19:00
Francois-Xavier Roth, conductor 
Geoffrey Baptiste, piano

Fryderyk Chopin: Fantasy on Polish Airs for piano and orchestra, Op 13
Karol Szymanowski: Symphony n° 2

Fryderyk Chopin (1810-1849) and Karol Szymanowski (1882-1937) are considered to be the two greatest Polish composers. Both defined the national musical style of their epoque. In his Fantasy on Polish Airs for piano and orchestra (1828), Chopin affirms his attachment to his native culture, just two years before leaving Poland for good. Szymanowski was to fill the void left in Polish music after Chopin’s death by founding, alongside several motivated artists (A. Szeluto, T. Karłowicz, L. Różycki and G. Fitelberg), the group Young Poland in order to blaze new musical trails. His study of the music made by his peers led to the composition of the Second Symphony (1910-11).