You are invited to attend this year’s 62nd season of Chopin Concerts, which will start on 16 May 2021. The recitals of the most outstanding Polish and foreign pianists will be presented online.
You are invited to attend this year’s 62nd season of Chopin Concerts, which will start on 16 May 2021. The recitals of the most outstanding Polish and foreign pianists will be presented online.
The success of last year’s virtual Chopin Concerts and the ongoing epidemiological restrictions have led the organizers to continue to broadcast the event online.
The recitals, which we can listen to on the Museum’s website, will be released every Sunday at 12:00 noon, starting from 16 May 2021. The works of Fryderyk Chopin will be played by famous Polish and foreign pianists whose performances were recorded in the unique interiors of the Ballroom in the Palace on Isle.
26 September – Diana Yoffe (Latvia)
19 September – Tymoteusz Bies
12 September – Joanna Goranko
5 September – Tomasz Marut
29 August – Yukino Hayashi (Japan)
22 August – Eryk Parchański
15 August - Julia Łozowska
8 August – Marcin Wieczorek
1 August – Petar Milić (Slovenia)
25 July - Jakub Kuszlik
18 July - Ewa Pobłocka
11 July – Nikolay Khozyainov
4 July – Mateusz Krzyżowski
27 June – Edward Wolanin
20 June – Maciej Wota
13 June – Viet Trung Nguyen (Vietnam/Poland)
6 June – Mateusz Tomica
30 May – Aleksandra Hortensja Dąbek
23 May – Łukasz Byrdy
16 May – Kevin Kenner
The inaugural concert was performed by Kevin Kenner, an American pianist considered as one of the most outstanding performers of Frederic Chopin’s music. The artist won the highest prize at the 12th Fryderyk Chopin International Piano Competition in Warsaw. He is also the winner of International Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow and many others.
This pianist coming from California had already the opportunity to familiarize himself with Polish traditions of classical music – as a teenager he studied in Krakow under the direction of Ludwik Stefański, a renowned Polish professor. The artist is also a great studio pianist; all his interpretations of the works of Paderewski and Chopin were referred to by the Grammophone magazine as the "recordings of the month". His other performances were appreciated by "Diapason", "Fanfare" and "Polish Radio". For over ten years, Kevin Kenner served as professor at the Royal College of Music in London. He is currently working at the Department of Music of the University of Miami (Frost School of Music), where he prepares young, talented pianists for performances on the world stage.
Programme of the 62nd season of Chopin concerts
This year’s Chopin Concerts will be given by Polish and foreign pianists. Programme of the upcoming recitals:
MAY
16 May – Kevin Kenner (USA)
23 May – Łukasz Byrdy
30 May – Aleksandra Hortensja Dąbek
JUNE
6 June – Mateusz Tomica
13 June – Viet Trung Nguyen (Vietnam/Poland)
20 June – Maciej Wota
27 June – Edward Wolanin
JULY
4 July – Mateusz Krzyżowski
11 July – Nikolay Khozyainov
18 July – Ewa Pobłocka
25 July – Jakub Kuszlik
AUGUST
1 August – Petar Milić (Slovenia)
8 August – Marcin Wieczorek
15 August – Julia Łozowska
22 August – Eryk Parchański
29 August – Yukino Hayashi (Japan)
SEPTEMBER
5 September – Tomasz Marut
12 September – Joanna Goranko
19 September – Tymoteusz Bies
26 September – Diana Yoffe (Latvia)
History of Chopin Concerts at the Royal Łazienki
The Chopin Concerts, which in collaboration with the Royal Łazienki have been organised by the Stołeczna Estrada cultural institution and the Fryderyk Chopin Society, are one of the oldest music events in the capital city and its cultural landmark.
For the first time the recitals by the Monument to Chopin were organized in 1959, shortly after the reconstruction of the monument devoted to the eminent Polish composer. The monument itself saw a turbulent history. The idea of its erection arose in 1889, on the 40th anniversary of death of Frederic Chopin. Nevertheless, at the time Poland was under the partitions and the Russian authorities effectively blocked the initiative. Only ten years later, Warsaw artistic circles managed to organise a competition for the design of the statue. The international jury considered as the most interesting the innovative work of Wacław Szymanowski, a prominent Polish sculptor. This verdict raised numerous objections and discussions. Despite that, it was possible to execute the awarded design and the monument was officially unveiled on 14 November 1926; it was a monumental vision of inspired Chopin sitting under a broken willow tree.
In 1939, when Warsaw came under Nazi occupation, the performance of Chopin music was banned and in the following year (1940) the monument was blown up. Only after the end of the war, in the ruins of the Wrocław rail car factory, the head of Chopin from the Łazienki sculpture was found and the work of Szymanowski was recreated on the basis a gypsum model. The monument to Frederic Chopin stood in its former place in 1958, and a year later visitors could enjoy the music of the Polish composer.
Over the years, the Łazienki concerts underwent various modifications. Eventually, the Museum adopted a formula of classical recitals taking place every Sunday from mid-May to the end of September. This choice was dictated by a huge popularity of the concerts at the Royal Łazienki. That popularity was also due to the selection of artists who treated a performance by the Monument to Chopin as an honour and ignored some inconveniences related to weather conditions for example. One of the performances which went down in history was that of Halina Czerny-Stefańska who completed her recital despite the fact that she was stung by a wasp.
This year, for the second time in history, the pianists will not play by the Monument to Chopin, but will perform for the audience online.
