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Musical tribute to Chopin on death anniversary

17.10.2019 07:55
Mozart’s "Requiem" will be performed in a Warsaw church on Thursday night in an annual tribute to Polish Romantic composer Fryderyk Chopin.
A statue of the great Polish Romantic composer Fryderyk Chopin (1810-1849) in Warsaws Łazienki Park. Photo: masterekpixabay.comCC0 Creative Commons.jpg
A statue of the great Polish Romantic composer Fryderyk Chopin (1810-1849) in Warsaw's Łazienki Park. Photo: masterekpixabay.comCC0 Creative Commons.jpgvia Wikimedia Commons

The performance will mark 170 years since Chopin's death and will be held at the Polish capital’s Holy Cross Church, where the composer’s heart is buried in one of the pillars.

Mozart’s work will be performed by Poland’s {oh!} orchestra under German conductor Andreas Staier, together with the Collegium Vocale 1704 choir from the Czech Republic and a group of foreign soloists, comprising soprano Johanna Winkel, alto Marie Henriette Reinhold, tenor Patrick Grahl, and bass-baritone Krešimir Stražanac.

It is a long-standing tradition to perform Mozart’s Requiem in the Holy Cross Church every year on October 17, as it is the work that Chopin wanted performed during his funeral mass.

Chopin died in Paris on October 17, 1849. His grave is at the city’s Père Lachaise cemetery.

Chopin's grave at the Père Lachaise cemetery in Paris. Photo: DIMSFIKAS [CC BY-SA 3.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons Chopin's grave at the Père Lachaise cemetery in Paris. Photo: DIMSFIKAS [CC BY-SA 3.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

(mk/gs)