Wladyslaw Szpilman: Concertino (1940) for Piano and Orchestra

  
Wladyslaw Szpilman is the celebrated composer and pianist, whose remarkable memoirs about surviving life in the Warsaw ghetto in Nazi-occupied Poland are the subject of Roman Polanski’s newest film, The Pianist.

Perfomers can explore a selection of his piano music, songs and concert works, now published by B&H and Bote & Bock for the first time.

Szpilman's famous concert work "Concertino" for piano and orchestra rounds off the edition of concert works and selected songs by the Polish composer. Completed in the Warsaw Ghetto in 1940, the work is characterized by an unexpectedly cheerful, almost swinging mood. It is slightly reminiscent of Gershwin and the great gestures of the film scores at that time, yet it is a "real Szpilman" in its superior instrumentation and reliable sense of style concerning the prevailing taste. In addition to the score, a piano score will be published for study purposes, with a preface by Krystian Zimerman.