THE 200th anniversary of the birth of the great Franco-Polish composer Frederick Chopin will be celebrated by a concert of his music in the Town Hall Theatre this Saturday at 8pm.
Chopin (1810 - 1849 ) was born in Warsaw to a French-expatriate father and Polish mother, and was a child-prodigy pianist and composer.
The majority of Chopin's compositions were written for the piano as solo instrument. He also invented musical forms such as the instrumental ballade and made major innovations to the piano sonata, mazurka, waltz, nocturne, polonaise, étude, impromptu and prélude.
Saturday’s concert will hear piano solos performed by Elena Gekker. The programme will also include song transcriptions of a number of Chopin’s most famous themes, made by Pauline Viardot and by Tom Cullivan. Tom Cullivan (piano ) will accompany Patricia Lillis (mezzo soprano ) in the songs
Mr Cullivan has also transcribed a selection from the polonaises, nocturnes, and mazurkas for performance by the Galway Brass Ensemble - Pat Jones (horn ), Peter Berrill (trumpet ), Michael Dooley (trumpet ), Joe Smyth (trombone ), and Martin Mannion (tuba ).
The concert will also feature performances of the only extended chamber works Chopin ever composed: the Trio for Violin, Cello and Piano (1828 ) and the Sonata for Cello and Piano (1846 ). The chamber music will be performed by Sebastien Petiet (violin ), Yue Tang (cello ), and Elaine Brennan (piano )
Tickets are available from the Town Hall on 091 - 569777 and www.tht.ie
