CHENNAI REMEMBERS FRYDERYK CHOPIN

This year, the world celebrates the bicentenary birth anniversary of one of the greatest musical geniuses of al time – an exceptional Polish composer and pianist - Fryderyk Chopin.

 

Fryderyk Chopin

Yesterday, Chennai had the privilege of listening to his symphonies performed by Maestro Bogdan Drewnowski, thanks to the endeavours of the Embassy of Poland along with Brihaddwani, a city-based NGO researching on the teaching methodologies of world music and the MCTM Chidambaram Chettiar International School.

                                                                                                                        

The event which took place in the school auditorium was attended by the young and the old alike. Interestingly, there were quite a good number of school students at the concert who readily gave up their chairs for the elderly people who had come. The room which had a dim light setting set the mood for the show and its wooden walls enhanced the acoustics. 

Drewnowski, a reknowned pianist has had the privilege of playing the role of Chopin himself in a Polish movie.                                           

 

Maestro Bogdan Drewnowski 

Drewnowski enthralled the audience for an hour by hitting the magical notes of Chopin’s waltzes and nocturnes. Such a fine pianist is Dwenowski that even when the room was left in complete darkness for two minutes in the middle of the performance because of an electricity glitch, the maestro’s fingers never stopped playing or even flinched from the piano! This left the audience spell bound. He acknowledged the audience’s applause after each performance by bowing to them. 

He ended the concert with a mazurka for which he earned a standing ovation from the thrilled audience. Everyone left the hall with a sense of peace, joy and music in their hearts.

The Polish ambassador to India had flown in just to take part in the concert. As a kind gesture, he presented a copy of the National edition of the works of Chopin to the Head Master of the MCTM School. He said that “As far as we in Poland are concerned, we consider Chopin as a heritage. And we want the world to know how great he is.”