News: Had Some Eastern Lads, Well, Not Exactly Had ...

If you haven’t heard heard of the Apollon Musagète Quartett, you will. According to the Polish quartet’s Web site, the group spent June 20-23 in Cornwall, recording with Tori — likely for Night of Hunters. Founded in 2006, the quartet (which includes Pawel Zalejski and Bartosz Zachlod on violin, Piotr Szumiel on viola, and Piotr Skweres on cello) scored a number of wins at the ARD Music Competition in Munich, and by 2008 became international stars. They now have three albums under their belts.

If you listen to their music, you can imagine why Tori latched onto these lads: they’re hip, highly talented, and deeply into mythology. Their name comes from the composition by Igor Stravinsky, in which Apollo, the god of music, dances with the muses, leading them to Mount Parnassus.

According to the Oehms classics Web site, “We want to fulfill the Apollonian,” say the four Polish musicians in a conversation with the chamber music journal Ensemble (1/2010). Their goal: “To bring all the arts together. We want to think multidimensionally and shape all aspects of the music: its sound as well as its theatrical possibilities.”

If that doesn’t sound like it’s up Tori’s alley, we don’t know what does. The quartet is playing a number of concerts in Europe over the next year that fans across the pond may want to check out; details are on their site. Many thanks to Luke for this tip.