Piotr Paleczny is one of the most recognizable contemporary Polish pianists. During the concert with the NFM Wrocław Philharmonic, the artist will present Frederic Chopin’s Piano Concerto No. 1 in E minor, and earlier, in the first part of the concert, Maciej Tomasiewicz will conduct works by Bolesław Szabelski and Ludomir Różycki, composed in the 20th century.

The concert will begin with the motoric, energetic Toccata by Bolesław Szabelski, which is the third and final part of his Suite for orchestra. The work was written in 1936 and was premiered the following year in Katowice. The piece immediately caught the attention of the reviewers, and one of them wrote enthusiastically: “Elemental, [full of] momentum, [and’ strength! Great talent! Impressive in its breadth and versatility, today it still sounds fresh and delights with its dynamism. Then we will listen to the no less impressive Suite from Pan Twardowski by Ludomir Różycki, a work from 1921. The literary prototype on which the composer’s wife relied the libretto was a novel by Józef Ignacy Kraszewski under the same title. This work enjoyed great popularity before the war, and in Warsaw alone it was staged over five hundred times! It also hit the stage of opera houses in Copenhagen, Prague, Zagreb and Bratislava, and after the war it was played in Olomouc, Lviv, New York, and Havana.

Frederic Chopin’s Piano Concerto in E minor belongs, like all his works for piano and orchestra, to his youthful compositions. It is maintained in the brillant style, characterized by the virtuosity of the solo part, full of ornaments, in which the sound of the high register and melody are highlighted. The first movement begins with a flourish and energy. Two main, contrasting themes are introduced by the strings. The piano then variates them, adding breathtaking figurations. In the second movement, listeners are transported into the world of dreamy and delicate sounds. Chopin wrote to a friend: “It is a reflection in the beautiful time of spring, but in the moonlight.” The second movement goes over a lively, humorous finale in the form of a rondo, in which the rhythms of the krakowiak resonate. The work was received with great enthusiasm in Paris, where Chopin moved shortly after its Warsaw premiere. The leading French critic François-Joseph Fétis wrote: “There is soul in these melodies, there is fantasy in these arpeggios and there is originality everywhere."