The Paderewski Symphony Orchestra in Chicago honors the legacy of Ignacy Jan Paderewski (1860-1941), one of the greatest pianists from the Golden Age of Piano, composer extraordinaire, philanthropist, political leader, diplomat and the first Prime Minister of Poland. The Paderewski Gala celebrating the 155th anniversary of the legendary artist’s birth will take place at Symphony Center’s Orchestra Hall on November 8, 2015 at 3pm and will feature Paderewski’s own compositions including the virtuosic Piano Concerto in A Minor and the monumental Vivace from his Symphony in B Minor, as well as Elgar’s Polonia Overture and Chopin’s Andante spinato et grande polonaise brillante.
Paderewski’s career took him on twenty concert tours in the U.S. including 1,500 performances, 65 of which were in Chicago. In 1892, he performed at the inaugural season of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Theodore Thomas and in 1931 he played his own Piano Concerto under the baton of Frederick Stock at Northwestern University.
Under the baton of the orchestra’s music director Wojciech Niewrzol, the 29-year-old concert pianist Igor Lipinski will be featured as the soloist in the Paderewski Concerto. Lipinski, a graduate of the prestigious Eastman School of Music and a doctoral candidate at Northwestern University, made his American orchestra debut playing the Paderewski Concerto with the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra on NPR’s Performance Today. At age 12, he received the Grand Prix Award at the Paderewski Competition in Kąsna Dolna, Poland. At age 17, he played a role of a young pianist, a pupil of Paderewski, in a theater play staged at the University at Buffalo entitled “Paderewski’s Children”. Buffalo News called Lipinski’s performances “literally magical” and Eastman professor Tony Caramia called his playing “effortless, effective, evocative, sensitive, virtuosic, and technically brilliant.”
The support and development of young musicians is a fundamental principle of the Paderewski Symphony Orchestra’s mission. The second half of the concert will open with the 16-year old Daniel Szefer who will be featured in Chopin’s Andante spinato et grande polonaise brillante.
With its focus on the community outreach and music education, the Paderewski Symphony Orchestra is the most active professional music institution dedicated to the popularization of Polish music and culture outside of Poland. The orchestra has performed over 200 concerts for over 180,000 listeners, presenting music by the most illustrious Polish composers: Chopin, Wieniawski, Karlowicz, Lutoslawski, Szymanowski, Gorecki and Kilar.
Sunday, November 8, 2015 | 3:00 pm
Paderewski Symphony Orchestra
Symphony Center’s Orchestra Hall
220 S. Michigan Avenue, Chicago, Illinois 60604
Admission $37-$59
For tickets, please visit: cso.org
Info: (773) 467-9000 or pasochicago.org
[Source: pasochicago.org]