Piano:

• Choi Heewon
• Kang Minwook
• Ahn Heejung
• Yoon Minyoung
• Kim Heejin
• Choi Youngeun
• Yu Hyeyeon
• Shin Saim
   
• Heo Yunjae - haegeum
• Park Jongsung - clarinet
   
• Weronika Kudrej - host

Programme:

• F. Chopin – Polonaise in A-flat major, Op. 53
• S. Rachmaninoff – Suite No. 2 for Two Pianos, Op. 17: III. Romance
• Ch. M. Widor – Introduction and Rondo, Op. 72
• F. Chopin – Nocturne in C minor, Op. 48 No. 1
• G. Rossini – Overture to The Barber of Seville
• F. Chopin – Ballade No. 3 in A-flat major, Op. 47
• P. Youngnan – The Tearful Arirang Pass on the theme of "Haeju Arirang"
• L. Jisoo – Arirang Rhapsody
• P. Youngnan – Reflections for clarinet, haegeum and piano
• P. Youngnan – Fantasy on the theme of Korean Folk Songs

  “What's Chopin’s most famous piece?” “Chopin’s? The Polonaise in A-flat major, the ‘Revolutionary’ Étude…”. With this memorable exchange from Marek Koterski’s cult film Day of the Wacko (Dzień Świra), we invite you to a unique concert performed by pianists from South Korea. The music of Frédéric Chopin will form the heart of the programme for Pianos from the Far East. Among the featured works will be the Polonaise in A-flat major, Op. 53, one of the composer’s most celebrated and beloved compositions. The distinguished musicologist and composer Hugo Leichtentritt wrote of the work: “Everything that the polonaise possesses in terms of splendour, dignity, power, and enthusiasm has been expressed in this masterpiece in the most stirring way possible.” Similarly, the eminent Polish music critic Zdzisław Jachimecki described the Polonaise in A-flat major as “the most perfect work in the history of the genre.” 

Today the piece is universally known as the Heroic Polonaise. The nickname most likely derives from comments made by Chopin’s lifelong companion, George Sand, who wrote: “Inspiration! Strength! Vigour! There is no doubt that such a spirit must have been present during the French Revolution. From now on, this polonaise should be a symbol — a symbol of heroism.” 

The programme will also include two further masterpieces by Chopin: the Ballade No. 3 in A-flat major, Op. 47, and Nocturne in C minor, Op.  48 No. 1.  

Alongside Chopin’s music, audiences will hear the overture to Rossini’s The Barber of Seville, a work that remains one of the most beloved and frequently performed operatic overtures in the world. Ironically, the opera’s premiere has gone down in history as one of the most chaotic opening nights ever witnessed in a theatre. A cat reportedly wandered onto the stage, a bucket of green paint was poured onto the composer and the count’s guitar was out of tune. Yet the very next performance proved an extraordinary triumph. Rossini, unwilling to risk another public humiliation, stayed at home and claimed illness, while the opera itself was met with overwhelming enthusiasm.

The concert programme will also pay tribute to Charles-Marie Widor. Recalling Parisian musical life, Ignacy Jan Paderewski wrote: “At Widor’s famous Sunday morning concerts one could meet the entire artistic and aristocratic world of Paris. The church was always filled with the most distinguished and elegant ladies of Parisian society. Sometimes even foreign visitors from the highest social circles would attend…” The concert programme will feature the Introduction and Rondo, Op. 72.

The guests from Korea will also perform Sergei Rachmaninoff’s Suite for Two Pianos – in the chamber piano music of nineteenth-century Russia, piano duets, four-hand pieces and works for two pianos were extremely popular. 

The programme also features works by Park Youngnan, a highly regarded South Korean composer known for blending traditional Korean sounds with Western music, as well as a modern arrangement of the famous Korean folk song Arirang. 

The pianos will be accompanied this evening by the sounds of the clarinet and the haegeum, a traditional Korean string instrument. 

 

Free admission tickets available at the CKK Jordanki ticket office from 23 July 2026.

Mecenas Główny: Miasto Toruń 
Partner Główny: Samorząd Województwa Kujawsko-Pomorskiego
Dofinansowano z Funduszy Europejskich
Patronat honorowy: Marszałek Województwa Kujawsko-Pomorskiego Piotr Całbecki, Prezydent Miasta Torunia Paweł Gulewski
Mecenas Kultury - Główny Sponsor: PGE Polska Grupa Energetyczna S.A.
Mecenas Strategiczny: Strabag Sp. z o.o.
Darczyńca: Konsul Honorowy Finlandii w Toruniu - Tadeusz Pająk 
Partnerzy: Pneuma Jarosław Pawlicki, Pirmedia Sp. z o.o., Maciej Zieliński - fotograf, KM Transport Jadwiga Łączyńska, Fisheye Production Marcin Rybicki, MZK w Toruniu Sp. z o.o., Filharmonia Pomorska im. Ignacego Jana Paderewskiego w Bydgoszczy
Partner motoryzacyjny: Toyota Bednarscy
Partner technologiczny: Vobacom Sp. z o.o.
Patronat medialny: TVP3 Bydgoszcz, TV Toruń, Nowości - Dziennik Toruński , Toruń Nasze Miasto, Polskie Radio PiK, POLMIC 
Organizator: Toruńska Orkiestra Symfoniczna Instytucja finansowana ze środków Gminy Miasta Toruń