Panufnik Katyn Epitaph
Chopin Piano Concerto No 1
Shostakovich Symphony No 5

11 November 2023 7.30pm

Agata Zając - conductor
Warren Mailley-Smith- piano

Warren Mailley-Smith has given acclaimed solo recitals at The Wigmore Hall and Carnegie Hall and has performed for the British Royal Family on numerous occasions. He has 40 piano concertos in his repertoire, and has made his concerto debut with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. He was the first British pianist to perform Chopin's complete works for solo piano from memory in a series of 11 recitals. His latest recording includes the work featured tonight, Chopin’s popular first concerto, soon to be released.

It’s Remembrance Day and Poland’s Independence Day so with thoughts of recent conflicts, Polish conductor, Agata Zając will also lead us through a short work written in memory of thousands of Polish nationals, victims of mass execution by the Soviet regime in 1940. We finish with perhaps Shostakovich’s most popular work; itself a Russian composer’s response to repression. "I think it is clear to everyone what happens in the fifth. It's as if someone were beating you with a stick saying ‘your business is rejoicing, your business is rejoicing', and you rise shakily and go off muttering 'Our business is rejoicing, our business is rejoicing"'.