In November, the Polish Baltic Philharmonic is holding several dozen events, the most significant of which are the concerts held as part of the Gdańsk Piano Autumn.
The festival kicked off on 15 October with a concert of L. Możdżer comprising four symphonic concerts and four recitals. The event will be inaugurated on 8 November, with a symphonic concert featuring the Gdańsk Orchestra and Szymon Nehring, a laureate of the Chopin Competition in Warsaw in 2015. Nehring will perform The Piano Concerto No. 5 in E Majorby Ludwig van Beethoven, which is a crowning composition of the composer, where the piano and the orchestra are treated as equal partners, and the mature style of the composer shows in all its glory.
On 15 November, the conductor of the Academic Symphony Orchestra affiliated with Kislovodsk (Russia), Dimitris Botinis, Greece, will present a remarkable programme with The Overtureby H. Berlioz and pieces from Petrushka, a ballet by I. Stravinsky. The soloist will be Yu Kosuge, a Japanese pianist, who will perform the virtuoso Piano Concertoby E. Grieg.
For 22 November, which marks the end of the festival, the Artistic Director of the Philharmonic in Gdańsk, George Tchitchinadze, has planned two significant compositions by J. Brahms and W.A. Mozart. The soloist who will perform Mozart’s best known Piano Concerto in D Minor KV 466will be an Italian pianist, Pietro de Maria.The repertoire also includes Symphony No. 4 in E Minorby the first of the composers.
Apart from these significant concerts, four fascinating piano recitals will take place. On 9 November, Julia Kociubanand Ilya Maximovwill perform in a duo.On 14 November, Lucas Geniušas will present selected compositions by Schubert and Prokofiev. On 17 November, Julianna Awdiejewa, the winner of Chopin Competition 2010 (tickets almost sold-out) will present selected compositions by Schuman, Schubert, and Chopin. On 21 November, Michał Mossakowski will play piano compositions inspired by organ music. The festival is co-funded by the City of Gdańsk.
On 29 November, the Philharmonic holds a concert on the occasion of Saint Andrew’s Day. During the event, Nino Oxilia’s film entitled The Rhapsody of 1917 will be displayed to the live symphonic music by Pietro Mascagni.
A brand new event for is the music workshop ‘Musical Little Kids’ dedicated to mums with little children aged 0–4. Almost every Tuesday from October to June at 13.30 children can take part in music workshops. There is also a rich educational offering for schools, including concerts ‘Sounds from the Screen’ on 25 and 26 November dedicated for students of the final year of primary school.
On 10 November, the Philharmonic holds an interesting family concert. It features the Representative Orchestra of the Polish Navy from Gdynia conducted by Maciej Budziński, the National Ballet School in Gdańsk, the Children’s Choir of the Primary School No. 80 in Gdańsk and a soloist, Emilia Grażyńska (soprano). The programme includes compositions by S. Moniuszko on the occasion of the 200th anniversary of his birthday, patriotic songs, and the orchestra drill show.
All information on the repertoire is available at filharmonia.gda.pl and facebook.com/filharmonia. On our website, you can find free digital versions of all repertoire materials for adults as well as families and schools.
