An Evening in Jagiellonian Aula

An Evening with Jane Stirling in the Jagiellonian Aula

An Evening with Jane Stirling was an opportunity to listen to a variety of Chopin's  compositions,  including the two Nocturnes which he dedicated to Jane Stirling, performed by the inimitable Anna Dębowska.  Normally fragile and fearful, Anna becomes a musical sovereign when she tames the grand piano through Chopin's music. She can calm the audience with her subtle rendition of the composer's nocturnes, but at the same time she can roll through the keyboard like a hurricane with demanding passages as she interprets his ballades. And so did she perform at An Evening with Jane Stirling in the Collegium Maius on 11 May 2017..

Anna's performance during "An Evening with Jane Stirling"  fused the past and the present, as they provided the audience with a unique opportunity to commune with sounds that so clearly carry a message. Combined with readings from Chopin's letters given by Marcin Jaroszek,  they offered a musical voyage in time back to 1848, when Caledonian soil hosted the dying Chopin, impoverished by his declining lot, enriched by numerous tokens of hospitality and genuine friendship.

Contextualized by Marek Kucharski's narration, An Evening with Jane Stirlingspan a story of love, devotion, disillusionment and unconditional respect for this somewhat whimsical Romantic genius. It told the story of Jane Wilhelmina Stirling, who gave so much and received so little. It told a story that had rested dormant for nearly two centuries - a story that will now unfold...

11 May 2017, 18.30,
venue: Aula Jagiellońska Muzeum Uniwersytetu Jagiellońskiego Collegium Maius w Krakowie

Anna Dębowska: piano
Marek Kucharski: narration
Marcin Jaroszek: readings from Chopin's letters

Programme:

F. Chopin - Polonez cis-moll op. 26 nr 1
Preludium Des-dur op. 28 nr 15
Nokturn cis-moll op. posth.
Nokturn f-moll op. 55 nr 1
Mazurek B-dur op. 7 nr 1
Preludium c-moll op. 28 nr 20
Nokturn Es-dur op. 55 nr 2
Nokturn Des-dur op. 27 nr 2

Special thanks must go to Yamaha Polska and Mx music for providing a grand piano used during the concert.

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