"Virtuoso Poland" - Rafal Luszczewski in Recital

  • May 1, 2025 6:30 pm - 7:30 pm

  • Wesley Music Centre

    20-22 National Circuit
    Forrest, Australian Capital Territory 2603
Ticket Price (AUD) $17.09-$53.85 This event is now over
Description

The Friends of Chopin Australia is very proud to present the return visit to Canberra of exceptional Polish pianist Rafał Łuszczewski.

On the occasion of the Polish presidency of the Council of the EU, Rafał is delighting us with a rousing program celebrating Polish virtuosity.

This distinguished performer and educator will astound us with the technical brilliance and the beauty of Chopin's etudes, two of Ignaz Friedman's pieces from his Suite "The Masks", and Paderewski's famous "Minuet in G".

But the crowning glory of this recital is a performance for solo piano of Richard Addinsall's Warsaw Concerto (this version written by Rafał himself). 

Written for the 1941 British war film 'Dangerous Moonlight'  which is about the Polish struggle against the 1939 invasion by Nazi Germany, this piece very quickly became a popular hit and sold in the millions. The concerto is written in imitation of the style of Sergei Rachmaninoff, and it initiated a trend for similar short piano concertos in the Romantic style, which have been dubbed "tabloid concertos" written for performance in movies. One commentator has suggested that the Warsaw Concerto is the most significant instrumental work written in Britain during the war, still conjuring up a time and place better than any other piece. In his 1994 appearance on Desert Island Discs, Guy Gibson, the leader of the Dambusters raid, asked for it as his first choice.

Join us for this now seldom played nostalgic favourite, and many more memorable and virtuosic show-stoppers.

Date & Time

Thu, May 1, 2025 6:30 pm - 7:30 pm

Venue Details

Wesley Music Centre

20-22 National Circuit
Forrest, Australian Capital Territory 2603 Wesley Music Centre
Friends of Chopin Australia Limited

The Friends of Chopin Australia is a registered charity dedicated to the promotion of the music of Chopin in Australia through performance, research and public engagement.  It was established in 2012 and is honoured to have as its patron the Ambassador of the Republic of Poland to Australia.​

The mission of the Friends of Chopin Australia is to research, document and promote the role that Chopin has played and continues to play in Australia’s musical life.  It is also dedicated to supporting young and emerging artists to achieve excellence in their field on the world stage.

​The Friends of Chopin Australia is responsible for the Australian International Chopin Piano Competition (AICPC) and has held three successful editions of the Competition in partnership with the Embassy of the Republic of Poland in Canberra, and the Australian National University and its School of Music, in 2011, 2014, and 2017.