De Profundis

De Profundis promises music lovers a unique experience by virtue of the compositions Joanna Wicherek has chosen for this concert.

She has played in South Africa before and is a Polish native, a country that apart from the great Chopin, has produced a number of composers who achieved world-wide fame both in the 20and 21st th century including Karol Szymanowski (1882-1937), Witold Lutosławski (1913-94), Krzysztof Penderecki (1933- ) and Henryk Górecki (1933-2010). The programme is a mix of Polish and American music.

Frederic Chopin‘s famous Scherzo in b minor will provide the concert’s dramatic prelude. The work was composed and published in 1837 and dedicated to Countess Adèle Fürstenstein, a favorite student of Chopin’s. It will be followed by Epiphora for piano and tape, written by Polish composer Pawel Mykietyn. It is phrased as a metaphysical question about the role of a pianist -virtuoso, interrupted by a deep electro-acoustic substance, initiated by an atom bomb explosion. With the presence of subtle quotes from Bach and Chopin, Epiphora is a sensual and intellectual exploration of a new musical space.

The culmination of the programme, De Profundis by Frederic Rzewski, promises an unforgettable concert experience. Described by the composer as “melodramatic oratorio” for speaking pianist, De Profundis is a startlingly original work which uses an Oscar Wilde text written during his imprisonment in Reading Gaol and requires the pianist to recite, sing, hum, whistle, use a Harpo horn, and hit his own body and the piano while playing a score of considerable variety and drama.

The programme is as follows:

• Frederic Chopin (1810 - 1849) - Scherzo Bb minor Op. 31 No.2 (1837)
• Paweł Mykietyn (1971) - Epiphora for piano and tape (1996)
• Frederic Rzewski (1938) - De Profundis for speaking pianist (1994)
• Safe parking is available at Origins Centre, Braamfontein West Campus

Safe parking is available at Origins Centre, Braamfontein West Campus

Cost
Full price = R80.00; discount price = R55.00 (students, pensioners and Wits staff). Tickets are available at the door. Full price = R85.00; discount price = R60.00 (students, pensioners and Wits staff). 

ABOUT THE MUSICIAN:

Joanna Wicherek is an accomplished classical pianist performs internationally with many renowned artists. In 2014 she was awarded with a Standard Bank Ovation Award at the National Arts Festival, South Africa. Her extensive repertoire has an emphasis on contemporary music. She also has a profound understanding of ‘historically informed performance’ and specialist knowledge of historical keyboard instruments.

Wicherek professionally collaborates with Poland’s most important composers i.e. Paweł Mykietyn, Paweł Szymański and Sławomir Kupczak. She performed Szymański’s music on the soundtrack to the film Violated Letters (2010). Kupczak dedicated his latest work Widziałem Cię to Joanna and her musical partner, Michał Sławecki.

In 2003, Wicherek recorded a CD with the early music ensemble Proavitus, contributing harpsichord and singing parts.

Wicherek has been awarded prizes at the Competition of the 20th and 21st Centuries for Young Performers, Warsaw and the International Competition of Contemporary Chamber Music, Krakow. Joanna is a Young Artist of the prestigious Accademia Villa Bossi in Italy. Since 2014 she has lived in South Africa where she is active as a performer, accompanist and a piano pedagogue.

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