dance! as part of the Minerva Piano Trio has brought much critical acclaim. A sought-after teacher, he is both a violin professor at the Royal College of Music and Head of Strings at Uppingham School.  He studied at the Royal College of Music, Guildhall School of Music and Drama and with the Ysaÿe and Alban Berg string quartets.  Also studying at Imperial College, he was awarded his Masters in Aeronautical Engineering in 2007.  He was presented to Queen Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace’s Young Artist’s Reception and has performed for HM King Charles III.

Filip Ćwiżewicz is in demand as a soloist, chamber musician and orchestral player. He has performed at Wigmore Hall, Barbican’s Milton Court and live on BBC Radio 3’s ‘In Tune’. He leads the Tempest Symphony Orchestra, with whom he also has performed as a soloist in the Tchaikovsky and Sibelius violin concertos. He has performed recitals and as a soloist with an orchestra in the UK and in France, Germany, Italy, Poland and South Korea. Born in London, he was first taught by his brother Michał. His studies took him to the Purcell School of Music, then as a student of Itzhak Rashkovsky at the Royal College of Music and most recently, as a postgraduate student at the Kraków Academy of Music with Poland’s foremost soloist, Kaja Danczowska. His recent prizes include the 1st Prize and Grand Prix at the 2022 National Competition of Caprices in Poland, the Kraków Music Academy Concerto 1st Prize, and the 3rd Prize at the 2020 Agustin Aponte International Music Competition in Tenerife 2020.

Launde Classical Concerts offer the chance to hear an hour-long live concert in the company of some of the country’s leading performers, followed by a gorgeous Launde cream tea.

A Launde Abbey Fundraising Event.

Tickets £22 (or £17 for concert only). Call 01572 717254 or email [email protected].