HOMAGE TO CHOPIN: Polish pianist Joanna Marcinkwska (left) and Vietnamese pianist Nguyễn Việt Trung will perform in two concerts highlighting Chopin’s masterpieces at the HCM City Opera House on November 19 and 20. Photo courtesy of HBSO

HCM CITY — Polish and Vietnamese conductors and pianists will present two concerts presenting masterpieces by Polish composer and virtuoso pianist Frédérick Chopin at the HCM City Opera House on November 19 and 20.

The programmes are organised by the HCM City Ballet Symphony Orchestra and Opera (HBSO) in cooperation with the Mickiewicz Institute and Warsaw Music Foundation of Poland.

The “A Night of Frédérick Chopin” concert on November 19 will feature Piano Concerto No 1 performed by Polish pianist Joanna Marcinkwska, and Piano Concerto No 2 by Vietnamese pianist Nguyễn Việt Trung.

The pianists will perform along with HBSO’s orchestra.

Polish conductor and composer Wojciech Czepiel will wield the baton at the concert.

Czepiel has conducted more than 400 compositions with many orchestras such as the Polish National Radio Symphony in Katowice, the Moscow Bolshoi Theatre Orchestra, the National Opera in Warsaw, the Hà Nội Philharmonic, and the Việt Nam National Symphony and Orchestra.

He received the "Gloria Artis" medal from the Polish Minister of Culture for his artistic achievements in 2012.

The “Recital Piano” concert on November 20 will highlight Chopin’s piano works, which have been loved for decades, such as Valses, Nocturnes, Polonaises, and Preludes.

The performance will also present solo piano pieces written by composers Xavier Montsalvatge, Wojciech Czepiel and Domenico Scarlatti.

The concert will feature pianists Marcinkwska and Trung, along with HBSO’s orchestra.

Marcinkwska is one of the most acclaimed Polish pianists with 21 top prizes at international and notable competitions such as the International Competition for Young Pianists “Artur Rubinstein in memoriam” in Bydgoszcz, Poland, and the European Chopin Competition in Darmstadt, Germany.

She has given recitals abroad in Austria, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, France, Germany, Great Britain, Hungary, Macedonia, the Netherlands, Portugal and Sweden, and outside Europe in the US and China.

She also performed in the television program Chopin Recital on the 187th anniversary of Chopin’s birthday in 2018.

Hà Nội-born Trung has lived in Poland since childhood.

He achieved remarkable awards at international piano competitions such as the National Piano Festival “Chopin Interpretations of the Young” in Konin-Żychlin, the Polish National Fryderyk Chopin Piano Competition in Warsaw, and the Karlovac International Piano Competition in Croatia.

Trung is completing his postgraduate studies at the Academy of Music in Bydgoszcz. He also participated in a master class by Việt Nam’s world-known pianist Đặng Thái Sơn.

The two concerts will begin at 8 pm at 7 Lam Sơn Square in District 1. Tickets are available at the venue. — VNS