The programme of the chamber concert performed by Christian Danowicz and Robert Morawski includes works that are very refined in terms of colour. The work of Aleksander Kościów will complement the well-known, liked and appreciated compositions by Claude Debussy, Maurice Ravel and Karol Szymanowski.

The Sonata in G minor opening the concert is Debussy's last major work. It was written in 1917 and intended by the author to be the third in a cycle of six sonatas for various instruments, but the French composer did not manage to finish it. Debussy took part in the premiere of this piece as a pianist. It was his last public appearance. The work is characterized by tasteful colours and a narrative diversified in terms of articulation with lace-sounding harmonics. There are also many episodes in which the composer ordered the violinist to play sur la touche (also known as sul tasto), i.e. on the fingerboard, which gives a soft, slightly muted and dark sound. The Sonata in G minor will be followed by the composition Hyalia, completed in 2002, by Aleksander Kościów, born in Opole in 1974, who boasts a very rich output.

The Violin Sonata in D minor is Szymanowski’s early work, still late Romantic and devoid of the striking originality of his later compositions. However, the author’s melodic gift, combined with the ability to build a poignant and engaging narrative for the listener, made this work, in principle, of great interest to the audience. Although the composer himself did not like the sonata in his later years, he stated that it was “a popular thing in every respect”. The Fountain of Arethusa, the first of the three poems for violin and piano in the Myths series, stands for Szymanowski looking for new means of expression, a brave and radical experimenter who crosses boundaries. The palette of compositional means is very rich here: the violin sometimes plays sul ponticello, i.e. at the bridge, which produces a sharp and bright sound, there are flickering trills and tremolandos, ethereal harmonics or sensual glissandos for a long time. All these measures perfectly reflect the flickering and murmuring of the title fountain, and the whole is complemented by a flexible, arabesque melody. Szymanowski was fully aware of the value of the Myths, he wrote about them: “[...] my favorite pieces, sonically and technically very original, and at the same time good music.”

While in London in 1922, Ravel met the Hungarian violinist Jelly d’Arányi, who was performing his Sonata for violin and cello in one of the salons. The composer later asked her to play some Hungarian and Gypsy melodies. They ended up making music together until dawn. Ravel then decided that he would write a new, witty and virtuoso piece for d'Arányi. This is how the Tzigane rhapsody, which will end the concert, was created. It is a colourful pastiche of effective (and often even gimmicky) violin pieces written at the end of the 19th century on the wave of interest in Gypsy music.