Chopin and His Europe Festival Returns

Warsaw is once again gearing up for one of its annual musical highlights. The 21st edition of the Chopin and His Europe Festival kicked off on 20 August and runs until 6 September, packing in 29 concerts featuring a mix of world-renowned soloists, orchestras, and chamber ensembles.

As always, audiences can expect a blend of beloved classics and rediscovered gems. Big names on this year’s lineup include Vadym Kholodenko, Benjamin Grosvenor, Alexander Melnikov, Piotr Anderszewski, Mao Fujita, Alena Baeva, and Chouchane Siranossian. Several debut performers will also take the stage, including young Polish pianists preparing for the upcoming Chopin Competition.

This year’s special theme is “Begin with Bach”. Many concerts open with works by Johann Sebastian Bach, performed by artists such as Fabio Biondi, Roel Dieltiens, Władysław Kłosiewicz, and Krzysztof Chorzelski.

Festival-goers can also look forward to hearing past Chopin Competition winners – including Dang Thai Son, Yulianna Avdeeva, and Bruce Liu – alongside other celebrated laureates like Ingrid Fliter, Eric Lu, Kate Liu, Aimi Kobayashi, and Kyohei Sorita. And yes, even the legendary Ivo Pogorelić will make an appearance.

Not to be overlooked are the winners of the Period Instrument Chopin Competition: Tomasz Ritter, Dmitry Ablogin, and Martin Nöbauer. Meanwhile, Felix Janiewicz – still something of a hidden treasure – returns to the program with both violin and piano concertos.

Chamber music fans welcome the debut of the Hagen Quartet, while familiar ensembles such as the Belcea Quartet, Apollon Musagète (appearing with Bruce Liu), Il Giardino Armonico, Concerto Köln, and the Freiburger Barockorchester return to the stage. The AUKSO Orchestra under Marek Moś also perform, including a newly discovered version of Lutosławski’s Partita for cello.

Hear the two Chopin Concertos in this concert from 26 August:

Interview with Aleksander Laskowski of the organising Chopin Institute in Warsaw

Piano Street: We know it’s a very busy time for you, Aleksander Laskowski. You are currently in Tokyo, and we’re happy to have the chance to ask you a few questions about the “Chopin and His Europe” festival taking place in Warsaw right now. It’s a special year because the festival is, in fact, an overture to the International Chopin Competition, which will take place in October. How has this influenced the festival program?

Aleksander Laskowski: Of course, I am very sorry to miss a few concerts of the festival. As you say, it is special because it will soon be followed by the Chopin Competition. You can already feel the vibrations in the air. Naturally it influences the programme, which features a number of this year’s Polish participants, who play at the Holy Cross Basilica, where Chopin’s heart is enshrined. It is a special test for them and a great occasion for the audience to hear life them before the tournament.

PS: The program features a strong representation of Chopin pianists and international top performers in all sorts of combinations and performances, but we also notice a focus on Bach. What can you tell us about that?

AL: The subtitle of this year’s edition, as always curated by our director Stanisław Leszczyński, is “Begin with Bach”. It is a pun in Polish, as this is a title of a popular song by Zbigniew Wodecki, who used Bach’s harmony. The important thing, though, is that Bach was so important for Chopin and many other composers. So you can hear The Well-Tempered Clavier on a cembalo performed by Władysław Kłosiewicz as well as Shostakovich’s Preludes and Fugues played by Yulianna Avdeeva, our first prize winner from 2010, who also makes her debut as a jury member this year.

PS: What are you doing in Japan right now? Are you involved in the Chopin mission there as well?

AL: I am in Tokyo for a press conference announcing the Chopin Competition, as the interest of Japanese media is enormous. Later we go to Osaka, where we organize a sold-out Chopin week at the Expo, with regular concerts and many other activities.

PS: Every five years Warsaw turns into a piano Shangri-La. What can we expect from the upcoming 19th edition of the Chopin Competition?

AL: Many surprises and lots of beautiful music making. Emotions running high and an enormous media hype. And many professionals from the music world coming together to this wonderful piano jamboree. I am so happy that Piano Street will be there again!

Hear a longer interview with Aleksander Laskowski from Polish Radio (in English) and Elżbieta Krajewska.

Full Festival Program:
https://festiwal.nifc.pl/pl/2025/kalendarium

How to Watch

If you can’t make it in person, several concerts will be streamed live on the YouTube and—for the first time—TikTokchannels of The Fryderyk Chopin Institute.

https://www.youtube.com/@chopininstitute/streams

Streaming schedule:

24 Aug, 17.00 (GMT) – Aimi Kobayashi, Kyohei Sorita, Andrzej Bauer, Aukso, Marek Moś – symphonic concert
26 Aug, 17.00 (GMT) – Dang Thai Son, Sophia Liu, Aukso, Marek Moś – symphonic concert
28 Aug, 17.00 (GMT) – Dmitry Ablogin, Freiburger Barockorchester – symphonic concert
31 Aug, 17.00 (GMT)– Bruce Liu, Apollon Musagète Quartett – chamber concert
4 Sept, 15.00 (GMT) – Chouchane Siranossian, Tomasz Ritter, {oh!} Orchestra, Martyna Pastuszka – symphonic concert
4 Sept, 18.30 (GMT) – Kate Liu – piano recital