Nowa Miodowa. Sinfonia Iuventus Symphonic concert
Another concert in the "Nowa Miodowa" Sinfonia Iuventus series, which gives teenage virtuosos a valuable opportunity to perform with a professional, yet also young orchestra, will be conducted by its director, Wojciech Rodek.
The concert will open with Robert Schumann's Symphony No. 3 in E flat major, composed in just one month at the end of 1850 – during one of the brighter moments of his life, shortly after moving from Leipzig to Düsseldorf and taking up the position of municipal music director. Located on the Rhine, this centre of industry and trade, with its very active bourgeois milieu and interesting traditions, so different in many respects from Schumann's native Saxony, made a huge impression on him. However, the nickname “Rhine” does not refer to any specific story – it is rather a symbol that reflects the atmosphere of the Rhineland: its energy, joie de vivre and pride. The symphony premiered on 6 February 1851 in Düsseldorf, conducted by Schumann himself, and received mixed reviews. It has a less conventional five-part structure, with the fourth part, inspired by the memory of the archbishop's solemn entry into Cologne Cathedral, as its central link. Its austere, solemn character contrasts with the more dance-like and joyful passages of the other movements. The bright key of E flat major, associated with majesty and splendour, gives the whole work a character of affirmation of life and stability – qualities that Schumann particularly needed at that time, in view of the health crisis that was soon to cast a shadow over his life.
Franz Liszt's Piano Concerto in E flat major is the result of a long creative process lasting almost twenty years and completed in 1849. The work was composed with the composer himself in mind – one of the greatest pianists of the 19th century – but it goes beyond the scope of a purely virtuoso display. Here, Liszt breaks with the classical concert form: instead of clearly separated movements, he offers a coherent, dramatically developed whole, based on continuous transformations of themes. The premiere took place on 17 February 1855 in Weimar, with Liszt as soloist and his friend Hector Berlioz conducting. The piano and orchestra engage in a tense dialogue, switching roles – sometimes brilliant and heroic, other times lyrical and reflective. Its striking rhythms, bold instrumental colouring and perfect formal proportions mean that the Concerto in E flat major is still considered one of the most original manifestations of its genre. This work will be presented by Olaf Grot-Główczyński, a winner of many prestigious competitions. He began learning to play the piano under the guidance of Marzena Jasińska-Siudzińska at the age of four. Later, he studied in Jolanta Ptasińska's piano class at the Emil Młynarski Primary Music School in Warsaw. He is currently a student in the V/6 year of the Zenon Brzewski Secondary Music School in Warsaw, studying piano under Professor Irina Rumianceva-Dabrowski.
The second and last of Liszt's piano concertos, in A major, also took a long time to mature, with the final version completed in 1861. It reveals another side of his creative imagination – more focused, poetic and introspective. Here, too, the composer uses a single-movement form, in which contrasting sections result from the constant transformation of the main theme and secondary musical ideas. The premiere of the first version of the work took place on 7 January 1857 in Weimar, this time with Liszt's pupil Hans von Bronsart as soloist (and dedicatee) and Liszt himself at the conductor's podium. Here, the composer focuses on the subtleties of the narrative and the orchestral and solo colouring. The piano often blends in with the orchestra, with the cello and wind instruments playing a special role. The Concerto in A major is sometimes described as the more intimate of Liszt's two works in this genre – perhaps less spectacular, but full of elegance, lyricism and internal logic, which makes it one of the most sophisticated achievements of the Romantic concerto form. The solo part will be performed by Zuzanna Krystian-Browalska, who began learning to play the piano at the age of six under the guidance of Hanna Tokarska, MA, at the Feliks Nowowiejski Primary and Secondary Music School in Gdańsk. Since September 2023, she has been continuing her education at the Zenon Brzewski Secondary Music School in Warsaw, in the piano class of Prof. Joanna Ławrynowicz-Just. She honed her skills during numerous masterclasses led by outstanding teachers, and was awarded in over 60 national and international solo and chamber piano competitions.
