The programme for the March evening, as part of the educational series ‘NOWA MIODOWA.SINFONIA IUVENTUS’, which continues with great success, will feature two outstanding concerts of the Romantic era to be staged in the beautiful Nowa Miodowa hall. The performers will once again be young, talented students, winners of prestigious competitions, already boasting a significant concert record.
The second of five violin concertos by one of the most remarkable Romantic virtuosos, Niccolò Paganini, was composed in 1826 and remains immensely popular today, especially for its fascinating finale – La Campanella – that mimics the sound of tinkling bells. Conforming to the conventional classical form, the piece sparkles with elements of virtuosic violin display, showcasing both mastery and beauty of cantilena (in the expressive bel canto Adagio). It will be performed by Wiktor Lisowicz, who – after passing his exams – was accepted in 2019 to participate in the prestigious ‘Top Talent’ programme at the Maastricht Academy of Music (the Netherlands), which is a preparation for future studies at the institute. There, just as now at the Z. Brzewski Secondary Music School at the State Music Schools Complex (ZPSM) No. 1 in Warsaw, he is studying under the guidance of Professor Robert Szreder.
The world premiere of Robert Schumann’s Concerto in A minor took place in 1845 in Dresden and was conducted by F. Hiller with the composer’s wife Clara as soloist. The combination of the ideas of symphony, concerto, and grand sonata proposed by the author initially caused some confusion among critics. The juxtaposition of expressive contrasts – passionate pathos and drama with the subtle lyricism inherent in piano miniatures – was also surprising. The path indicated by Schumann, however, proved attractive to his successors – the great Romantic and neo-Romantic works of the genre often referred to Schumann’s ideas and the principle of ‘symphonisation’ of the concerto was wonderfully developed by Brahms. This piece will be interpreted by Antonina Laszczkowska, who comes from a family with musical traditions. She began learning to play the piano at the age of six at the E. Młynarski Primary Music School at the ZPSM No. 1 in Warsaw. In 2019, she obtained a diploma with distinction in the piano class of Ms Jolanta Ptasińska. She is currently studying in the piano class of Wilia Ochocka-Janusz at the Z. Brzewski Secondary Music School at the ZPSM No. 1 in Warsaw.
A great neo-Romantic symphonist, Anton Bruckner, took a long time to mature for his debut in the form that was to make him famous. Before completing his first symphony (included in the numbering), he produced several smaller pieces, among them the interesting, yet rarely performed ‘Overture in G minor’, the fruit of the thirty-eight-year-old composer’s studies under Otto Kietzler. This piece will open the 2nd part of the concert to be conducted by Trajan Murin of Romanian origin. He completed his master’s degree in symphonic and opera conducting under the guidance of Przemysław Stanisławski at the Academy of Music in Gdańsk. He has held the position of Assistant Conductor at the Zielona Góra Philharmonic since September 2023. At the age of 25, he took on the musical direction of the premiere of Z. Rudziński’s opera ‘Mannequins’ at the Wrocław Opera. He collaborates with many conductors at home and abroad. He made his debut at a concert in Empoli, Tuscany, where he took an active part in the 1st edition of Massimiliano Caldi’s masterclasses.