Ignacy Lisiecki, a leading Polish pianist, will perform a recital filled with works of rarely performed, yet highly valuable contemporary piano literature. Among them will be pieces by Péter Eötvös, Oliver Knussen and Jörg Widmann. The artist will also play the Polish premiere of a composition by Marcel Chyrzyński.

Jörg Widmann's work combines elements of the 20th-century compositional language with references to the style of Classicism and Romanticism. The collection Elf Humoresken is an excellent example of this. It consists of a dozen or so pieces - including Waldszene (Forest Scene) and Mit Humor und Feinsinn (With Humor and Sensitivity) – in which the composer conducts a musical dialogue with the legacy of Robert Schumann. Dances of the Brush-footed Butterfly by Péter Eötvös is a musical fantasy on the enchanting dances of the Nymphalidae butterflies. We will also hear Prayer Bell Sketch op. 29 by Oliver Knussen – a small but deeply emotional piece containing harmonies reminiscent of the sonorous peal of bells. The programme also includes compositions whose common thread is Japan – its flora inspired Marcel Chyrzyński in Karatachi no Hana. Similar motifs can also be found in Spring and Asura by Dai Fujikura.

During his recital, Lisiecki will reach for the work of one of the most versatile American artists – Leonard Bernstein – performing his rarely played Piano Sonata, composed in 1938 i.e. while he was studying at Harvard University. The concert will conclude with the sounds of Ti studier by Danish composer Hans Abrahamsen, which the author considers to be “a study of the character or soul of the piano. A soul shaped by all the music created for this instrument, from its beginnings to the present day”. The cycle, created between 1984 and 1998, presents ten pieces exploring the sound of the piano from the perspective of Romantic and Impressionist aesthetics, as well as more contemporary jazz.