Lukas Geniusas, photo: courtesy of nifc.pl
The series commemorates Chopin’s birthday on the 1st of March - a date which was celebrated by the composer himself, as well as his family and friends, in spite of the fact that his certificate of baptism has the 22nd of Febraury figure as the day of his birth.
The Fryderyk Chopin Birthday Concerts, which have been organised since 2002 by the Fryderyk Chopin Institute in cooperation with the National Philharmonic, combine masterly interpretations of music and a pursuit of historical accuracy of the presented score, as well as the high quality of sound.
The midday recital at Żelazowa Wola is performed by Magdalena Lisak, a winner of the 6th prize of the XIII Fryderyk Chopin International Piano Competition in Warsaw (1995). Lisak’s performance is broadcast live on the Polish Radio’s 2nd Channel as she plays the following works of Fryderyk Chopin:
• Nocturne in C sharp minor, Op. 27 No. 1
• Polonaise-Fantasie in A flat major, Op. 61
• Mazurka A minor, Op. 17 No. 4
• Barcarolle in F sharp major, Op. 60
• Lento con gran espressione WN 37
• Waltz in D flat major, Op. 64 No. 1
• Waltz in C sharp minor, Op. 64 No. 2
• Berceuse in D flat major, Op. 57
• Scherzo in B flat minor, Op. 31
Performing in this year’s edition of the concert is Lukas Geniušas – an ex equo winner of the II prize in the 16th International Fryderyk Chopin Piano Competition. The 21 year old pianist is also a laureate of Fryderyk Chopin Society’s special award for the best performance of a polonaise in Stage II of the Competition. The programme of the Warsaw Philharmonic concert includes Chopin’s Sonata in C minor, Op. 4, Sonata in B flat minor, Op. 35 and the Sonata in B minor, Op. 58.
Following the publication of a book entitled Fryderyk Chopin. Letters, the Chopin Institute is releasing an audiobook with recordings of the composer’s correspondence. It includes sixteen pieces from different periods of Chopin's life: from the first letters written in Szafarnia (1824), to the last one addressed to Tytus Woyciechowski (1849). The Polish actor Zbigniew Zamachowski has lent his voice for the recordings. On the 1st of March, a special afternoon promotes Fryderyk Chopin. Letters at Warsaw’s Empik store on Marszałkowska. The afternoon begins at 5 pm and it is moderated by Dorata Koman of the Polish Radio, with the partcipation of Zbigniew Zamachowski, Józef Wilkoń and professor Zbigniew Skowron.
Ernest Bryll, who wrote the introduction of the book thus commented on the composer’s litarary skill
Chopin wrote such beautiful letters. At Chopin times, when people used to write the most beautiful letters in Polish epistolography, Fryderyk is among the best authors. In my opinion, he is equal to Słowacki, Krasiński, Norwid. (...) These Chopin’s letters, (...) are so full of sayings, metaphors, expressions. They bring out images which make the things described in the become tangible.
Source: chopin.nifc.pl