Piotr Anderszewski is currently enjoying fame as one of the most distinguished piano virtuosos. In Wrocław, he will present his interpretation of Ludwig van Beethoven’s early concerto. He will be accompanied by the NFM Wrocław Philharmonic, which, under the baton of Omer Meir Wellber, will also perform works by Alfred Schnittke and Dmitri Shostakovich.

The evening will open with Ludwig van Beethoven’s Concerto No. 1 in C major op.15. Although it is known as Beethoven’s first piano concerto, it was written after Concerto No. 2 in B flat major. The numbers of the first two concertos reflect the sequence of their publication. The Concerto in C major shows the influence of the works of Joseph Haydn and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. It is cheerful in mood, balanced in terms of proportions, and maintained in a traditional three-movement formal scheme. Beethoven’s distinct personality is revealed by his sometimes bold harmonic ideas. The first performer of the brilliant and virtuoso solo part was the composer himself, who premiered the piece in 1800 in Vienna.

The second part of the concert will begin with a performance of Alfred Schnittke’s work, Moz-Art à la Haydn. It was composed in 1977 and is intended for two violins and a small string orchestra. In this piece, the composer freely uses quotes from various works by Haydn and Mozart. Haydn  is represented by fragments of the  Symphony in F sharp minor “Farewell”, while Mozart by a quote from the Symphony in G minor KV 550 and sketches from an unfinished humorous pantomime. The Classicist material was processed by Schnittke using contemporary articulatory and harmonic means, which gives the impression of listening to the Viennese Classiciasts as if presented in a distorting mirror. Equally important in this work are the extramusical elements of performance. The performance of Moz-Art à la Haydn begins with the lights out, and in the finale, the musicians leave the stage one by one, leaving only the conductor to measure time.

Also performed will be Dmitri Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 9 in E flat major, written in 1945. The composer had previously announced that he would create a powerful work for large orchestra, choir and soloists, an apotheosis of victory over fascist Germany. Instead, he composed a clear, short, compact and witty piece, completely devoid of pathos. Although the audience immediately loved The Ninth Symphony, Soviet critics lambasted it for its alleged “ideological weakness” and the censorship soon banned its performance. Today, Shostakovich’s Ninth has a permanent place in the repertoire of orchestras, but, as with many of his works, it is a piece with a key. The composer included in it camouflaged quotes from other famous “ninths”, including the most famous one, by Ludwig van Beethoven.