The winner of the 10th International Ignacy Jan Paderewski Piano Competition in Bydgoszcz, Hyuk Lee, who was also a finalist in the 18th International Fryderyk Chopin Piano Competition in Warsaw, will be performing with Hyo Lee, winner of third prize in the 12th International ‘Arthur Rubinstein in Memoriam’ Competition in Bydgoszcz, in a special concert to mark St Valentine’s Day. The Seoul-born pianists will present an interesting cross-section of repertoire with a distinctly emotional flavour. The evening will begin with Astor Piazzolla’s Adiós Nonino – a work in which the composer recalls his father. The nostalgic mood will be broken by Libertango – a work infused with the spirit of freedom. Next we will hear Darius Milhaud’s Scaramouche, composed for the pianist Marguerite Long, after which the musicians will perform an exceptional work for two pianos: the Fantasy on themes from George Gershwin’s opera Porgy and Bess. The work’s composer, Percy Grainger, a pianist and composer active during the twentieth century, is one of the most controversial figures in world music, given his radical views. Nonetheless, the contemporary re-evaluation of his oeuvre is inspiring further generations of musicians. Finally, a true extravaganza of feelings, impressions and emotions will be unleashed by Camille Saint-Saëns’ Carnival of the Animals, which the composer termed a ‘zoological fantasy’.

Jan Lech