The E minor concerto dates from 1830 and was first performed by the composer himself in Warsaw, and although he had no way of knowing it at the time, this piece also proved to be his farewell to Poland. The Hungarian audience got its first chance to hear the piece not long after the première, in 1835, with Ferenc Erkel playing the solo part. The defining atmosphere of the F minor concerto, which was composed somewhat earlier, is traditionally associated with the amorous feelings of the scarcely 20-year-old composer: in this work, the image of the beloved woman and his confession of love for her are most vividly expressed in the second movement: "My ideal, whom I have been serving for half a year without speaking to, whom I dream of, in whose memory I composed the Adagio of my new concerto,” Chopin wrote in a letter to a friend.

Presented by: Hungarian Radio Art Groups