One of Europe’s most interesting chamber music ensembles, AUKSO was founded in February 1998 by a group of graduates from the Music Academy in Katowice and the outstanding violinist Marek Moś, conductor and chamber musician. The orchestra is meant to be more than just a place of work for them – rather, it is a space for artistic exploration and creative development, for joint creation of art of the highest order.
The young musicians, whose interests reach far beyond the Classical repertoire, devote special attention to Polish music, performing contemporary works with enthusiasm and great success. They have already been entrusted with premiere performances of works by such composers as Zbigniew Bujarski, Cezary Duchnowski, Wojciech Kilar, Aleksander Lasoń, Piotr Moss and Grażyna Pstrokońska-Nawratil.
AUKSO performs in Poland and abroad, working with such artists as Jerzy Maksymiuk, Mark Minkowski, Piotr Anderszewski, Andrzej Bauer, Kaja Danczowska, Władysław Kłosiewicz, Janusz Olejniczak and Olga Pasichnyk. They have appeared at numerous festivals including the Chopin and his Europe Festival, Ludwig van Beethoven Easter Festival, Wratislavia Cantans and Warsaw Autumn, and recorded Polish contemporary music by Grażyna Bacewicz, Henryk Mikołaj Górecki, Witold Lutosławski, Wojciech Kilar and Zbigniew Preisner.
They also perform crossover styles, merging classics with jazz and rock. AUKSO has performed and recorded with such artists as Leszek Możdżer, Tomasz Stańko, Urszula Dudziak, Michał Urbaniak, Motion Trio and Voo Voo. During the European Culture Congress in 2011 the orchestra took part in a concert dedicated to Krzysztof Penderecki’s music, along with Jonny Greenwood and Aphex Twin. This project was also presented at London’s Barbican Hall ant the Open’er Festival in Gdynia. It was also recorded for the Nonesuch label.
The orchestra members also organise their own festival: every year since 2000 the orchestra has hosted the AUKSO Summer Philharmonic in the Suwałki region. Concerts, workshops and master classes take place in a unique atmosphere, in one of the most beautiful corners of Poland, attracting supporters, music lovers and artists from all over the country.
