By Matt Kiernan
World-renowned Fryderyk Chopin piano player Ewa Poblocka performed in a packed Torp Theatre last Sunday to celebrate the bicentennial anniversary of Chopin’s birth, and play the music she’s performed all over the world for the past 40 years.
“To me it doesn’t matter who or what the number of people that are there, it’s more about touching people,” said Poblocka, describing her passion for reaching people through music.
As a little girl, Poblocka had a musically inclined family and would listen to the radio every Sunday at noon, where she would listen for who was playing and would write them down into a book. Out of all the musicians she listened to, Chopin stuck out the most.
“I admire his ability in his compositions and music,” said Poblocka.
Once, Poblocka had the opportunity to play a piano, dated 1848, which may have been played by Chopin himself during his time. The piano was designed for smaller room performances, which is quite different from the grand pianos that are made today.
“You have to think about it differently and that can be a source of more inspiration,” said Poblocka.
Often Poblocka will like to play softer pieces by Chopin, leaving the audience unsure if they should applaud when her playing stops, giving a quietness to the room that lets the pieces pleasantly settle into the minds of the listeners.
Every time she plays a Chopin piece she tries to approach it differently in order to give it a fresh sound and find new inspiration.
“His music was not only brilliant, but he was also great at creating an atmosphere,” said Poblocka.
Poblocka recalled performing her first Chopin concert at what she guesses was the age of nine, and having the concert hall silent.
“Silence can be very important when you’re performing,” said Poblocka.
During Poblocka’s Sunday performance, she played Chopin’s “Nocturne in E Minor, Op. Posth.,” the waltz “B Minor, Op. Posth.,” and “Scherzo in B-flat minor, Op. 31.”
Chopin would write Polish mazurkas and waltzes as a way of connecting with his homeland of Poland because of his nationalist pride and yearning to be home again. The last piece he ever wrote was a mazurka, signaling his love for his country.
His contributions to the field of music in general were vast, creating new harmonies and taking mazurkas, nocturnes and waltzes, as well as other musical compositions further than they ever were before.
In addition to performing Chopin for audiences, Poblocka has played in orchestras, enjoys performing chamber music and has recorded Chopin music that includes all of his nocturnes, ballads and sonatas. She has gone on multiple world tours with the Warsaw National Philharmonic in 1984, ’89, ’90, ’92 and ’98.
The S.A. Blejwas Endowed Chair in Polish and Polish American Studies, the Embassy of Poland in Washington, D.C. as well as the Polish American Foundation of Connecticut presented the performance.
Poblocka will be touring the world throughout the year, making stops in what include Japan, China and India.
