Moss | Mozart | Wagner - Polska Orkiestra Sinfonia Iuventus

The April concert conducted by Wojciech Rodek, director of the Polish Sinfonia Iuventus Orchestra, will be an opportunity to meet a true legend of Polish piano music – Piotr Paleczny. The attractive programme will include one of Mozart's most famous piano concertos, an interestingly selected anthology of orchestral overtures to Richard Wagner's stage works, and an impressive symphonic piece by Piotr Moss, a Polish composer whose career is particularly associated with France.

Mozart's Piano Concerto in D minor, KV 466, was composed in February 1785 in Vienna, during the composer's greatest triumphs as a pianist and organiser of his own “academies”, performances which allowed him to alleviate his perpetually difficult financial situation; the premiere took place almost immediately after the score was completed. The key of D minor, associated in Mozart's work with elegiac or even tragic expression, heralds a work of exceptional expressive intensity. The orchestra contributes to the symphonic narrative, and the piano does not dominate, but engages in a constant dialogue with the ensemble. The first part brings themes full of drama and contrasts. The Romance in B flat major opens with a lyrical cantilena, but its middle episode abruptly restores a minor key and a sudden gesture of tragedy. The finale, once again turbulent and restless, builds towards the full splendour of the D major final coda. This concerto was particularly cherished by Beethoven, who performed it in public and composed his own cadenzas; in the 19th century, it became one of Mozart's works closest to the Romantics, admired for its expressive power and emotional depth. The piece will be performed by Piotr Paleczny, one of Poland's most outstanding pianists and teachers, winner of numerous international competitions, including third prize at the 8th International Fryderyk Chopin Piano Competition in Warsaw. His concert career includes performances in the world's most famous concert halls and numerous highly acclaimed recordings. As a long-standing professor, juror at prestigious competitions, and artistic director of festivals, he has contributed significantly to the promotion of Polish music and the education of successive generations of pianists.

Wagner's concept of the overture evolved from conventional forms to preludes / Vorspiels that were organically integrated into the drama, not only introducing the work, but also shaping the structure and ideological message of the musical drama from the very beginning. The overture to Tannhäuser is still in the traditional style, announcing the musical themes and motifs that appear in the opera – the hymnal song of the pilgrims as a symbol of spirituality and the sensual music of Venusberg as an emblem of carnality. The prelude to Act I of Lohengrin is a musical vision of divine and mystical light – the motif of the ‘Holy Grail’ gradually rises in an orchestral crescendo, combining ethereal sounds and a wealth of instrumental colours in an almost hypnotic manner, heralding a dramatic tale of a mysterious knight and redemption. A radical transformation took place in the epoch-making prelude to Act I of Tristan and Isolde, one of the most groundbreaking works in the history of music: right at the beginning, Wagner introduces the famous mysterious ‘Tristan chord’ – a dissonance that does not resolve in the traditional way. This is followed by a series of "wandering harmonies", creating emotional tension and a feeling of unfulfilled desire – a symbol of the protagonists' tragic feelings. Referring to the final scene of the drama, the euphonious Liebestod transports us to the mystical unity of Tristan and Isolde, for whom the only path to liberation is love transformed by death.

The piece Dédicace VIII for orchestra by Piotr Moss (part of a numbered series of musical "dedications" of varying instrumentation and character), a composer who has been active mainly in France for decades, but who also maintains close ties with Poland, was written in 2017 for the Parisian Orchestre Colonne and is dedicated to it (expressing his fondness for the ensemble, which was the first to play the composer's works in France and often returned to them). It is a one-part composition composed of several short musical "scenes" with strong emotional contrasts. As the author himself writes: The tranquillity of the lyrical episodes clashes with the explosions of orchestral tutti, while the dramatic pathos of the fanfares finds calm in the delicate phrases of the strings. It is a series of musical images, arranged like in a kaleidoscope, none of them playing a dominant role, everything forming a mosaic of fluctuations and questions... It is worth paying attention to the cello solo appearing at the end of the piece; I have devoted perhaps the most space to the cello in my work.

The April concert promises to be truly exceptional – the Orchestra will perform alongside Piotr Paleczny, a legend of Polish piano music and winner of third prize at the 8th International Fryderyk Chopin Piano Competition in Warsaw. We will hear one of the most beautiful piano concertos – Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's Concerto in D minor. This piece, with its profound, pre-Romantic expression, delights with its emotion and drama.

The second part of the evening will feature three spectacular overtures to Richard Wagner's operas, showcasing their evolution. It is music full of momentum, tension and beautiful orchestral colours. The programme will be complemented by the impressive symphonic piece Dédicace VIII by Piotr Moss, a Polish composer whose career is particularly associated with France.

The concert programme, combining works from three eras: Classicism, Late Romanticism and the present day, is an opportunity to showcase the Orchestra's versatility, the richness of its sound and the outstanding skills of all its musicians. 

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