The Lipiński Quartet is a string quartet associated with the Academy of Music in Wrocław, whose patron is Karol Lipiński – an outstanding Polish violinist, composer and chamber musician active in the 19th century. The instrumentalists of the Lipiński Quartet share a passion for performing chamber music, but are also very active as soloists and teachers. The artists have won awards in prestigious competitions and actively participate in many international festivals, such as Warsaw Autumn, Crazy Days of Music, Vevey Spring Classic, Felix Mendelssohn Chamber Music Festival in Duszniki-Zdrój and the Wratislavia Cantans International Festival. The musicians also work together on a daily basis in the renowned NFM Leopoldinum Orchestra, which operates in one of the most important musical venues in Europe – the National Forum of Music in Wrocław.  

prof. dr hab. Marcin Misiak (cello), PhD Magdalena Ziarkowska-Kołacka (violin),
MA Agnieszka Żyniewicz (viola), MA Karolina Podorska (violin)

MA Karolina Podorska – soloist, concertmaster of the NFM Leopoldinum Orchestra, winner of the 1st Karol Lipiński International Violin Competition in Wrocław. She graduated with honours from the Karol Lipiński Academy of Music in Wrocław in the class of Prof. Jarosław Pietrzak, PhD, and from the Hochschule für Musik Carl Maria von Weber in Dresden in the class of Prof. Ivan Ženaty. She is currently a doctoral student and lecturer at the Karol Lipiński Academy of Music in Wrocław.

She has won numerous awards, including: 1st place in the 29th FLAME International Competition in Paris, 1st place in the Bohdan Warchał Talents for Europe International Competition in Dolny Kubin (Slovakia), 2nd place in the 4th Eugenia Umińska National Violin Competition in Krakow, 3rd place in the Stanisław Serwaczyński National Competition in Lublin, and 4th place in the Zdzisław Jankhey National Violin Competition. She is also a scholarship holder of the Young Poland programme.

As part of masterclasses in Poland and abroad, she has honed her skills under the guidance of artists such as Daniel Hope, Vivian Hagner, Alexander Sitkowetsky, Edward Zienkowski, Christian Danowicz, Bartosz Bryła and Evgenia Ebstein. As the first violinist of a string quartet and in a duo with pianist Mateusz Słowikowski, she actively performs in concerts and wins awards at music competitions. Her most important achievements in this field include first prizes at the Schloss Zell an der Pram International Chamber Music Competition in Wrocław, the 20th Juliusz Zarębski International Music Competition in Łomianki, the 7th Intercollegiate Competition for Instrumental and Vocal Duets in Wrocław, and the Swiss International Music Competition in Switzerland.

PhD Magdalena Ziarkowska-Kołacka – assistant professor at the Karol Lipiński Academy of Music in Wrocław (since 2020, Doctor of Musical Arts), where she teaches violin and chamber music classes and is the deputy concertmaster of the NFM Leopoldinum Orchestra. In 2016–2019, she was concertmaster of the Częstochowa Philharmonic. In 2017, she graduated with honours from the Ignacy Jan Paderewski Academy of Music in Poznań in the violin class of Prof. Jarosław Żołnierczyk. In 2021, she co-organised the first edition of the Karol Lipiński International Violin Competition in Wrocław, which was a great success, attracting participants from all over the world. 

As a soloist, she performs with Polish symphony and chamber orchestras, is a guest lecturer at the National Forum of Music Orchestra Academy, and regularly conducts workshops at primary and secondary music schools throughout Poland. She is currently promoting the figure of Bronisław Huberman, about whom she wrote her doctoral thesis. The works described in her thesis were recorded on the album Bronisław Huberman – A Tribute to a Violin Genius, released by the Karol Lipiński Academy of Music in Wrocław in collaboration with the Częstochowa Philharmonic. In October 2020, Divine Art released the album 20th Century Polish Music, recorded with Barbara Karaśkiewicz and Sergey Rysanov (Huberman Duo and Huberman Piano Trio), featuring works by Grażyna Bacewicz, Karol Szymanowski and Andrzej Panufnik. The album has been praised by many critics, both in Poland and abroad, as evidenced by its nomination for the prestigious Fryderyk Award in two categories.

Magdalena Ziarkowska-Kołacka has the honour of playing an Italian violin made by Riccardo Antoniazzi, which once belonged to Bronisław Huberman himself.

MA Agnieszka Żyniewicz – violist, is an active chamber and orchestral musician, both in the United Kingdom and throughout Europe. After graduating with honours from the Karol Lipiński Academy of Music in Wrocław and winning first prize at the 16th Juliusz Zarębski International Music Competition in Łomianki and first prize at the 2nd International Chamber Music Competition ‘Schloss Zell an der Pram’ in Wrocław, she continued her education at the Academy of Music in Warsaw, where she obtained a master's degree in chamber music. Juliusz Zarębski International Music Competition in Łomianki and first prize at the 2nd International Chamber Music Competition ‘Schloss Zell an der Pram’ in Wrocław, she continued her education in the United Kingdom, where she graduated with honours from the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London.

In 2019, she became a member of the Gustav Mahler Jugendorchester, the Gustav Mahler Academy and the London Symphony Orchestra String Experience. She has performed under the baton of renowned conductors such as Sir Simon Rattle, Herbert Blomstedt, Sir Mark Elder, François-Xavier Roth, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Marin Alsop, Lorenzo Viotti and Joseph Swensen in major concert halls around the world. As a chamber musician, she also regularly performs with the Aglica Trio (which she founded together with flutist Carys Gittins and harpist Lise Venderssmisen). In Germany, she collaborates with the Berlin-based C/O Chamber Orchestra and regularly performs in Cologne in a series of chamber concerts organised by Klangraum Konzerte. In 2024, she and the Aglica Trio won first prize in the Supernova chamber music competition, which resulted in a tour of Belgium. In the same year, Agnieszka Żyniewicz became a member of the NFM Orkiedstra Leopoldinum chamber orchestra in Wrocław.

prof. dr hab. Marcin Misiak – graduated from the Karol Lipiński Academy of Music in Wrocław in the class of Prof. Stanisław Firlej, where he received his postdoctoral degree in 2016 and continues to teach cello to this day. In 2002, he was invited to take up a one-year research scholarship in the class of Prof. Eleonore Schoenfeld at the Thornton School of Music – University of Southern California. During his stay in the USA, he gave two recitals at the United University Church and collaborated with orchestras such as the USC Thornton Chamber and Symphony Orchestra and the Debut Symphony Orchestra. In addition, he participated with a piano trio in master classes in chamber music led by Menahem Pressler.

He actively collaborates with many orchestras throughout Poland, both as a soloist and chamber musician. He has also conducted masterclasses at music academies in Ostrava, Ghent and Luxembourg. He currently collaborates with the NFM Leopoldinum Orchestra as the leader of the cello section. In 2009, together with Christian Danowicz and Michał Micker, he founded the NFM Leopoldinum String Trio, which three years later, in 2012, received a one-year scholarship at the prestigious Queen Reina Sofia Higher School of Music in Madrid, in the class of Prof. Gunter Pichler (first violinist of the famous Alban Berg Quartet).

Marcin Misiak is a performer who can be heard on many recordings and albums. In 2013, JB Records released the album Inspirations Parisiennes, which includes Claude Debussy's Cello Sonata in D minor performed by the artist.