Poland in Ireland

During the event, selected contemporary composers from Poland (Paweł Łukaszewski and François Hildebrand) and Ireland (Benjamin Dwyer and Aoife Kavanagh) presented the world premieres of pieces commissioned by the Embassy. These works were created in response to selected nocturnes by John Field (an Irish composer and the father of the nocturne genre) and Fryderyk Chopin (the greatest composer of nocturnes). The compositions were performed by renowned pianists Tamara Niekludow (PL) and Finghin Collins (IE). The project’s artistic director was Linda O’Shea Farren.

All the composers involved in the project attended the Dublin concert. Before the performance, a panel discussion featuring the composers and pianists took place, moderated by the artistic director. It was a wonderful opportunity for the large audience to get to know the composers and learn about the creative process.

It is also worth highlighting that in the course of creating the new compositions, two acclaimed composers (Paweł Łukaszewski and Benjamin Dwyer) mentored two young and emerging composers (Aoife Kavanagh and François Hildebrand, respectively). This added an important educational dimension to the project and further enhanced the aspect of cultural exchange between Poland and Ireland.

The concert was professionally recorded by the Irish national radio station RTÉ lyric fm — the broadcast date will be announced at a later time.

We sincerely hope that these four new nocturnes — each a remarkable composition in a distinct style — will win the hearts of both Polish and Irish audiences and will be performed at many festivals and concerts in the future.

Photos from the concert are attached.

 

Concert Programme:

 

1. Op 27, No. 2 in D flat major by Fryderyk Chopin performed by Tamara Niekludow

2. World première by Tamara Niekludow of Dreamscape by Aoife Kavanagh in response to Op 27, No. 2 by Fryderyk Chopin, in relation to which Aoife was mentored by Paweł Łukaszewski 

3. Nocturne in E minor by John Field performed by Finghin Collins

4. World première by Tamara Niekludow of  AUTUMNOCTURNE by Paweł Łukaszewski in response to Nocturne in E minor by John Field

5. Nocturne in E Major by John Field performed by Tamara Niekludow 

6. Nocturne in A Major by John Field performed by Finghin Collins

7. World première by Finghin Collins of Nocturne no 1 by François Hildebrandt in response to Nocturne in A Major by John Field, in relation to which François was mentored by Benjamin Dwyer

8. Op 48, No. 1 in C minor by Fryderyk Chopin performed by Finghin Collins

9. World première by Finghin Collins of Zmierzch by Benjamin Dwyer in response to Op 48, No. 1 by Fryderyk Chopin