With its first performance of the season at the headquarters of State Music School Complex No. 1 "Nowa Miodowa", the Jerzy Semkow Polish Sinfonia Iuventus Orchestra emphasises its commitment to promoting and supporting young musicians, in line with the vision of its founder and patron. The concert will be conducted by the director of our orchestra, Wojciech Rodek. The soloists of the evening boast many achievements in national and international competitions, actively perform in concerts, and are also recipients of scholarships supporting their talents.
The Mozart family was friends with the patrician Haffner family from Salzburg – Sigmund Haffner was the mayor of the city and supported the travels of young Wolfgang. After his death, his son, also named Sigmund, commissioned two serenades from Mozart (the first, KV 248b, is known as the "Haffner Serenade"). When planning a concert at the Burgtheater in March 1783, the composer decided to rework the second of these into a symphony, eliminating several parts and expanding the wind section. The first part of the work impresses with its monumental scope, reminiscent of overtures announcing the lively action of operas. The soothing, Rococo-style Andante brings respite, and energy returns in the minuet, which pays homage to the legacy of the beloved Haydn, only to truly explode in the sparklingly humorous finale – this clearly reveals that Mozart was still bursting with ideas from the pages of his recently completed The Abduction.
Shortly before the second anniversary of Romuald Twardowski's death, his Piano Concerto No. 1, composed while he was still a student in Vilnius (1956), will be performed. The work was lost for many years, but was later reconstructed by the composer himself. The six colourful movements of this neoclassical work clearly echo an interest in folklore. The performer, Michał Korzeń, is a student at the Zenon Brzewski Secondary Music School, studying piano with Joanna Ławrynowicz-Just and Adam Goździewski.
Neoclassical and brilliant, requiring mastery of the high registers, Jacques Ibert's Concertino da camera (1935) for alto saxophone is one of many works inspired by the talent of the famous virtuoso Sigurd Raschér. During our concert, it will be performed by Lena Maruchacz from the Zenon Brzewski Secondary Music School, class of Paweł Gusnar.
Henryk Wieniawski's Violin Concerto No. 2 in D minor, completed and premiered in St Petersburg under the baton of Anton Rubinstein in 1862, waited another eight years to be published, undergoing numerous revisions during that time. It was probably this long period preceding publication that prevented the piece from gaining widespread popularity during the composer's lifetime – this came with time, making it one of the most popular pieces in the Polish and international violin repertoire. The soloist is given the opportunity both to display virtuosity (especially in the “gypsy” finale, keeping with the fashion of the time) and to showcase the art of lyrical cantilena and beautiful sound (in the lyrical episodes of Part I and the delightful Romance, which follows immediately afterwards). During the November evening, Małgorzata Błazik, who is currently studying in Agnieszka Cypryk's class at the Józef Elsner State Secondary Music School, will showcase her skills.
