The 23rd Chopin & Friends Festival concluded in New York City with a November 19 finale concert at the Consulate General of the Republic of Poland. The two- and half-hour evening featured world premieres of works by Jakub Polaczyk – Ginkyo-ya: Pendula in memoriam K. Penderecki for String Quartet (2021) and Zaid Jabri – Prelude et Adagio in memoriam Krzysztof Penderecki (2021) as well as performances of various chamber works by Juri Seo, Katherine Balch, Sam Wu, and Łukasz Pieprzyk.
Dedicated to the memory of Krzysztof Penderecki, the program also included Penderecki’s String Quartet No. 4 performed by the Argus Quartet as well as his Three Miniatures for Clarinet and Piano presented by Wojciech Komsta and Anna Shelest.
Anna Shelest also performed Chopin’s Mazurka, Op. 67 no. 4, to the reading of Cyprian Kamil Norwid’s famous 1865 poem, Fortepian Szopena by Stan Borys. The recording of the entire concert is now available on the YouTube channel of NYDAI Inc., the organizers of the Chopin & Friends Festival. The full program of the Festival can be found at www.nydai.org.
[Source: press release]