Nikolaï Demidenko and Evgeny Kissin perform Chopin's two Piano Concertos in celebration of the Polish composer's 200th birthday.
Few composers have so greatly enriched the classical repertoire as Frédéric Chopin. Entire generations of pianists have studied and performed his sonatas, mazurkas, valses, nocturnes, polonaises, études, impromptus, scherzos, and préludes, discovering the composer's Romantic sensitivity and characteristic rubato. Chopin's two piano concertos testify to the influence of the London school—which, led by the likes of Clementi and Dussek, transformed the Classical models of the 18th century into the new musical language of Romanticism—on the young Polish pianist.
In 2010, the musical world paid homage to Frédéric Chopin. Among the many celebrations, one of the highlights was a gala given in Warsaw on the French-Polish composer and pianist's 200th birthday. As part of the occasion, the two great pianists Nikolaï Demidenko and Evgeny Kissin performed respectively Chopin's Piano Concerto No. 1 in E minor, Op. 11, and Piano Concerto No. 2 in F minor, Op. 21, side by side with the Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra under the direction of Antoni Wit. An unforgettable evening for all those in love with Chopin's music!
