The matinée with the participation of the distinguished violinist Karolina Podorska – concertmistress of the NFM Leopoldinum Orchestra – and the accompanying pianist Daria Hrynkiv will be an excellent opportunity to listen to works from the core repertoire of violin music. In addition to a Classical sonata by Ludwig van Beethoven, we will also hear compositions full of Romantic depth by Henryk Wieniawski and Ernest Chausson, as well as the early Violin Sonata in D minor op. 9 by Karol Szymanowski.

The turn of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries was a time when the young Ludwig van Beethoven’s individual style crystallised. There is no denying that the dominant genre in his work at that time was the sonata – the artist intended works of this type for various ensembles, including for violin with piano accompaniment. One of them is the Violin Sonata No. 1 in D major op. 12 no. 1 from the 1799 collection, and it is its sounds that will open the concert. It consists of three movements and bears the hallmarks of the Classical style, clearly referring to the work of the other Viennese Classicists – Joseph Haydn and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. The Polonaise brillante in A major op. 21 is one of the last compositions in Henryk Wieniawski’s output. The Polish violin virtuoso created two pieces of this type, and while the first of them – Polonaise brillante in D major for violin and piano op. 4 – is a typically youthful work, the spectacular polonaise, which will be performed during the concert, presents the style of a mature composer with distinctive creative flair. The Poème op. 25 by Ernest Chausson – a small piece, captivating in its subtlety of sound, was written at the request of the legendary Belgian violin genius Eugène Ysaÿe who wanted Chausson to write a violin concerto. “I don’t really know where to begin creating a concerto, which is a huge undertaking, a task for the devil himself. But I can handle a shorter work. It will be in a very free form with a few fragments intended for solo violin,” Chausson wrote in a letter to Ysaÿe. As it turned out later, he did very well, witness the enduring popularity of the Poème. The programme of the first part of the concert will close with the extremely lyrical Dreams by Viktor Kosenko, one of the most prominent Ukrainian composers of the 20th century.

The repertoire will also include a work by the American film music composer born in Chorzów, winner of two Oscars and Golden Globe laureate – Franz Waxman. The Carmen Fantasie is probably his most famous piece, which was created as a fragment of the soundtrack to the Humoresque (1946). The virtuoso composition is of course based on themes from Georges Bizet’s famous opera. The concert will be crowned by Karol Szymanowski’s Violin Sonata in D minor op. 9, written in 1904, during the period when its composer’s individual language was being shaped. The trigger for the creation of the work was Szymanowski’s relationship with violinist Bronisław Gromadzki, whom he met while he was still at school in Elisavetgrad. “Dear Bronek! Being with you has given me more than you think – let this poor piece be an expression of not only my attachment, but also my gratitude to you,” he wrote with unconcealed modesty in a note attached to a copy of the piece given to the friend. The three-movement sonata, enchanting in its melodic inventiveness, was soon premiered by great Polish virtuosi Paweł Kochański and Artur Rubinstein and found its rightful place in the world’s core violin repertoire.