It is not without reason that Vienna is called the gem of the cultural map of Europe. Certainly, the status of the capital of Austria was influenced by the work of the Viennese Classicists, but it is worth remembering that many more composers of no small importance for music of the turn of the 18th and 19th centuries are associated with this city. One of them is Feliks Janiewicz, a Polish composer and violin virtuoso, whose is beginning to appear more and more often in philharmonic repertoires. This evening, Bartłomiej Nizioł, accompanied by the Wrocław Baroque Orchestra under the baton of Andrzej Kosendiak, will perform one of Janiewicz’s violin concertos. The artists are jointly preparing a CD with the complete violin concertos by Janiewicz.

The Marriage of Figaro, a four-act opera buffa, was composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart in 1786 to a libretto by the Italian writer Lorenzo Da Ponte based on the play of the same title by Pierre Beaumarchais. After its premiere at the Burgtheater in Vienna, it quickly went down in history as an operatic masterpiece, winning the appreciation of music lovers thanks to the masterfully woven musical layer of the work, but also to its apt portrayal of the vices and ridiculousness of human nature. The iconic work reflects, like a lens, the image of society along with a whole range of emotions, perfectly illustrated musically by Mozart. The concert will begin with the famous Overture in D major, which, a masterwork in its own right, is often performed separately.

At a similar time, Feliks Janiewicz, one of the greatest Polish violin virtuosos, was also in Vienna. Born in 1762 in Vilnius, the artist drew from various European milieus throughout his life, stationing not only in the Austrian capital, but also in Florence, Rome and Paris. It was there that in 1790 he composed the Violin Concerto No. 3 in A major. It is one of five such pieces in the catalogue of Janiewicz’s works. It is characterised by the clarity of the musical texture, the perfect balance of means of expression and the graceful and distinguished melodies. This concerto was the last piece whose notes the artist noted before leaving for England at the invitation of the esteemed impresario Johann Peter Salomon. Salomon also approached Joseph Haydn with a proposal to visit the British Isles, at the same time offering him a contract to create twelve symphonies. Thanks to this initiative, the Symphony in E flat major Hob. I:103 “The Drumroll” was created. The music of the Austrian master was well known in the British Isles at that time, and his appearance there was received with great enthusiasm by the audience. The symphony, which will be performed under the baton of Andrej Kosendiak, was written in the winter of 1794/1795. It is built from a whole spectrum of intriguing elements. It begins with characteristic, gradually emerging sounds of timpani. Right after them, a quote from the medieval sequence Dies irae resounds, bringing Doomsday to mind. The second and fourth movements reference Croatian folk melodies, while the third movement is a minuet.