Concert to honour three celebrated composers Beethoven, Chopin and Grieg

The concert is jointly held by the Ho Chi Minh City Ballet Symphony Orchestra and Opera (HBSO), Poland’s Mickiewicz Institute and the Warsaw Music Foundation, marking the National Independence Day of Poland.

The concert will begin with Symphony No.1 in C Major, op. 21, by German composer Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827).

Composed and premiered in 1880, this piece marks his early foray into symphonic composition. Often referred to as “Beethoven’s First Symphony,” it showcases his ability to innovate classical forms, which he would spend the rest of his career perfecting.

The second piece of the concert will be Polish Fantasy for piano and orchestra by Polish virtuoso pianist and composer Frédéric Chopin (1810-1849).

Written between 1828 and 1830, Chopin himself referred to it as his “Potpourri on Polish themes,” and performed it for many years after its debut. Its first and third themes are based on popular Polish folk songs, while the second is adapted from an Opera by his Polish friend, Karol Kurpiński.

After an intermission, the night will conclude with Piano Concerto in A Minor, op. 16, by Norwegian composer Edvard Grieg (1843-1907).

Composed in 1868, it showcases Grieg’s deep connection to Norwegian folk music and landscapes, with Romantic melodies that evoke the grandeur of his homeland. Written when he was only 25, it remains his most ambitious and celebrated work.

The concert will bring to the stage pianist Joanna Marcinkowska, who is a lecturer at the Department of the Pianoforte of the Academy in Poland, and conductor Wojciech Czepiel, who has led many orchestras worldwide, including as director of the Lebanese National Philharmonic in Beirut from 2000 to 2013.

Tickets to the concert are priced from 400,000 VND to 750,000 VND.