Piano Recital with Piotr Anderszewski

Piotr Anderszewski (photo: Simon Fowler, Warner Classics)

A constant in Piotr Anderszewski’s piano recitals is the music of Johann Sebastian Bach, which he interprets with extraordinary vividness thanks to his transparent, flawless playing. At this concert the pianist plays Bach’s Partita No. 6, contrasting these sparkling dance movements with Karol Szymanowski’s Mazurkas, op. 50, a sophisticated homage to a popular Polish dance. We also hear Anton Webern's concentrated, highly expressive Variations for Piano and Beethoven's late, poetic A-flat Major Sonata.

Piotr Anderszewski piano

Johann Sebastian Bach

Partita No. 6 in E minor, BWV 830

Karol Szymanowski

Mazurkas, op. 50: No. 3 Moderato

Karol Szymanowski

Mazurkas, op. 50: No. 7 Poco vivace. Tempo Oberka

Karol Szymanowski

Mazurkas, op. 50: No. 8 Moderato (non troppo)

Karol Szymanowski

Mazurkas, op. 50: No. 5 Moderato

Karol Szymanowski

Mazurkas, op. 50: No. 4 Allegramente, risoluto

Anton Webern

Variations for Piano, op. 27

Ludwig van Beethoven

Piano Sonata No. 31 in A flat major, op. 110

Dates and Tickets

Biographies

Piotr Anderszewski

Piotr Anderszewski is considered one of the "most fascinating pianists of our time" (The Sunday Times); the Frankfurter Rundschau praised him for his “breathtaking sense for the almost unbelievable stretching of time, for nuances and for supposedly secondary voices that would otherwise hardly be audible". He is often compared to the legendary Svyatoslav Richter, for whom he turned the pages at concerts in Warsaw when he was young. Anderszewski combines a consummate touch with natural articulation and transparency. Yet the pianist, who trained in Lyon, Strasbourg, Warsaw and Los Angeles, never loses sight of the big picture. He says, “It's important to keep asking the music questions. It's like opening a window to let in fresh air. If that doesn't happen, then you freeze in your own routines.” Anderszewski plans his performances with a lot of thought. He has taken concert sabbaticals several times, and his repertoire has a narrow focus, with Johann Sebastian Bach being a focal point: “There has to be something like a sense of imperative for me to seriously engage with a piece.” Piotr Anderszewski, a regular guest on our Piano series since 2004, has won several prestigious awards, including the Gilmore Artists Award and the Royal Philharmonic Society Award.

Piano lexicon

What is a mazurka?