A poster for the "Meet Chopin in Shenzhen" concert. Images courtesy of SZSO

Conducted by Shenzhen Symphony Orchestra (SZSO) music director Lin Daye, the ensemble will present “Meet Chopin in Shenzhen” this Friday, headlining pianist Krzysztof Jablonski, a leading contemporary interpreter of Chopin.

The program includes two of Chopin’s early piano concertos: "Piano Concerto No. 2 in F Minor, Op. 21," and "Piano Concerto No. 1 in E Minor, Op. 11."

Pianist Krzysztof Jablonski. 

Jablonski, a piano professor at the School of Music of The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen, was a laureate of the 1985 International Chopin Competition in Warsaw and a prizewinner at several other international contests.

Over the past four decades he has performed more than 2,000 concerts, recorded over 20 CDs, and frequently appeared on radio and television. Celebrated for his ability to “make the piano sing,” he clinched the top prize of the Chopin competition with his interpretation of Chopin’s "Piano Concerto No. 1 in E Minor."

Although numbered as No. 2, the concerto in F minor (Op. 21) — to be performed in the first half — was actually the first concerto Chopin completed, written at age 19 shortly after his triumphant return from Vienna. 

Conductor Lin Daye.

It opens with an expressive orchestral introduction that gives way to a singing piano line; the second movement is often praised as one of Chopin’s most beautiful, inspired by a singer he admired, while the finale bursts with mazurka like rhythms and youthful exuberance.

The concerto in E minor (Op. 11), composed afterward but published earlier, begins with a solemn, expansive orchestral introduction followed by a piano part that resembles the human voice in its phrasing. Its second movement is tender and dreamlike, and the finale draws on lively Polish folk rhythms.

Expect an evening of romance and youthful vitality as the SZSO and one of today’s foremost Chopin interpreters bring these early works to life.

Tickets: 80-880 yuan

Time: 8 p.m., Oct. 31

Venue: Shenzhen Concert Hall, Futian District (深圳音樂廳)

Metro: Line 3 or 4 to Children’s Palace Station (少年宮站), Exit D