was founded in 2007 with Andrzej Bauer as artistic leader and conductor. It unites the skills of many outstanding young Polish cellists, internationally renowned soloists, award winners at international competitions, including the Witold Lutosławski International Cello Competition (held biannually in Warsaw since 1997). Here, art and virtuosity are inextricably linked with the goal of creative performing.
In its concert programmes, the Warsaw CELLONET Group often combines ancient and contemporary music, such as arrangements of motets by Gesualdo da Venosa with premiere performances of new works commissioned by CELLONET. The group has also carried out projects with artists from the jazz and pop music scenes: singer Anna Maria Jopek, and pianists Leszek Możdżer and Marcin Masecki.
CELLONET has appeared at many festivals, including Warsaw Autumn, Wrocław’s Musica Polonica Nova, Katowice’s Polish Music Premieres, and Lublin’s Kody, and together with Leszek Możdżer at the Poznań Enter and Toruń Artus jazz festivals. The group has performed abroad at the Contrasts Festival in Lviv and during the 2013 Lutosławski Year at London’s Royal Festival Hall, at the Woven Words concert series. CELLONET concerts at the Royal Castle in Warsaw now regularly open the Witold Lutosławski International Cello Competition.
The Polish Ministry of Culture and National Heritage has supported international projects with Polish and Ukrainian composers which have subsequently led to performances in both countries.
In 2010, the recording of Agata Zubel’s work for cello quartet on her album Cascando performed by members of CELLONET was awarded the Polish music industry award Fryderyk for Best Contemporary Music Album.
The unique quality of CELLONET inspires new works from leading Polish composers including most recently, compositions from Wojciech Ziemowit Zych and Zaid Jabri.