Saturday's concert is sold out! Few tickets left for Friday!

In collaboration with Early Music Vancouver, the Vancouver Chopin Society presents renowned Polish pianist Janusz Olejniczak in two recitals - Friday, February 2nd, 2018 and Saturday, February 3rd, 2018, both at 7:30 p.m., in the intimate settings of Christ Church Cathedral. He is one of today's most distinguished Chopinists.

For those interested in films, Olejniczak has recorded best-selling soundtracks for two famous movies, Roman Polański’s The Pianist and Andrzej Żuławski’s La note bleue, appearing in the latter as Frederick Chopin! There will be a 4PM free screening of La Note Bleu in the Church Parish Hall (lower level) before each performance

Janusz Olejniczak loves playing Chopin. He feels connected to the composer, and often jokes that he is a friend of Chopin’s ghost.

On top of a commanding technique, which many pianists today possess, Chopin’s music requires particularly sensitive performers. It is this sensitivity that separates pianists who happen to play Chopin and great Chopin players. It is only under a true artist’s fingers that the true beauty of the music would be revealed. An artist would have to know how to find it not just in the notes, but between them as well.

At the age of 18, Janusz Olejniczak was the youngest ever award winner at the 8th International Chopin Competition in Warsaw. To this day, he is well known in Poland and the world over for his interpretation of Chopin, even though his repertoire extends far beyond this one composer.

In the prestigious Gramophone magazine, critic Patrick Rucker, in a glowing review of Olejniczak’s recording of Chopin’s 57 Mazurkas on a 1849 Erard piano, writes, “Listening to Janusz Olejniczak’s two-disc set of Mazurkas is like stepping back in time, to an age when interpretation of the most idiosyncratic of Chopin’s oeuvre was richly evocative, spontaneously evanescent and, above all, deeply personal.” Commenting on Olejniczak’s use of rubato, the critic continues, “Olejniczak doesn’t shy from a liberal application of rubato, but it is invariably born of the life of the phrase and never threatens a sure-footed dance pulse.”

Do not miss an opportunity to hear this remarkable pianist in two incredible recitals. Get your tickets before they sell out!

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Win a trip to Warsaw

You can still win a trip to Warsaw for the Finals of the first ever Chopin Competition on historical instruments, to be held in September 2018 in Warsaw. The package includes a round trip flight for one person, two tickets for the Finals, three days of accommodation and a tour to Zelazowa Wola, Chopin’s birthplace. To qualify for the draw, you will have to be a subscriber OR a single ticket holder for the Blechacz recital. The draw will be held at Rafal Blechacz’s 20th anniversary Gala Performance on April 22, 2018.

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