Jakowicz & Jumppanen

This virtuoso duo offers a program of delightful European classics.

Jakub Jakowicz studied violin at the Warsaw Fryderyk Chopin University of Music where he now lectures. Since making his stage debut at age 11 in 1998, Jakub has played with all leading Polish orchestras and made solo appearances with renowned orchestras in Europe and South America. He plays an instrument by Gand Frères (Paris 1859), courtesy of the Fondation Jerzy Semkow.

Finnish virtuoso Pianist Paavali Jumppanen has established himself as a dynamic musician of seemingly unlimited capability who has already cut a wide swath internationally as a solo recitalist, orchestral collaborator, recording artist and artistic director. Paavali has performed extensively in the United States, Europe, Japan, China, and Australia.

Schubert composed the Fantasy as an homage to the recently deceased Beethoven. The work’s devilish demands on both players reflect those of Beethoven’s Kreutzer Sonata. Schubert’s work is titled ‘a fantasy’ and since it stretches the idea of a chamber sonata to the extreme; perhaps Beethoven’s work should have been called ‘a concerto’. At the heart of the program, the duo gives a rendering of the Sonata No. 5 by Grazyna Bacewicz, a celebrated Polish violinist-composer of the 20th century. Bacewicz’s music is beaming with original character, her great sense of melody and understanding of the ways of the violin in particular amounting to an intriguing musical feat.

• Jakub Jakowicz | Violin
• Paavali Jumppanen | Piano