Echoes from Poland: J. Wieniawski & I.J. Paderewski

A Lecture-Recital by Zofia Lalak

 

8^th November 2026 | 18.00 hrs.

Steinway Thailand is delighted to present “Echoes from Poland: J. Wieniawski & I. J. Paderewski,” a special lecture-recital featuring the music of two prominent Polish virtuosos, Józef Wieniawski and Ignacy Jan Paderewski, whose works reflect a nineteenth-century Polish tradition of national identity, cultural survival, and memory.

Led by Polish pianist, educator and researcher Zofia Lalak, this special lecture-recital brings together their music with works by Fryderyk Chopin and Franz Liszt. Drawing on Lalak’s research into Wieniawski’s archives at the Conservatoire Royal de Bruxelles, the programme offers a rare perspective on lesser-known Polish Romantic repertoire—and potentially the first performance of Wieniawski’s works in Thailand.

Join us for an evening of music, discovery and Polish piano heritage.

 

RECITAL PROGRAM

Józef Wieniawski

Nocturne in E Minor Op. 37

Waltz-caprice in A Major Op. 46

Mazurka in A Minor Op. 23 No. 3

Romances sans Paroles (Songs without Words)
Op. 14 (No. 1 and No. 2)

 

Ignacy Jan Paderewski

Sarabande in B Minor Op. 14 No. 2

Légende in A-flat Major Op. 16 No. 1 

 

Fryderyk Chopin

Nocturne in C-sharp Minor Op. posth.

Waltz in C-sharp Minor Op.64 No. 2

Mazurka in A Minor Op. 17 No. 4

 

Franz Liszt / Fryderyk Chopin

Polish Songs S. 480
(The Maiden’s Wish, Spring, Merrymaking)

 

 

PROGRAM NOTE

This lecture-recital brings into the spotlight the repertoire of two prominent Polish virtuosos, Jozef Wieniawski and Ignacy Jan Paderewski. Both artists had a profound impact on the cultural life of Poland and Europe, while their music reflects a broader nineteenth-century Polish tradition in which artistic expression became closely intertwined with questions of national identity, cultural survival and memory.

As was the case with virtually every nineteenth-century composer, especially the Polish ones - the musical language of Jozef Wieniawski and Ignacy Jan Paderewski was deeply shaped by the influence of Fryderyk Chopin. His presence is therefore an essential part of the programme, providing an important artistic and historical point of reference for understanding the inspiration of the two composers.

During the nineteenth century, when Poland had ceased to exist as an independent state, music and the arts played an important role in preserving cultural identity and transmitting a sense of national belonging. The programme explores the ways in which Polish musical culture continued to develop and circulate despite the absence of political independence.

Particular attention is given to the culture of the nineteenth-century salon: a space in which music, literature, intellectual exchange, and social life intersected. Within this environment, the figure of the virtuoso acquired a special cultural significance.

The concert presents Wieniawski and Paderewski not simply as composers, but as figures situated within a much broader cultural phenomenon: the survival and transformation of Polish musical culture throughout the nineteenth century.

Zofia Lalak, as an alumna and long-time piano lecturer at the Conservatoire Royal de Bruxelles, was granted access to study the complete collection of manuscripts and private sheet music archives from the Fonds Jozef Wieniawski held in the Conservatory’s library. Her recital may also mark the first performance of Jozef Wieniawski’s works in Thailand, bringing this lesser-known part of the Polish Romantic repertoire to a new audience.

The project was realised with the support of the Minister of Culture and National Heritage Republic of Poland scholarship, as well as the Adam Mickiewicz Institute “Kultura Polska na swiecie” grant.

 

ABOUT ZOFIA LALAK

Pianist, educator, cultural manager and founder of the Lalak Piano Academy. She has performed in most European countries, as well as in Asia and Australia.

She worked as a piano lecturer at the Royal Conservatoire of Brussels (Conservatoire Royal de Bruxelles), where she also served as vice-president of the Keyboard Department. Alongside her academic work, she taught at international schools in Belgium and Italy. She was selected to participate in examiner training for the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music (London).

Zofia Lalak began her musical education with Bozena Ewa Szurek at the Feliks Nowowiejski Music School in Gdansk. She continued her piano studies under the guidance of Dominique Cornil and Sergei Leschenko at the Royal Conservatoire of Brussels, graduating with “grande distinction”. She further developed her skills during postgraduate studies at the Accademia di Musica di Pinerolo (with Laura Richard and Franco Scala), and in chamber music at the Royal Conservatoire of Brussels (Koninklijk Conservatorium Brussel) under the guidance of Viviane Spanoghe.

While still a student, Zofia Lalak achieved significant artistic successes, including winning First Prize at the Concours Musical de France in Krakow and Second Prize at the Concours Musical de France in Paris. She was also a finalist of the International Tansman Competition in Lodz, as the youngest participant and the only Polish pianist in the competition.

She is a two-time recipient of the Prime Minister of Poland’s scholarship. She has also received scholarships from the Minister of Culture and National Heritage of Poland, the Adam Mickiewicz Institute, the Belgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Italian Ministry of Culture, and Bureau International Jeunesse. She has been awarded the Sara Lahat Prize (Israel), the Prix du patrimoine award, and the Prix Belvaux for outstanding artistic achievements.

She has participated in numerous masterclasses, including the International Paris Piano Workshops, Prague International Piano Masterclasses, masterclasses of the Queen Elisabeth International Piano Competition in Brussels, and the Tel Hai International Piano Masterclasses in Israel. She has also taken part in a series of performance courses and concerts featuring historical instruments, including the fortepiano and Romantic-era piano.

She has collaborated with contemporary Belgian composers, including Philippe Boesmans, Daniel Capelletti, and Benoît Mernier, among others, notably during the Ars Musica Festival.

In recent years, she has been invited twice as a lecturer to the Australasian Piano Pedagogy Conference, where she presented, among other projects, her original lecture-recital Incredible Paderewski: A Journey Through His Life and Music.

Polish audiences have had the opportunity to hear her during the national tour Chopin Has Arrived as well as in her original recital programme Chopin and Liszt: Mutual Inspirations, which premiered in Paris. As a chamber musician, she maintains an extensive concert career, with a particular focus on violin repertoire. She has refined her skills under the guidance of renowned artists such as Pierre Amoyal and Igor Oistrakh. She was invited to perform with violinist Dora Schwarzberg. She has also recorded for Polish Radio 2 together with Iwona Sobotka, one of the most acclaimed European sopranos.

Since 2023, as a member of the Association Européenne des Conservatoires (Brussels), she has worked as Community Manager for the international inter-university project Opera Out of Opera 2, funded by the Creative Europe programme.

In 2026, she is organising an international concert and lecture tour centred on her original project The Other Wieniawski, made possible through a scholarship awarded by the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage of Poland in a national competition. As part of this tour, she performs and presents lecture-recitals across Europe and Asia, including concerts in Bangkok and guest lectures at Mahidol University.

Deeply committed to the idea that music should be accessible to everyone, Zofia Lalak combines her artistic career with educational and cultural initiatives. She creates and coordinates projects that bring classical music to new audiences, including Poznan Piano Day, during which students of the Lalak Piano Academy gave the first-ever piano concert in the history of the city aboard a tram. Through her performances, lectures, and community projects, she continues to build bridges between artistic excellence, education and public engagement.

 

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LOCATION

Steinway & Sons Showroom
#1F-04 Gaysorn Center, 1^st Floor
999 Phloen Chit Rd., Lumpini, Bangkok