Rafał Blechacz plays Chopin

Tuesday, February 22, 2011, 7:30 pm

Enmax Hall, Winspear Centre

Rafał Blechacz plays Chopin

2010-11 The ESO Presents

  • William Eddins, conductor
    Rafał Blechacz, piano
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Details

Polish pianist Rafał Blechacz performs the masterful music of his countryman, Fryderyk Chopin. Having unanimously won the 15th International Fryderyk Chopin Piano Competition in Warsaw, Mr. Blechacz is a musician of consummate artistry and technical brilliance. This will be effortlessly evident as he performs Chopin’s Piano Concerto No. 1, along with an all-Chopin solo recital in the concert’s second half.

This concert is presented in special partnership with the Polish Culture Society of Edmonton and the Chopin 2010 Celebration Committee.
chopin2010

click for detailed seating mapTicket Information

$50 Dress Circle (A)
$40 Terrace (B)
$35 Orchestra (C)
$20 Orchestra Front (F)
Tickets subject to applicable service charges.

The next ESO Presents performance is June 1, 2011.

Thank you to our performance sponsor: servus credit union

Program Info

CHOPIN
Piano Concerto No. 1 (42')*
 
INTERMISSION
 
Rafał Blechacz will perform an all-Chopin solo piano recital following intermission:

Ballade No. 1 in G minor, Op. 23 (10')*
 
2 Polonaises, Op. 26 (15')*
No. 1 in C-sharp minor
No. 2 in E-flat minor
 
4 Mazurkas, Op. 41 (10')*
No. 1 in C-sharp minor
No. 2 in E minor
No. 3 in B Major
No. 4 in A-flat Major
 
Ballade No. 2 in F Major, Op. 38 (7')*

*Indicates approximate performance duration.
Program subject to change.

Artist Information

Rafał Blechacz, piano

rafal blechacz piano
Born in 1985, Rafał Blechacz unanimously won the 15th International Fryderyk Chopin Piano Competition in Warsaw in October 2005. He also won three special prizes: the Polish Radio, the Polish Chopin Society, and the Warsaw Philharmonic award for the best performance of the concerto. He was also the winner of the best sonata performance award founded by Krystian Zimerman.
 
Mr. Blechacz has since performed in the great venues of the world, amongst them Warsaw Philharmonic Hall, Tchaikovsky Hall Moscow with the Mariinsky Orchestra under Valery Gergiev, Tonhalle Zurich, Tokyo Opera City, Concertgebouw, Herkulessaal, Wigmore Hall, Auditorio Nacional, Suntory Hall, and Palais des Beaux Arts. He appeared in festivals such as Ruhr Piano Festival, Verbier and La Roque d'Antheron and many more. In May 2006 he signed an exclusive five-year contract with Deutsche Grammophon.

William Eddins, conductor

william eddins

William Eddins is in his sixth season as Music Director of the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra. During his tenure, he has made it a priority that he conduct performances in nearly every subscription series the orchestra has presented, as well as a wide variety of special concerts and galas.

Bill Eddins began playing the piano at age five, but was bitten by the conducting bug while in his sophomore year at the Eastman School of Music. In 1989, he decided to begin conducting studies with Daniel Lewis at the University of Southern California. Assistant Conductorships with both the Minnesota Orchestra and the Chicago Symphony (the latter under the leadership of Daniel Barenboim) honed his skills even further.

Mr. Eddins has many interests outside music. He is fond of biking, tennis, reading, pinball, and cooking. He recently completed building his own recording studio at his home in Minneapolis, where he lives with his wife Jen (a clarinetist), and their sons Raef and Riley. While conducting has been his principal pursuit, he continues to perform on piano in Edmonton and elsewhere. He accepts a limited number of guest appearances each year. In 2008, he conducted a rare full staging of Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess for Opéra de Lyon, which won him great acclaim, leading to a repeat engagement in Lyon in July and September 2010, as well as Edinburgh in August 2010, and in London in September 2010. During August 2009, Bill toured South Africa, conducting three gala concerts with soprano Renée Fleming and the kwaZulu-Natal Philharmonic Orchestra.

Multimedia

Rafał Blechacz performs and speaks about Chopin's Piano Concertos:

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