March 19, 2025 | Zaryadye Concert Hall
Soloist – Philipp Kopachevsky, piano
Conductor – Feodor Beznosikov
Glazunov. Chopiniana, suite for orchestra, Op. 46
Chopin. Concerto No. 2 for piano and orchestra in F minor, Op. 21
Chopin. Concerto No. 1 for piano and orchestra in E minor, Op. 11
March 1, 1810, is the birthday of great Polish classic Fryderyk (Frédéric) Chopin called by his contemporaries “a poet of piano”. To this date, the National Philharmonic Orchestra of Russia dedicates a program compiled of Chopin's works.
On the NPR's podium there will make his debut Feodor Beznosikov, graduate and now teacher at the Moscow Conservatory, awardee of international and Russian competitions, conductor of the Stanislavsky and Nemirovich-Danchenko Music Theater and the Russian National Orchestra. In the 2023-2024 season, he was titled “The Revelation of the Year” by The Music Life journal.
The program is based on Chopin's two Piano Concertos which, in the composer's own view, were much affected by his admiration for operas by Vincenzo Bellini. This is particularly felt in the slow movement of the First Concerto – Romanze – which 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 demanded 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...'
The NPR will also perform Alexander Glazunov's Chopiniana, which is an orchestration of Chopin's various pieces. In one of his letters, Glazunov admitted that an orchestral adaptation of Chopin's miniatures had been his idee fixe for many years and the result was satisfactory though in his opinion 'the lion's share of the success should have been ascribed to Chopin's genius'. The Russian composer's main choice fell onto Polonaise in A major (op. 40, No.1), Nocturne in F major (op.15, No.1), Mazurka in C-sharp minor (op.50, No. 3) and Tarantella in A-flat major (op.43). In its four-movement version, the Suite was first performed in Moscow on November 2, 1896, at the second assembly of the Russian Music Society under the baton of Vassily Safonov. In 1907, choreographer Mikhail Fokin used the Chopiniana Suite for the ballet of the same name for which Glazunov also orchestrated Chopin's Valse in C-sharp minor (op.64, No.2).