Today, March 2^nd, 2026 the George Enescu Philarmonic proposes a chamber recital by Atom String Quartet, an ensemble with a distinctive sound, which combines classical music with jazz and traditional influences. We are going to find out more about this show, organized on the occasion of Polish-Romanian Solidarity Day, from the violinist Mateusz Smoczyński in conversation with our colleague, Ioana Țintea.

Atom String Quartet is known for the way it combines the tradition of the string quartet with improvisation. How has this artistic vision evolved since the ensemble was found in 2010 up until today?

The ensemble was founded thanks to the inspiration provided by the American group Turtle Island Quartet, which we have listened a couple of years ago. That's when we came up with this, apparently, crazy idea of creating a string quartet that would work on a similar principle, an ensemble capable of improvising and performing music different from what is usually composed for this formula. We wanted to play improvised jazz music, but also to integrate folklore influences and other music genres. So, the main idea was to perform music that is not traditionally intended for string quartets. It all started in 2010 but the concept had appeared some years earlier when I met David Lubowicz, our violinist. We met at university. I had heard that he could improvise, and he heard the same about me so we discussed this idea about five years before the quartet was formed. We kept it in mind and started looking for other musicians. As you can imagine, it wasn't easy to find a jazz cellist, and finding a jazz violist was, in some ways, harder. So, for five years, we didn't do anything specific from the moment we came up with the idea, and finally, in 2010, we all met at the "Frederic Chopin" University of Music, which at that time, was known as the Academy of Music and that's how we actually began the project.

In the Atom String Quartet each musician is also a composer. How does this creative dialogue work within the ensemble?

A very good question! Yes, we all composed music from the beginning, we had to start our journey with the string quartet from the perspective of composition and arrangements for this formula, because there aren't many scores that a jazz string quartet can perform. Of course, we could have asked for music from the Turtle Island Quartet, the American group that inspired us, but it didn't make sense to repeat exactly what they had been doing for years. So we began writing our own music. We realty wanted to keep the jazz style, so at first we used to write short songs and improvise based on them. Over time, however, we started writing more complex music and I think, today we have our own style, which lies somewhere between classic and jazz music. Our album Universum is the best example of how far we've come: it's more like contemporary classical music combined with improvisation and grooves than the traditional jazz pieces.

To what extend does traditional Polish music remains an inspiration for you? Will you bring themes or sounds inspired from this area to Bucharest?

It is a very important aspect. The Polish history, the history of Polish music and tradition, the Polish soul, all are extremely important for us, especially because some of us are working as folk artists and we played Polish folk music. That's why, from the beginning, it was in our hearts to bring this material. Plus, I have to admit that when you search for Polish music, you discover amazing things. We have to bring something from our culture to make the music to be more interesting for the people, who, probably, already heard about everything. So, what we are doing have to be unique.

From your perspective, are there any similar elements between traditional Polish and Romanian music?

Yes, I'm sure there are some similarities which I notice, especially in the traditional music from the mountainous regions of Poland. I even know a lot of Polish artists who collaborate with Romanian artists and create projects together.

The guest of the concert in Bucharest is the pianist Cătălin Răducanu. What do you know about this romanian artist and what will be his contribution to the program at the Romanian Athenaeum?

We will perform two pieces together. As you can imagine, we have chosen to play our own arrangement, inspired by Frederic Chopin's music. There will be, of course, an improvisation, but we eagerly awaiting this collaboration with the Romanian musician. Personally, i have been numerous times in Romania, including with the string quartet. I always had a special appreciation for the Romanian artists, whom I had the pleasure of meeting and performing with them. So I am really looking forward to this collaboration.