The programme included pieces by Schumann, Karłowicz, Dvořák and Rachmaninoff. Piotr Beczała said:
The repertoire generally presents you to the audience from each side. It is partially what I sing every day, e.g. Schumann and Dvořák, but regardless of whether it is an opera or song programme, it always includes Polish music.
The artist started his recital in one of the famous halls, namely Zankel Hall, with Dichterliebe by Robert Schumann and with Heinrich Heine's lyrics. After a break, he presented pieces by Slavic composers: 7 songs by Karłowicz, mostly with Kazimierz Przerwa-Tetmajer's lyrics, including Zawód, Idźcie na Pola and Mów do Mnie Jeszcze; Gypsy Songs byAntonin Dvořák and songs by Sergei Rachmaninoff.
According to Roman Markowicz, a pianist and critic based in New York, those people who were afraid that Beczała's opera voice might be too big for Zankel Hall, were wrong. Beczała proved he can fit his voice perfectly to varied conditions and there was no exaggeration in his interpretations. Markowicz underlined:
Known in opera as an artist with charisma and a great rapport with the audience, he presented all that in his recital as well.
The critic called Beczała's repertoire fairly comprehensive and his performance of Karłowicz's pieces “a nice tribute to Polish culture and a big chance for the American audience to get to know compositions rarely performed by non-Polish artists.” Markowicz added:
Karłowicz has only ever been performed in New York, as far as I remember, by one Polish artist, and it was Ewa Podleś, a contralto.
According to Lucia Darringer, a music lover who attended the recital:
Seeing the artist with no make-up, no costume, no scenography, no partners and orchestra, none of those things that you are used to in opera, meant Beczała gave the audience a very intimate experience. He faced the challenge in an amazing and touching way. It felt like he was singing directly to me, leaning over a table.
Critics from New York City, namely Eric C. Simpson from the New York Classical Review and Corrina de Fonseca-Wollheimnow from The New York Times underlined that Beczała made it better with Slavic musicians' compositions. Simpson wrote:
Where the Polish tenor was able to sing with authority, as in Im Rhein, im heiligen Strome, or with a little swagger, as in Ein Jüngling liebt ein Mädchen, Beczała was able to find a little more color. But on the whole, and especially in the slower, more thoughtful songs, he struggled to find much depth of tone, and sounded breathy when he tried to sing softly.
Fonesca-Wollheimnow added that he sounded unsure when singing Dichterliebe but she also admitted that Beczała:
...beautifully showcased his rich, virile voice, with its appealingly dark undertow. The Slavic repertoire being melancholy mixed with defiance proved a particularly good fit for Mr. Beczala’s style. Nobody does plangent as well, or as tastefully. On certain words he pushes his voice to the edge of a sob, where it gives off a glint of molten metal. Used indiscriminately these sorts of vocal hot flashes can sound schmaltzy and fey.
Beczała, accompanied by Martin Katz, did not try to conceal his satisfaction with the audience's reaction. They expressed their delight with vibrant applause, cheers, stomping and standing ovations. The Pole gave three encores, performing songs by May H. Brahe, Franz Schubert and Richard Strauss. After the recital, Beczała said:
I am aware that we could have given four extra encores but I need to think not only about this one performance, but also about the next concerts.