Two Guitar Virtuosos Explore Slavic Musical Roots in New Album

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact:
Amanda Sweet
Bucklesweet
amanda@bucklesweet.com

Two Guitar Virtuosos Explore Slavic Musical Roots in New Album

Slavic Sessions by Mak Grgic & Mateusz Kowalski Out Aug 22

Guitarists Mak Grgic (Slovenia) and Mateusz Kowalski (Poland) come together on Slavic Sessions, a new album that explores the classical and folk traditions of Slavic music through works spanning the Romantic era to today. Slavic Sessions will be released August 22 on Red Poppy Records and Framework Records, distributed by Symphonic. SRP $20.

Set against the symbolic backdrop of the forest, a core element in Slavic mythology, Slavic Sessions pays tribute to the region’s rich tapestry of nature, spirits, and ancestral memory.

“Mateusz and I have each been on our own personal journey of reconnecting with our Slavic roots through music, digging into the folk traditions, stories, and composers that shaped our cultural identities,” said Grgic. “Slavic Sessions grew out of that shared curiosity. Even though we come from different countries and musical backgrounds, our approaches complement each other in a natural way. There’s a balance between clarity and color, tradition and exploration, that made this collaboration feel both grounded and open.”

The album opens with a rendition of Chopin’s Nocturne in B-flat minor, Op. 9 No. 1, reimagined for two guitars in a transcription by Jerzy Koenig. Two of Dvorák’s Slavonic Dances arranged by Duo Miric, offer a rhythmic vitality and national character in a new chamber music setting. A contemporary centerpiece of the album is Marek Pasieczny’s Polish Impressions, a set of twelve miniatures based on Polish folk songs like “The Red Apple” and “In the Brick Basement.”  These works fuse tradition with sophisticated harmonic language, showcasing the versatility of both the composers and performers.

Tracks like the Polish folk song "W polu lipenka" (“The Lime Tree in the Field”) and "Gaik" (meaning “grove”) ground the recording in the natural world that shaped the Slavic imagination.

The recording closes with the world premiere recordings of works by Bosnian composer Miroslav Tadic. "Stana's Lament" is an emotionally intense lament, while "Walk Dance No. 2" reveals the wilder, more primal side of Balkan Slavic culture with its characteristic irregular meters.

Slavic Sessions is available [August 22] on all major streaming platforms and through Red Poppy Records and Framework Records through Symphonic Distribution]. The album invites listeners into a conversation between two artists exploring heritage, tradition, and shared musical language through the classical guitar.

 https://makgrgic.com/ 

https://www.mateuszkowalskiguitarist.com/ 

Tracklisting:

Mak Grgic & Mateusz Kowalski
guitar

FREDERIC CHOPIN (1810-1849)
1. Nocturne in B flat minor Op. 9 No. 1                      6’10

Arranged by Jerzy Koenig (in B minor)

ANTONÍN DVORÁK (1841-1904)
2. Slavonic Dance in G minor Op. 46 No. 8              4’24
3. Slavonic Dance in E minor Op. 72 No. 2                5’33

Arranged by Duo Miric (both in E minor)

MAREK PASIECZNY (*1980)
Polish Impressions – suite in 12 miniatures    
4. UMARL MACIEK, UMARL | DIED, MACIEK HAS DIED      0’57
5. SZALALA, SZALALA | RAGED SHE, RAGED                      0’47
6. USNIJZE, MI USNIJ | SLEEP NOW, SLEEP                         1’19
7. JADA GOSCIE, JADA | THE GUESTS ARE COMING, THEY’RE COMING  0’35
8. CZERWONE JABLUSZKO | THE RED APPLE 2’07                  
9. W MUROWANEJ PIWNICY | IN THE BRICK BASEMENT 0’58
10. W MOIM OGRÓDECZKU | IN MY LITTLE GARDEN         1’46
11. GAIK | THE GROVE                                                              0’36
12. CICHY ZAPADA ZMROK | THE DUSK FALLS SILENTLY 1’58
13. HEJ, OD KRAKOWA JADE | HEY, I COME FROM CRACOV 0’48
14. W POLU LIPENKA | THE LIME TREE IN THE FIELD|           2’16
15. IMPRESJE POLSKIE | POLISH IMPRESSIONS                0’54

MIROSLAV TADIC (*1959)                                                    
16. Stana’s Lament*                                                      4’11
17. Walk Dance No. 2 for two*                                                   3’25
Total Time:                                                                  38’44

*World premiere recording

Album Credits

The album was recorded the Koszalin Philharmonic in Mateusz Kowalski’s hometown.

Recording producers, editing & mastering: Kitt Wakeley, Izabela Wiejaczka, Maciej Wiejaczka, David Veslocki.

About the Artists

Touted as a “gifted young guitarist” by the New York Times and “a guitarist to keep an eye on” by the Washington Post, three-time Grammy®-nominated artist Mak Grgic [GER-gich] is a star on the global stage. Born in Ljubljana, Slovenia, Mak’s adventurous repertoire spans the ethnic music of his native Balkans to avant-garde and microtonal works. His boundless curiosity drives a career that sees him performing nearly 85 concerts annually worldwide.

Mak is a dedicated champion of new music, commissioning works by Michael Gordon, Julia Adolphe, Nina Senk, Leon First, and Cengiz Eren. Recent highlights include premiering Michael Abels’ guitar concerto and upcoming commissions from Vito Zuraj, Austin Wintory, and Christopher Tin. As a versatile collaborator, Mak performs with artists such as the JACK Quartet, The Assad Brothers, violinist Augustin Hadelich, and cellist Jay Campbell, and is a founding member of Duo Deloro and FretX Duo.

His international tours bring him to Asia twice a season and Europe regularly, with appearances at venues like Vienna’s Musikverein, Stockholm’s Konzerthuset, Taipei National Theater, Shanghai Grand Theater, and Walt Disney Hall in Los Angeles. In 2024–25, he appears with the Pacific, Charleston, Boise, and Sedona Symphonies and gives the East Coast premiere of Abels’ “Borders” at Carnegie Hall.

Mak’s discography is equally broad, including Grammy-nominated albums Mak|Bach and Entourer, the latter a celebration of Slovenian music. Other recordings explore Balkan, microtonal, and flamenco traditions.

Beyond performing, Mak is an educator at the University of South Carolina, founder of Notey Inc—an AI-powered music education game—and creator of the Virtual Guitar Orchestra, uniting 5,000 guitarists worldwide. Passionate about giving back, he supports youth through scholarships and work with the Bosana Foundation. Mak plays guitars by Antonius Müller, Hanson Yao, Slavko Mrdalj, and others.

One of the most outstanding guitarists, Mateusz Kowalski has been touted by Classical Guitar Magazine as a "spectacular" musician who performs a vast repertoire ranging from the renaissance to contemporary works with remarkable expertise, stylistic sensitivity, and great musical culture. He has performed in some of the most prestigious concert halls around the world, including the Musikverein in Vienna and the Shanghai Grand Theatre, captivating audiences in cities such as New York, Los Angeles, Paris, and London. His performances have been heard in over 20 countries. Kowalski gained recognition for the first-ever live performance of Fryderyk Chopin’s Piano Concerto in F minor arranged for guitar and orchestra. The premiere took place during the "Chopin and His Europe" festival in 2023 with {Oh!} Orchestra conducted by Martyna Pastuszka. He is the winner of prestigious competitions, including the 2nd EuroStrings International Competition in London - a contest open only to the winners of the most significant European guitar competitions. Kowalski has already released several albums, both as a soloist and chamber musician. The most notable of these - "Polish Romantic Guitar" was premiered in 2021. These recordings were produced in collaboration with the Fryderyk Chopin Institute. This project significantly contributed to the popularization of the works of Bobrowicz, Horecki, Szczepanowski, and Sokolowski, of which Kowalski is a passionate advocate.

The artist collaborates with many distinguished musicians such as Martyna Pastuszka, Vaclav Luks, David Garrett, Marek Pasieczny, and Tomasz Radziszewski.

Mateusz Kowalski was born in 1995 in Koszalin, Poland. He began learning to play the guitar at the age of 7 and studied for the next 12 years under the guidance of Dariusz Schmidt at the Grazyna Bacewicz State Music School Complex in Koszalin. He later graduated from the Fryderyk Chopin University of Music in Warsaw in the class of Ryszard Balauszko, receiving the Magna cum Laude medal. He has honed his skills in numerous masterclasses with renowned musicians such as Sergio Assad, Oscar Ghiglia, and Alvaro Pierri. One of the most important ones remains the Konzertexamen in Darmstadt under Tilman Hoppstock. 

Alongside his solo career, Kowalski is also active in education, giving masterclasses at festivals around the world.

Since October 2019, he has been a lecturer at the Fryderyk Chopin University of Music in Warsaw. The artist performs on both traditional and modern instruments, including those by Jorge Godoy (Martinez) and Philip Woodfield-Oliver Moore. He uses Augustine strings.