Poland Independence Concert at Carnegie Hall
PR dla Zagranicy
Grzegorz Siwicki
11.12.2017 10:20
New York’s Carnegie Hall is the venue Monday of a concert under the motto “Musical Tribute to Piłsudski and Paderewski.”
A portrait of Ignacy Jan Paderewski, by painter Lawrence Alma-Tadema, 1890. Photo: Wikimedia Commons
The concert marks the start of a wide range of events in the United States marking next year’s centenary of Poland regaining independence.
Marshal Józef Piłsudski and pianist, composer and statesman Ignacy Jan Paderewski were among the architects of Polish independence a century ago.
The concert features Vietnamese pianist Dang Thai Son, winner of the Chopin International Piano Competition in Warsaw in 1980. A resident of Montreal, he is one of the most sought-after pianists of his generation.
His Carnegie Hall recital includes a selection of works by Chopin and Paderewski.
He told Poland’s PAP news agency: “Chopin and his music have entirely changed my life. The victory in the Chopin Competition began my international career. Through his music I can communicate my thoughts and feelings. Paderewski is my new discovery. His deeply emotional music deserves better exposure, and in 2018, the Poland Year, it will be at the centre of my concert repertoire.”
Dang Thai Son’s latest CD for Poland’s National Chopin Institute features a selection of Paderewski’s works, including his Concerto in A minor, recorded with London’s Philharmonia Orchestra under Vladimir Ashkenazy. (mk/gs)