Polish Music Scene

FudalaRot Duo, photo: from the ensemble's archive Fryderyk Chopin composed the Grand Duo concertant in E major for cello and piano in collaboration with an acquaintance of his, the French cellist Auguste Franchomme, at the turn of 1832 and 1833. This instrumental duo, extremely popular in its day, represents the virtuoso-sentimental style brillant and is a paraphrase of themes from Giacomo Meyerbeer’s opera Robert le diable. Karol Szymanowski’s Sonata in D minor, Op. 9 for violin and piano was written in Berlin in 1904. It is regarded as one of the first works of his early creative period, in which the characteristics of his individual style were fully revealed. In contrast, Roxana’s Song, from the opera King Roger, completed 20 years later, is an ecstatic vocalisation of a distinctly oriental character. Grave for cello and piano was composed by Witold Lutosławski in 1981, in memory of musicologist Stefan Jarociński. In this piece, he used motifs from Claude Debussy’s opera Pelléas et Mélisande. Mieczyslaw Weinberg’s Sonata No. 2 in G minor, Op. 63 for cello and piano was composed in 1959 at the request of the famous Russian cellist Mstislav Rostropovich, who was a friend of the composer. This three-movement work, representing the neoclassical style, is characterised by a wealth of melodic invention and expressive means. The Polish Music Scene is a programme of music organised by the National Institute of Music and Dance in collaboration with the Warsaw Philharmonic and financed by the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage. We present Polish artists and Polish compositions – particularly works not often performed. We wish to promote the performance of Polish music, inspire musicians to turn to this repertoire and generate interest among audiences in Polish musical output as broadly understood. The programme is open to instrumentalists and singers, soloists and chamber ensembles. The programmes featuring Polish music, selected via a competition, will be performed in the Chamber Music Hall of the Warsaw Philharmonic and at other concert venues around Poland.