The music of Polish composer Karol Szymanowski (1882-1937) is featured in a mini-festival at London’s Wigmore Hall. It concert is curated by the Polish pianist Piotr Anderszewski, an ardent promoter of Szymanowski’s music.

In tonight’s concert Anderszewski appears as accompanist in Szymanowski’s Myths (with the violinist Henning Kraggerud) and the song cycle Slopiewnie (with the Polish soprano Iwona Sobotka).  The Belcea Quartet is billed in Szymanowski’s String Quartet No. 1.

On Friday,  Anderszewski will perform Metopes for piano solo and will accompany Iwona Sobotka in Songs of a Fairy Princess, and the Belcea Quartet will appear in Szymanowski’s String Quartet No. 2.

The concerts are seen as yet another manifestation of a growing popularity of Szymanowski’s music. The Wigmore Hall writes on its website: ‘The music of Poland’s greatest pre-Second World War master is currently being rediscovered and re-evaluated and this showcase of some of Szymanowski’s mesmerising genius will surely hasten this process.’

Earlier this week, the ‘Szymanowski Project’ concluded at New York’s Carnegie Hall with the participation of the same artists.

Born in 1969, Piotr Anderszewski is, next to Krystian Zimerman, Poland’s most famous pianist. He studied at the Conservatories in Lyon and Strasbourg, the University of Southern California in Los Angeles and the Music Academy in Warsaw. He came to international attention with the sensational performance of Beethoven’s Diabelli Variations in the semi-finals of the International Piano Competition in Leeds in 1990. Several months later he was given an enthusiastic reception after a recital at London’s Wigmore Hall.

Since then Anderszewski has appeared in many prestigious recital series and with leading orchestras. His discography includes works by Bach, Beethoven and Webern recorded for CD ACCORD, a CD with an all-Bach programme for Harmonia Mundi and eight CDs for Virgin Classics. His latest 2-CD set is entitled ‘Anderszewski at Carnegie Hall’. (mk)