Finnish Potpourri

Masecki / Markowicz / A fresh look at Brahms’ music

Johannes Brahms is considered a restorer of German chamber music and the one who gave it its shape in the second half of the 19th century. His works constitute a point of reference without which it is difficult to imagine a chamber music festival or concert series. It is similarly difficult to think seriously about a violin repertoire devoid of his sonatas, even if the composer himself called them “sonatas for piano and violin”. The intention here is not to push the violin away to the background, but rather to emphasise the piano being a full partner in the duo. Thus, the creation of this unique, intimate dialogue and the construction of the consistent form that will eventually appear to the listener as a complete (master)piece require two artists. This evening, a fresh artistic perspective is guaranteed thanks to the participation of two exceptional instrumentalists who are also composers themselves, which gives them their own sense of narrative and meaning in music. This will be their Brahms. Adam Suprynowicz Concert duration: approximately 70 minutes

Sensory-Friendly Family Concert "Espressivo" / The WHOOP Group

Turicum Quartet / Menuet of the witches

Joseph Haydn has been called “Papa Haydn”, both affectionately and pejoratively. Meanwhile, he was a composer whose mastery and unpredictability went hand in hand. Let us appreciate the emotional glimmering of the music, its surprising turns, sense of humour (the “menuet of the witches” quite unlike the court dance), or the finale inspired by music of the Romani people living in the borderlands of Austria and Hungary, where the composer spent most of his life. The spirit of Austria-Hungary is also referenced – already after the fall of the dual monarchy – in the modernist parodying miniatures by Erwin Schulhoff, who enhanced them with motifs of his native Czechia. Even though Szymanowski knew the capital of Austria-Hungary, he did not like it; his String Quartet No. 1 represents a different direction, as Jarosław Iwaszkiewicz wrote: “Never before has any of his works breathed such a scorching air of the South; not the heat of the Sicilian south or the mourning of the Greek heat, in which Pan’s flute kills hearts – but the juicy and ripe heat which smells like the crops of Ukraine.” Adam Suprynowicz Concert duration: approximately 60 minutes

NOSPR / Alsop / Sumino / Inauguration of the season 2024/2025

We invite you to a live broadcast of the concert on Polish Radio 2.Samuel Barber began composing the Symphony No. 1 in1935, at the age of twenty-five. At the end of 1942 and at the beginning of 1943, he made significant amendments to the score, eventually to dedicate it to Gian Carlo Menotti – his university friend and later life partner. Commenting on this symphonic debut, he admitted that the intention behind it was a polemical dialogue with the classical tradition: „The form of my Symphony in One Movement is a synthetic treatment of the four-movement classical symphony. It is based on three themes of the initial Allegro non troppo, which retain throughout the work their fundamental character.”The concept of the Concertino by the twenty-nine-year-old Władysław Szpilman– that of a single-movement “small concerto” – is similarly untypical. His first and only composition for piano with orchestra was created in the Warsaw ghetto in 1940. Hence the “compactness” of the form. The graceful character, references to jazz and subtle allusions to Chopin permeate the melodies and harmonic language of the Concertino, showing Szpilman as akin to Prometheus, one who brings light into the darkest places of human despair and sorrow.In the case of the forty-year-old Johannes Brahms, one could call his Variations on a Theme by Haydn, Op. 56a, a “protodebut”. The story of how long Brahms, filled with doubt, was preparing for his Symphony No. 1 (1876), is one of the most frequently discussed aspects of his biography. The 1873 Variations are a significant step in this process. They constitute a prototype of the symphonic idea and texture, and simultaneously a tribute and a token of admiration for the author of TheCreation of the World. „He was quite someone!” was how Brahms wrote about Haydn a year before his own death. “Oh, how pitiful are we against someone like him!”With his Rhapsody in Blue (1924), today, Gershwin is an iconic figure, standing like the Colossus of Rhodes, towering over the borderline between two orders – those of classical music and jazz. However, when the twenty-six-year-old was entering the conservative realm of American concert halls with his slightly nonchalant Broadway gait, he was crossing a line no one had ignored in such an ostentatious manner before. Paul Whiteman organised the Experiment in Modern Music concert in order to prove that the relatively new form of music called jazz deserved being recognised as a serious and sophisticated form of art. The Rhapsody proved that being first and brave is worth the risk!Andrzej SułekConcert duration (intermission included): approximately 90 minutes

Chopin and Bach / Hayato Sumino’s piano recital

Bach and Chopin. Two worlds, two geniuses, two points of reference for the tradition of the keyboard. The former is the essence of spirituality, the musical structure and the richness of the baroque world. The latter symbolises musical romanticism. Chopin scholars emphasise the fact that he renewed Bach’s mastery of counterpoint and finesse of ornament, using them as foundations upon which he built a musical world of his own, still much beloved everywhere around the world. Their music serves as the basis for a fantasy of one’s own, and as material to be reworked, for artists for whom playing others’ music is not enough. The twenty-nine-year-old Japanese pianist Hayato Sumino follows in the footsteps of the wonderful eccentric, Friedricha Gulda, whose scandalising improvisations opened secret passages between classical music and jazz. On the sidelines, they are supported by the ghost of Maurice Ravel, who defined the concept of stylisation for the 20th century. In this concert’s programme, you can hear the neverending expansion of the musical universe. Adam Suprynowicz Concert duration (intermission included): approximately 100 minutes

NOSPR / Arming / Fung / Lullabies and symphonic fantasies

This year, two hundred years from the premiere of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9, it is worth remembering the Name Day Overture. Initially, it was intended to contain a choir part with the text of Schiller’s Ode to Joy. The final result turned out to be different, yet no less interesting. All the more so, since the background for the piece is to be found in the name day of Emperor Francis I and II and its dedication is one for Prince Antoni Radziwiłł. It is quite a different story with Haydn’s Cello Concerto in D major. It is a popular piece, permanently present in the repertoire, though probably less frequently played than the Concerto in C major. Equally technically challenging and equally virtuosic, but more dreamy and melancholic, its narrative flowing lightly at a leisurely pace. Haydn’s melodies are easy to remember and not easy to forget, just like the theme from a Polish folk song quoted by Panufnik in his Lullaby, a virtuosic piece using quartertones. „A gem of talent, technique and taste” – that was how Stefan Kisielewski marvelled at the composition. Martinů’s Symphony No. 6, which the composer himself called Symphonic Fantasies,might seem both moving and surprising. It brings together modern oniric sounds and distinct neoclassical elements. „It is a work without form, and yet something holds it together, though I do not know what it is,” Martinů admitted openly. One may seek this “something” on one’s own, letting oneself be captivated by this music created by a Czech master who is still to find recognition in Poland.Piotr MatwiejczukConcert duration (intermission included): approximately 90 minutes

Silesian String Quartet / British Fantasy on the 110th anniversary of the birth of Andrzej Panufnik

“Music is the expression of emotions and feelings. I hold as my ideal a piece in which poetic content is combined with excellence of musical craftmanship. Poetry alone does not determine the musical value of a piece, just as craftmanship alone risks falling into a pitfall of using worn-out formulas. Enduring beauty is only born from a balance of both” Andrzej Panufnik (1952) Silesian String Quartet – 45 years of experience, more than 150 first performances of chamber works, thousands of concerts in the world's most famous concert halls, more than 60 albums, more than 20 nominations, 10 ‘Fryderyk’ statuettes and the most important – the ‘musical Oscar’, i.e., the Gramophone Classical Music Award. The ensemble specialises in the discovery, promotion and recording of Polish music and is famous for its first performances under the guidance of composers. Ditching the traditional hierarchical model of performing music, the ensemble emphasises exchange and collaboration with other musicians. This season, the artists will introduce the work of Sir Andrzej Panufnik on the 110th anniversary of the birth of the only Polish composer to be awarded a title of nobility by Queen Elizabeth II. The programme will be complemented by works by native British artists, i.e., Ralph Vaughan Williams and Edward Elgar. It includes one of the most beautiful chamber works of the 20th century – Edward Elgar's Piano Quintet in A Minor. Imbued with mystery, the piece was inspired by the charming yet somewhat murky atmosphere of the woods surrounding the cottage at Flexham Park in Sussex, near Brinkwells, where Elgar created his compositions. The impact of this setting is perceptible in the music, which impresses with its richness of expression and power of sound. The late Romantic style of the piece adds to its unique character, full of deep, dark tone, enhancing the impression of mystery and longing. [Alexandra Kozowicz]Concert duration (intermission included): approximately 120 minutes

Great works of music

Why not play piano concertos as a chamber ensemble? It would be impossible to show rational obstacles. In the times before the phonograph, that was exactly how people learnt great works of music that were not being performed at a concert hall near them. Privately, at home, at meetings, making music together. It is the meeting of artistic individualities and their willingness to collaborate that give chamber music its sense. Hence the presence of Chopin’s Concerto in E minor in the version for five instruments today, on the 175th death anniversary of this most important Polish musician of all. For the same reason, its counterpoint will be the famous Trout, Schubert’s masterpiece which introduced the early romantic sensitivity to chamber music. This is music derived from the spirit of a simple song. These two romantic build up layers of human emotions, activate affections and pile up associations. This is all we need. Adam Suprynowicz Concert duration: approximately 100 minutes

Sol per te / The most beautiful operas by Georg Friedrich Händel

“Sol per te” is the most famous love duet between Flavia and Lepido from Georg Friedrich Händel's opera Silla – and just one of the many famous duets by the master of the genre – which will be performed this evening by outstanding female soloists: Olga Pasiecznik and Anna Radziejewska with Early Instrument Ensemble of the Polish Royal Opera Capella Regia Polona. In the emotional Io t'abbraccio from the opera Rodelinda, the title character confesses her feelings for Bertarid, as do Cleopatra and Caesar in Caro! Bella! from the opera Giulio Cesare, while in the dramatic duet Per le porte dell tormento, Rosmene and Tirinto confront turbulent passions in the opera Imeneo. This last one Händel wrote humorously, in the style of a musical comedy, in which he treated the dramatic dilemmas between heart and duty with a wink. This, in turn, influenced the music, balancing pathos and playfulness, which is rare in Händel's operas. The programme for the evening will be complemented by outstanding instrumental compositions by the German-British Baroque master. Alexandra KozowiczConcert duration: approximately 80 minutes

NOSPR / Runtz / In the Mediterranean sun

It is not often that we can encounter Balkan folklore in such a spectacular form. Jakov Gotovac’s style is that of late romanticism, but he approaches folk tradition with love. This is why the Serbian kolo can be heard as early as in the first, truculent, chord of the 1927 Symphonic Dance poem. A similar flame is what characterizes the extreme movements of the Concierto andaluz for four guitars and orchestra by Joaquin Rodrigo, although the heart of this piece beats to the rhythm of the Spanish bolero. The dance is not a fast one, but it is pugnacious and lively. The central Adagio brings to mind images of the South – those who know Andalusia will hear the smell of olive groves and see the azure waves reflecting the Mediterranean sun. That was how the blind marqués de los Jardines de Aranjuez heard his fatherland in 1967.It is also under the Spanish sky that the finale of the symphonic evening, contained within the sounds of the ballet suite from Jules Massenet’s grand opera Le Cid, will take place. Seventeenth-century France was impressed by Pierre Corneille’s play about the medieval Castilian knight – similar success was achieved 200 years later by Massenet’s piece based on it (after the 1885 premiere, the opera was performed for 50 consecutive evenings. It was from Corneille and Massenet that the French took the famous and apt phrase: “beautiful like The Cid”.Maria Wilczek-KrupaConcert duration: approximately 70 minutes