Ivo Pogorelich does not need an introduction to Polish audiences. After all, he was the hero of the biggest controversy in the history of the International Chopin Competitions in Warsaw, if not all music competitions ever. The Croatian pianist, though he has appeared in Wrocław before, will debut at the NFM in February 2026. We will listen to his interpretations of works by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Ludwig van Beethoven, and Fryderyk Chopin. 

After his Warsaw “adventure,” Pogorelich was labelled an eccentric, going against the grain of well-trodden paths of piano art. Back then, his playing evoked extreme reactions and evaluations, and it continues to do so to date.  In spite of his unorthodox interpretation choices, the Croatian remains one of the most acclaimed masters of the keyboard. His creations – often at characteristically slow tempos or seeking new colours and meanings in well-known scores – fascinate with their artistic freedom. In 2019, the virtuoso, after a decades long break, came back to the recording studio, and 2022 saw the release of his album with Chopin’s late works. 

The NFM recital programme features Mozart’s three piano miniatures, all in minor keys, a rarity from this composer. Noteworthy are two fantasies intriguing with their lax forms and huge spaces for expression. As is the well-known Sonate Pathetique by Beethoven, characterised by unprecedented expressive contrasts, foreshadowing Romanticism. Of Chopin’s works – alongside Pogorelich’s favourite Nocturne op. 55 no. 2 – he has chosen both the tiniest and the biggest pieces: the refined Mazurkas op. 59 and Sonata in B flat minor op. 35, the latter performed in Warsaw back in 1980. This recital will surely be one of those unforgettable!