15.02.2025, 19.00,
Oratorium Marianum of University of Wrocław
Bach / Ysaÿe / Chopin / Paganini / Saint-Saëns
We would like to invite you to a unique concert entitled ‘Alma Concerts – Salon brillante’ in the historic Oratorium Marianum of Wrocław University, which, following the example of the Parisian Romantic salons, will immerse listeners in the musical salons of the 19th century!
Starring will be the eminent violinist Elias David Moncado, acknowledged as one of the greatest talents of his generation, and Jerzy Chwastyk – ‘poet of the guitar’, as Crescendo magazine describes him. The artists will perform an emotional programme inspired by Romanticism, featuring works by composers such as Chopin (in an arrangement for solo guitar), Ysaye, Paganini, Saint-Saëns and J.S. Bach’s monumental Chaconne.
The Oratorium Marianum, the venue for performances by giants such as Brahms and Liszt, perfectly captures the spirit of that era and is a place where every sound sounds majestic. It is here, at the very heart of European culture, that the music will sound in its full glory – just as it did in the days of performances by Paganini or Clara Schumann.
Salon brillante is a programme referring to the legendary Parisian salons of the Romantic era, where the greatest names of the time – from Chopin to Paganini to Liszt – made music in intimate rooms.
Such a salon of Europe was and is the hall of the Oratorium Marianum, where the virtuosity and brillante style so characteristic of the composers of Romanticism will be contrasted with the intimate and delicate sound of the guitar, evoking the atmosphere of those times.
more information
‘One of the biggest talents of his generation’.
Anne-Sophie Mutter
The 23-year-old German-Spanish-Malaysian violinist Elias David Moncado has been a grantee of the Anne-Sophie Mutter Foundation since 2023.
He is the youngest ever winner of the 1st grand prize as well as 10 special prizes at the International Karol Lipinski Violin Competition 2019 in Poland.
Elias won the 1st prize at the Int. Valsesia Musica 2021 as well as the 1st prize at the Int. Vladimir Spivakov Competition 2021.
In addition, he is the youngest prizewinner of the 7th International Sendai Violin Competition 2019 in Japan. In 2023, three tours with Anne-Sophie Mutter and „Mutter´s Virtuosi“ took him to Iceland, USA, Canada and throughout Europe, where he performed as a soloist next to Mutter at venues like
Golden Hall of Musikverein Wien, Berliner Philharmonie, Elbphilharmonie Hamburg, Festspielhaus Baden-Baden, Alte Oper Frankfurt, Philharmonie Luxemburg, Roy Thomson Hall Toronto, Knight Concert Hall Miami, Kravis Center West Palm Beach, Palacio de Festivales Santander as well as Lucerne Festival.
In November 2023, he was on tour as a soloist with the Sofia Philharmonic Orchestra and Beethoven’s Violin Concerto under the baton of Sascha Goetzel and Nayden Todorov in Bulgaria, Austria and Germany, where he gave his debuts at the Großer Saal of Wiener Konzerthaus (Recording by Medici TV), Beethovensaal at Liederhalle Stuttgart and Kurhaus Wiesbaden (Rheingau Musikfestival), amongst others.
Further musical highlights in his young solo-career are his concerts as a debut artist at Nikolaisaal Potsdam from 2020-2022, as well as his debuts 2022 at Meguro Persimmon Hall Tokio and Hitachi Systems Hall Sendai.
Elias David Moncado was a soloist of numerous orchestras like Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks, Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra, Philharmonie Baden-Baden, Göttinger Symphonieorchester, Brandenburger Symphoniker, Freiburger Philharmoniker,
Sendai Philharmonic Orchestra, MAV Budapest Symphony Orchestra and Wroclaw Opera Symphony Orchestra.
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A Master of breathing and vocal line on the guitar’ –
this is how the playing of the Polish musician Jerzy Chwastyk was described by the Pizzicato magazine.
Jerzy Chwastyk’s extensive repertoire ranges from traditional and classical guitar music to innovative projects and unusual chamber music projects with other artists.
These include collaborations with the Neuköllner Oper, the actor Hanns Zischler, the bandoneonist Omar Massa, among others.
This versatility is also evidenced by his two highly acclaimed solo CDs: La Joia (2017) and Iberian Soundscapes (2020), “dichter.liebe” (Prospero Classical) with Hanns Zischler and Susanne Szambelan.
On the album “dichter.liebe” recorded in 2022 with Susanne Szambelan and Hanns Zischler and nominated twice for the prestigious OPUS KLASSIK award,, he also appeared as an arranger of songs by Robert Schumann – the first transcription of the well-known cycle was praised by critics as an “absolutely monumental and poignant” work. (Radio France)
Jerzy Chwastyk is a prize winner of many renowned competitions (Concurso Sigall/ Chile, Concurso Fernando Sor/Madrid und Concurso Segovia in Linares and in La Herradura) and since 2023 artistic director of Alma Concerts and Sounds of Surrender festival in Wrocław.
