Małgorzata Walentynowicz is one of the leading Polish pianists, whose activity focuses on performing the latest music. She is keen to enter completely new performative roles, engaging in various layers of musical narrative. During the recital, Walentynowicz will interpret compositions by Monika Dalach Sayers, Piotr Peszat and Mathias Monrad Møller for piano and electronics – their authors more and more often take up the cross-over aspects of nature and consumerism.

“It is widely believed that the clothing industry is the second largest source of pollution in the world after the oil industry. We increasingly buy more clothes and throw away more of them. The “take-use-bin” model leads to huge amounts of waste, and the rapid mass production of clothes stimulates the culture of using and throwing away. Clothing is increasingly becoming disposable – we buy more often, and what we buy, we wear once. Instead of repairing, we throw away and buy new garments. We have forgotten how to take care of our belongings. As many as 85% of all textiles end up in landfills or are burned every year, and only 15% are recycled or go into second circulation. What price will we have to pay for impulsively satisfying the need to possess? is the question asked by Monika Dalach Sayers in the composition CARBON IS THE NEW BLACK for midi keyboard, playback and video. The title draws attention to the thoughtlessness of human actions that will become a liability to future generations.

The topic of fast fashion also addressed by the Danish composer Mathias Monrad Møller on the basis of his 2018 collection Fruits for piano and MIDI files. It refers to how luxurious scents of fruits and flowers in shopping malls subtly manipulate our emotions and encourage compulsive shopping. These synthetic aromas fill the space that distances us from true nature – forests, meadows and gardens, where plants live, breathe, and their scent changes naturally depending on the season. Memories of nature are replaced by an artificially generated scent enclosed in a perfume bottle or diffuser. During the recital, the most noticeable notes will be apricot, cherry and kiwi. Plant Concerto with Pianosong for solo piano, sampler and playback by Piotr Peszat, on the other hand, evokes the idea of ​​regaining contact with nature, celebrating its sounds and microprocesses. Plants are animals that communicate, develop and create their own, complex world – they inspire us to be mindful and to celebrate their simplicity and beauty.