Jerzy Maksymiuk is counted among the best Polish conductors. The programme of his concert with the NFM Wrocław Philharmonic includes three works. The author of the first one is the conductor himself, the second is one of the most acclaimed piano concertos of the 20th century, and the third, a composition by a British composer, is one of the most mysterious pieces in the history of music.
The Vers per archi is a composition by Jerzy Maksymiuk from 2015. “I was inspired by the plaque that I pass every day on my way to the store,” confessed the artist, adding that it is dedicated to Hanna Czaki – a scout and liaison officer of the Home Army, shot in 1944 by Nazi soldiers. Maksymiuk was deeply moved by the “extraordinary heroism, but also the exceptional sensitivity” of the young girl. The result is a very emotional, elegiac work, which gradually dies down at the end.
The second piece in the programme is the light, brilliant, humorous Concerto in G major by Maurice Ravel. It is one of the most important works of this genre written in the 20th century. Influences of Basque music, jazz and the works of two composers highly valued by Ravel – Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Camille Saint-Saëns – can be found in it. This combination turned out to be a huge success, and the work has enjoyed great popularity since its premiere in 1932. During the concert in Wrocław, the solo part will be performed by the excellent pianist Janusz Olejniczak.
Premiered in 1899, the Enigma op. 36 is a composition that brought Edward Elgar great fame and recognition from the international musical community. The idea to write this work came unexpectedly – one autumn evening, tired from a whole day spent teaching, the composer returned home and started improvising on the piano to relax. The melody he played appealed to his wife, and Elgar began to play it in a way that would reflect the characters of his friends or show the adventures shared with them. He liked the idea so much that he decided to compose a work for orchestra, and when he finished it, he gave it the title Enigma. The composer gave this name to the main theme but added that it is a counterpoint to a very well-known melody that he decided not to include in the score. Elgar never revealed the source of his inspiration and consistently rejected all proposals for solutions to this musical puzzle, which were suggested to him by curious people from the musical community. The work itself abounds in diverse moods. There are lyrical and thoughtful movements in it, there are also colourful and witty fragments. Elgar presented sketches of fourteen characters. Their list is opened by the composer’s wife and closed by himself. There are twelve variations in between. One of them presents an adventure experienced with a friend, with whom he was escaping once from a violent storm. Among the presented characters there is also ... a bulldog belonging to a friend of Elgar’s.