In 2017, we celebrate the 180th anniversary of the birth of pianist, composer and pedagogue Józef WIENIAWSKI (1837-1912), a veritable cultural bridge between Poland and Belgium at the turn of the century. In this connection, two events are being held at the beginning of September: the first is a conference/concert in the salons of the Polish Embassy (find out more HERE), and the second is a concert at the Musical Instruments Museum (find out more HERE).

          Salons of the Polish Embassy          

Professor Piotr NIEMCEWICZ, expert custodian at the Polish Ministry of the Culture of National Heritage, will talk about recent renovation work on the tomb of Józef Wieniawski which is situated in the Ixelles cemetery.
+++ More on this work in our archives
The conference will be topped off by a short concert devoted to Józef WIENIAWSKI, with Hanna LIZINKIEWICZ (piano) and Krzysztof KARPETA (cello).

INFORMATIONS PRATIQUES
>>> Salons of the Polish Embassy (Avenue des Gaulois 29, 1040 Brussels) – see map
>>> Friday 1st September 2017 – 19:00
>>> free of charge – RSVP : bruxelles@instytutpolski.org (before 31 August 2017)

This event will be in Polish | restricted seating

PROGRAMME
Mazurka pour piano, op. 23/1
Sonate en mi majeur pour piano et violoncelle, op. 26

          Musical Instrument Museum          

The concert, entitled ‘Józef Wieniawski: in memoriam’, and entirely devoted to the composer and pianist, will also feature performances by Hanna LIZINKIEWICZ (piano) and Krzysztof KARPETA (cello).
+++ This concert on Musical Instrument Museum’s website

PROGRAMME

• Ballade en mi bémol majeur, op.31, pour piano
• Pensée fugitive, op. 8, arrangement pour violoncelle et piano par Claude Lutzau
• Mazurka, op. 23/1 pour piano
• Sonate en mi majeur, op. 26, pour violoncelle et piano (I. Allegro maestoso / II. Andantino / III. Allegro brillante e molto grazioso)

>>> Musical Instrument Museum – MIM (Montagne de la Cour 2, 1000 Brussels), Auditorium – see map 
>>> Satursday 2 September 2017 – 15:00 > 16:00
>>> €10 | €4 (with Museum ticket) | free (-8)

Organised in collaboration with the MIM et the Adam Mickiewicz Institute in Warsaw (IAM)

The pianist, composer and pedagogue Józef WIENIAWSKI is one of the greatest musicians to have graced the end of the XIXth century in Europe. During his lifetime, he enjoyed glory and recognition; after his death, he was unjustly forgotten. Perhaps this can be explained by the fact that he started his career in the shadow of his older brother, the brilliant violonist and composer Henryk WIENIAWSKI. Together, they played on the greatest stages in the world, and enjoyed tremendous success. In 1878, Józef Wieniawski set up home in Brussels where he became a piano teacher, composed and gave many concerts. He was also a great propogator of the music of Fryderyk Chopin, his favourite composer, and Stanisław Moniuszko.
A conference/concert (with pianist Jacek KORTUS and musicologist Renata SUCHOWIEJKO) dedicated to this eminent personality was held on 26 November 2016 at the Royal Conservatory of Brussels: more on this project on our website.

The library of the Royal Conservatory of Brussels has preserved a large series of manuscripts signed by Józef Wieniawski, beqeathed by his daughter Elisabeth and currently archived in the Wieniawski fund. This bequest includes the Sonata for piano and violin (op. 20) and the Concerto for piano and orchestra (op. 24) dedicated to Leopold II of Belgium. We also have Józef Wieniawski to thank for the famous “double piano with mirrored keyboards“, built by the Mangeot brothers, one of which can be viewed at the Brussels Musical Instruments Museum (MIM).
Born in Lublin on 23 May 1837, Józef Wieniawski died in Brussels on 11 November 1912. His body was buried in Ixelles cemetery. His tomb was restored in summer 2016 thanks to the combined efforts of the Polish Institute and the Henryk Wieniawski Musical Society of Poznan. This restoration work was paid for from funds from the Polish Ministry of Culture and Cultural Heritage. Now, one can read the quotation from the poem ‘Promethidion’ by Cyprian Kamil NORWID which the composer had asked to have engraved on his tomb.
+++ Read the summary report on the renovation and restoration work 
+++ Józef Wieniawski on Culture.pl (en anglais)

Hanna LIZINKIEWICZ
A graduate of two National Colleges of Music, Ms Lizinkiewicz was awarded a distinction for her studies in piano at the Poznan I. J. Paderewski Conservatoire (where she studied under Andrzej Tatarski), skills which she went on to perfect at Lund University in Sweden, where she was in Hans Pållson’s piano class, and at the Universität für Musik und darstellende Kunst in Vienna, where she was in Christopher Hinterhuber’s class, as well as during numerous master classes. She currently works as a pianist and accompanist at the Poznan Conservatoire as well as at the Malmö Academy of Music (Sweden). The winner of many competitions in Poland and abroad, as a soloist, part of a duo or quartet, she regularly performs on European stages. 

Krzysztof KARPETA
Born in 1987 and also a graduate of a National College of Music, Karpeta completed his studies at the Lodz Conservatoire in Professor Stanisław Firlej’s class (he currently works as the latter’s assistant). Between 2009 and 2012, he continued his training at the Hochschule für Musik und Darstellende Kunst in Mannheim (with Michael Flaksman and Jelena Očić). He helped to set up two groups, the Polish Cello Quartet and the Reger Duo (with Michał Rot), which enjoys success both in Poland and abroad. Krzysztof Karpeta was a concert perfomer for the Mannheimer Philharmoniker from 2010 until 2012, a role he currently plays for the Filharmonia Bałtycka. He was also a concert performer for Capella Cracoviensis, the Wrocławska Orkiestra Kameralna Leopoldinum, the Universität Orchester Mannheim and various Polish philharmonics.