Piotr Anderszewski currently enjoys the fame of one of the most talented piano virtuosos. In Wrocław, he will present his interpretation of an early concerto by Ludwig van Beethoven. 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 Dmitry Shostakovich.

The concert will begin with a performance of Alfred Schnittke’s work – Moz-Art à la Haydn. It was written in 1977 and is intended for two violins and a small string orchestra. In this piece, the composer freely uses quotations from various works by Haydn and Mozart. The former is represented by fragments of the Farewell Symphony in F sharp minor, while the latter is present with a quotation from the Symphony in G minor KV 550, and sketches from an unfinished humorous pantomime. The material authored by the two Classicists was processed by Schnittke using modern means of articulation and harmonics, which gives the impression of listening to the Viennese geniuses presented in a distorting mirror. The elements of performance art are equally important in this work. The performance of Moz-Art à la Haydn begins with the lights turned off, in the finale the musicians leave the stage one by one, and at the end only the conductor remains on the stage, keeping time.

The Concerto in C major op. 15 Ludwig van Beethoven is known as the first of his piano concertos, it was written after the Second Concerto in B flat major. The numbering comes from the order in which these works were published. The C major concerto also shows influences from the works of Joseph Haydn and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. It is cheerful in mood, balanced in proportions, and follows the traditional three-part formal scheme. Beethoven’s expressive personality is revealed by his sometimes bold harmonic ideas. The first performer of the brilliant and virtuosic solo part was the composer, who premiered the work in 1800 in Vienna.

In the second part of the concert, Wellber will conduct Dmitry Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 9 in E flat major, written in 1945. The composer had previously announced the creation of a powerful work for a large orchestra, chorus and soloists, which would be the apotheosis of the victory over nazi 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 rebuked it for its alleged “ideological weakness”, and the censorship soon banned its performance. Today, Shostakovich’s Ninth is a fixture of orchestral repertoire, but, as with many of his works, the narrative is like a roman a clef, as the composer included camouflaged quotations from other famous “ninths”, and among them the most famous one, by Ludwig van Beethoven.