Description
Piotr Alexewicz is one of the most talented Polish pianists of the young generation, twice winner of the All-Poland Fryderyk Chopin Piano Competition (2017, 2020).
The six works that Chopin composed for piano and orchestra played a pivotal role in the launch of his artistic career, yet they have had varied fates ever since. The two concertos are firmly ensconced in modern concert repertoire, as is the Andante spianato and Grande Polonaise, which is frequently
performed in both solo and orchestral versions. In contrast, the other compositions—Variations on 'La ci darem la mano', Fantasy on Polish Airs, and Rondo a la Krakowiak—are rarely heard.
During his youth, Chopin was regularly exposed to the virtuoso performers who visited Warsaw on their European tours, including such illustrious figures as Paganini, Hummel and Szymanowska. Duly inspired, he wrote three of the works on this CD in the space of a few years—1827 to 1829—followed immediately by the concertos.
In 1984, Yehudi Menuhin came to Poland. Concerts under his baton met with an enthusiastic reception from audiences and critical acclaim, and Menuhin accepted an offer to become the first guest conductor of the newly founded orchestra Sinfonia Varsovia.
Accompanied by Howard Shelley on this new recording, the Sinfonia Varsova present this exciting selection of Chopin's works for piano and orchestra.