Spectrum of impression

Zofia Neugebauer was born in the town of Wodzislaw Slaski, Poland in 1994, and started playing the piano at the age of five. However, her fascination with the subtle possibilities of the flute led her to take it up at the age of ten, and her continued passion for its rich and delicate sound has developed into a rich and creative career. Her career as a flute soloist began when she performed with the Katowice Symphony Orchestra at the age of 13, and has since led her to perform, compete and study in many of Europe’s most prestigious musical centres. 

In order to further her musical knowledge, Zofia closed out her secondary school studies in Wroclaw, at the specialised music mchool “Karol Szymanowski“ under the tutelage of Cezary Traczewski. During this time, she had the opportunity to meet and learn from several inspiring performers and teachers, including Prof. Felix Renggli, and it was following a masterclass with him that Zofia decided to audition for his class in Basel’s Music Hochschule. Over the next few years, she worked closely with Prof. Renggli on her musical development, as well as discovering greater opportunities as a performer with smaller ensembles and orchestras in music festivals across Germany and Switzerland. 

Zofia concluded her Bachelor’s (earning the highest grade possible and a distinction) in Basel in 2016, and immediately commenced a Masters in Performance at the same school. However, her initial postgraduate studies were interrupted when she was selected as a member of the Berlin Philharmonic’s Karajan Academy in 2017. Over the next two years, she continued to learn and develop as a member of this select institution under the guidance of Mathieu Dufour.
Since then she had opportunity to appear in the most renowned music festivals in Europe like Verbier Festival, Gezeiten Konzerte, Dresdner Musikfestspiele, Krzyżowa Music, Bad Kissinger Sommer. 

Zofia was awarded the position of Principal Flute with the Lucerne Symphony Orchestra and she played there between 2019–2021, and has relished the opportunity to perform the greatest works of the orchestral canon in a demanding and artistically excellent atmosphere. Now she holds the temporary position in Sinfonieorchester Basel. She also regularly appears as a solo flutist with orchestras such as the Gürzenich Orchestra Cologne, the Camerata Zurich and the Verbier Festival Chamber Orchestra, having worked with conductors such as Simon Rattle, Ivan Fischer, Zubin Mehta and Paavo Järvi. 

She has also participated successfully in numerous competitions across Europe, and was awarded a scholarship by the Mozart Gesellschaft Dortmund in 2018, Villa Musica in 2022. She was also a Fellow of the Polish Ministry of Culture. 

Across all of these accomplishments and performances, Zofia remains committed to her own artistic development and growth. She is searching constantly for new ways of expression. She composes her own music and artistic creations, that helps her to understand the world of emotions and classical music even deeper.

‘A Master of breathing and vocal line on the guitar’ – this is how the playing of the Polish musician Jerzy Chwastyk was described by the Pizzicato magazine.

Jerzy Chwastyk’s extensive repertoire ranges from traditional and classical guitar music to innovative projects and unusual duets with other artists.

These include collaborations with the Neuköllner Oper, the actor Hanns Zischler, the bandoneonist Omar Massa and the cellists Susanne Szambelan and Maciej Kułakowski.

This versatility is also evidenced by his two highly acclaimed solo CDs: La Joia (2017) and Iberian Soundscapes (2020), “dichter.liebe” (Prospero Classical) with Hanns Zischler and Susanne Szambelan and the CD Romance – Canciones y danzas (2019), which he recorded with the violinist Tjaša Kastelic.

On the album “dichter.liebe” recorded in 2022 with Susanne Szambelan and Hanns Zischler, he also appeared as an arranger of songs by Robert Schumann – the first transcription of the well-known cycle was praised by critics as an “absolutely monumental and poignant” work. (Radio France)

Prize winner of many renowned competitions (Concurso Sigall/ Chile, Concurso Fernando Sor/Madrid und Concurso Segovia in Linares and in La Herradura) studied in Weimar, where he attended a master course taught by Prof. Monika Rost and Prof. Tomasz Zawierucha, and in Berlin, where he took up master studies under the supervision of Thomas Müller-Pering. He also participated in numerous international master courses run, among others, by Zoran Dukic or Roberto Aussel. Apart from obtaining a diploma and a Master’s degree he also passed a concert exam in 2015.

Jerzy Chwastyk gives concerts as a soloist and chamber musician in the whole Europe.