NOSPR / Childress / Polish Fantasia - NOSPR

Diversity can yield power and inspiration for seeking new qualities. The three pieces do not seem to be related in any manner whatsoever. Bohuslav Martinů’s Overture, composed in the United States in 1953, might serve as an example of the ornate neo-baroque aesthetic that would fascinate the Czech composer for a certain time. It is quite peculiar that later he admitted, with astonishing frankness, “not remembering the piece being performed.” Well, memory fails everyone sometimes. Six decades older, Carl Nielsen’s Symphony No. 1 in G minor constitutes an augury of his later works and original style. A peer to Antonín Dvořák’s “From the New World” and Pyotr Tchaikovsky’s “Pathétique” symphonies, yet not resembling them in the slightest, looking into the future. These extremes will be bridged with young Fryderyk Chopin’s Fantasy on Polish Airs op. 13 – a charming potpourri with a sentimental note, quoting the song of Laura and Filon, stretching from meditation to jocularity. Soon, 200 years will have passed since the Fantasy was composed, yet it still emanates freshness.

Marcin Majchrowski

Concert duration: approximately 70 minutes