Grzegorz Tomaszewski (Poland)

 

Accordion player and zither virtuoso, the winner of the First Grade Award on the Polish Radio Festival New Tradition 2005. He co-created  important bands for the Polish folk scene: Ojdana and White Garden, he also carried out numbers of original music and popularization projects. He plays on different models of zithers, usually chord zithers, which he often rebuilds to adjust them to his own needs and musical visions and to show their full sound capabilities. The basic model of zither used by Grzegorz Tomaszewski is the Fisher's fidola – popular in 20's and 30's of 20th Century, 4-chord zither, that can be played on by fingers, fiddlestick or special button keyboard, named by the creator of the instrument „Fisher's Mandoliniette”. During concerts and presentations he uses from 3 to 5 different zithers and one of them was specially built for the artist by Poznanian luthier Stefan Niewczyk. It is 3.5 octaves, chromatic, with its sound resembling Finnish kantele.

 

28.07.2005, 9:30 PM, Rotunda