February 11, 2024 | Tchaikovsky Concert Hall
Subscription series № 39: «Great Instrumental Concertos»
Soloist – Pilipp Kopachevsky, piano
Conductor – Konstantin Khvatynets
Chopin. Concerto No. 1 for piano and orchestra in E minor, Op. 11
Glinka. Waltz-Fantasy
Chopin. Concerto No. 2 for piano and orchestra in F minor, Op. 21
The program of the National Philharmonic Orchestra of Russia within the “Great Concertos” series is based on two Piano Concertos by Frédéric Chopin, the Polish classic venerated as “Poetic genius” by his contemporaries.
Chopin wrote that the music of his Concertos was much affected by his admiration for operas by Vincenzo Bellini. This is particularly felt in the slow movement of the First Concerto – Romanze – that is a rare example of inspired cantilena. The structure of Concerto no.2 was influenced by Chopin's tender feelings towards Polish singer Konstancja Gładkowska. Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, highly praising Chopin’s Concertos, remarked that they demand from a pianist “softness and fineness of touch, lyricism, taste and graciousness in details”.
All these qualities will be displayed by pianist Philipp Kopachevsky, graduate of the Moscow Conservatory, awardee of eight important international contests and holder of the Special Prize of the 16th edition of the Tchaikovsky International Competition. Kopachevsky has enjoyed a great popularity in Japan where he recorded a CD with Chopin's works as commissioned by the NHK Company. Critics described the pianist’s playing as a genuine amalgamation of mastership and maturity together with sincere emotionality: 'His grand piano sings which, in our days, is a rare quality characteristic of Romantic perception, he preserves clarity in his playing while his phrasing is beautiful and flexible...'
Maestro Konstantin Khvatynets, the chief conductor of the Moscow Operetta Theater, will complete the program with the famous masterpiece of Chopin’s contemporary Mikhail Glinka: the orchestra will perform his Waltz-Fantasy.