Chopin's Birthday - Grzegorz Niemczuk, Music and Words

About the event

A true kaleidoscope of romantic piano music. Fryderyk Chopin, together with Grzegorz Niemczuk, invites everyone to a musical Birthday Party! Among the distinguished Guests who have already confirmed their presence are: - Ludwig van Beethoven - Johannes Brahms - Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy - Edvard Grieg - Franz Schubert - Robert Schumann - Giuseppe Verdi - Franz Liszt Each of them will mark their presence with beautiful music to celebrate the 216th anniversary of Fryderyk Chopin's birth. We will hear masterpieces such as: - The "Peer Gynt" Suite by Edvard Grieg - "Dreaming" by Robert Schumann - The famous bagatelle "Für Elise" by Ludwig van Beethoven - The virtuosic Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2 by Franz Liszt - And many more The birthday celebrant himself will grace the evening with his brilliant and spectacular Rondo in E-flat major, Op. 16. The host of the evening will be Grzegorz Niemczuk, who, in addition to performing, will introduce the audience to the world of the music being played and present all the musical guests. During the concert, listeners will get to know the romantic composers more closely. Join us! Program: - J. Brahms - Waltz in A-flat major, Op. 39 No. 15 - E. Grieg - Peer Gynt Suite • Morning Mood • The Death of Åse • Anitra's Dance • In the Hall of the Mountain King - L. van Beethoven - Bagatelle No. 25 WoO59 ("Für Elise") - Mendelssohn - Rondo capriccioso, Op. 14 - Chopin - Rondo in E-flat major, Op. 16 Intermission - F. Schubert - Impromptu in G-flat major, Op. 90 No. 3 - F. Schubert - Impromptu in E-flat major, Op. 90 No. 2 - R. Schumann - "Dreaming" Op. 15 No. 7 from "Scenes from Childhood" - R. Schumann/F. Liszt - "Widmung" (Dedication) S. 566 - G. Verdi/F. Liszt - Concert Paraphrase on "Rigoletto" - F. Liszt - Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2 S. 244/2 Grzegorz Niemczuk One of the most active Polish classical pianists. Between 2007 and 2024, Grzegorz Niemczuk primarily performed abroad. To date, he has given over 500 recitals and concerts, visiting 39 countries across 6 continents (Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Germany, Lithuania, Russia, Belarus, Romania, Austria, Croatia, Serbia, Bulgaria, Switzerland, Italy, Belgium, Netherlands, France, Spain, United Kingdom, Finland, Sweden, Norway, Ethiopia, Tanzania, Japan, China, South Korea, Singapore, Malaysia, Australia, Peru, Brazil, Ecuador, Costa Rica, Colombia, United States, Jamaica, Curacao, Indonesia). He often hosts his own concerts, introducing audiences to the intricacies of the music performed and sharing interesting facts about the composers' biographies. Wherever he performs, he is met with warm reception from audiences and critics alike, leading to further invitations. Since 2024, he has begun an intensive concert career in Poland, performing in most of the country's Philharmonics. In 2026, he will debut at the National Philharmonic in Warsaw. Each concert attracts increasing interest, not only due to his musical interpretations but also his brilliant concert hosting—entertaining, moving, and educating the audience. Dubbed by influential Japanese critics as "a modern incarnation of Chopin" (Nobuko Fujimaki, Chopin Magazine, Tokyo, August 2017), he has built an international reputation as an outstanding expert and interpreter of Fryderyk Chopin's music, to which he has devoted many years of his artistic life. He belongs to a select group of pianists who have all of Fryderyk Chopin's works in their repertoire. He is especially appreciated in Asia: after a spectacular solo debut in Tokyo in July 2017, an enthusiastic review appeared in the prestigious "Chopin" magazine. This performance led to further invitations for recitals in Japan (Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya, Sapporo, Asahikawa, Obihiro, Hakodate, Aomori), as well as a contract with "Chopin" magazine for monthly articles on performing Chopin's music. In December 2017, he debuted in China, where, as part of the "Polish Circles of Art" Festival (the largest Polish art festival in China), he performed at the prestigious Beijing Concert Hall. This concert received widespread coverage in all major Chinese media. He is also a favorite of Norwegian audiences—he has performed in over 30 different cities in Norway, always generating great enthusiasm and receiving invitations for future performances. Grzegorz Niemczuk has an extensive repertoire of over 250 solo works and 28 piano concertos spanning from the Baroque era to 20th and 21st-century music. He belongs to a select group of pianists who have all of Fryderyk Chopin's works in their repertoire. Grzegorz Niemczuk is the winner of many piano competitions. In 2013, he became the first Pole in history to win the "International Carnegie Hall Concerto Debut Competition" in New York. This prestigious award opened the door to Carnegie Hall, where in February 2013, he had the opportunity to present Chopin's Piano Concerto No. 2 in F minor, Op. 21, receiving excellent reviews. In 2016, he was a finalist and Special Prize winner at the 2016 International Busan Maru Music Festival in South Korea. He is also the winner of the 40th National Fryderyk Chopin Piano Competition in Warsaw in 2010 and international competitions in Italy and Belgium. During the COVID-19 pandemic (2020-2022), Grzegorz Niemczuk created an unprecedented and unique project of video-lectures on all of Fryderyk Chopin's works, aimed primarily at music lovers who want to gain a deeper understanding of the masterpieces of Poland's greatest composer. Over 330 episodes were created in two language versions (Polish and English), published on YouTube and the artist's Facebook page. Grzegorz Niemczuk is a graduate of the Katowice Academy of Music in the class of Prof. Józef Stompel and the International Keyboard Institute & Festival in New York (Mannes College of Music), where he studied intensively under the guidance of such outstanding artists as Jeffrey Swann (artistic mentor of Grzegorz Niemczuk from 2009 to 2013), Jerome Rose, Menahem Pressler, Philippe Entremont, David Dubal, Cyprien Katsaris. He also worked with artists such as Krystian Zimerman, Dang Thai Son, Michel Beroff, Klaus Hellwig, Claudio Martinez-Mehner. Tickets available at: https://kupbilecik.pl