The concert by the Karolina Mikołajczyk & Iwo Jedynecki Duo brings together the intriguing sounds of violin and accordion.
The ensemble, awarded the Polityka Passport in 2024, presents a programme arranged for this unusual combination of instruments.
They will perform violin sonatas from the Classical period: Józef Elsner’s three-movement Sonata in D major from Op. 10, composed in 1789, and Mozart’s two-movement Sonata in G major, K301, written in 1778 and belonging to the collection known as the Palatine Sonatas, after their dedicatee, Maria Elisabeth, Electress of the Palatinate. In both sonatas, the virtuoso violin part takes the leading role.
The artists will also perform works by Polish composers of the 19th century – a miniature by Maria Szymanowska and Chopin’s Nocturne in E flat major, Op. 9 No. 1 – and of the 20th century: Roxana’s Song from Karol Szymanowski’s opera King Roger and Szymon Laks’s Polish Suite.
Born in Warsaw, Szymon Laks studied at the conservatoire in his native city before continuing his studies at the National Conservatoire in Paris, where he chose to settle permanently. He was an active member of the Association of Young Polish Musicians in Paris and, despite his life as an émigré composer, never lost touch with Polish culture. Many of his compositions draw inspiration from Polish folk music, as does the Polish Suite. Written in 1935, this virtuoso work in the Neoclassical style resonates with the folk music of the Podhale region.