The album we present to you is a collection of instrumental miniatures and fragments of larger works, some of which are more widely known, while others are still waiting to be discovered.

The works come from different traditions, musical periods and countries. The common denominator is the flair and melodic invention of the composers, which makes the pieces easy to remember, associate them with a specific mood and then hum or listen for pure pleasure and relax. All of the pieces are performed on a cello accompanied by piano in refreshing, interesting arrangements. Among the composers we find various, disparate names: Robert Schumann, Astor Piazzolla, Sergei Rachmaninov, Bohuslav Martinů, Edward Elgar, Zygmunt Stojowski.

Maybe this is the charm of this album – an encounter of artistic personalities and melodies created by them, immersed in various aesthetics. It is the beauty of the melody that is certainly common to them, expressed by various means, but always appealing to emotions, referring to the imagination, moving memories, evoking dreams.

We owe the performance to two wonderful musicians associated with the Academy of Music in Cracow. Jan Kalinowski is an outstanding cellist, a graduate of higher education facilities in Poland, France and Germany, frequently performing under the direction of famous conductors and co-operating with world-renowned orchestras. Marek Szlezer plays the piano – a well-known and respected Polish pianist, also a graduate of higher education music institutions in Poland and abroad (France and Belgium). He has worked with numerous orchestras, recorded albums for various labels. Both artists perform music all over the world as the Cracow Duo, gaining international recognition.