Chopin Society of Atlanta

For the original article, please visit North Fulton Newspaper here.



The Chopin Society of Atlanta presents another of its concerts featuring world-class artists playing some of the greatest music ever written. Polish-born Mariusz Patyra will perform Oct. 19 at the Roswell Cultural Arts Center.

The 30-year-old Patyra is a true virtuoso of the violin.

His artistic career took off after he won the 2001 Niccolo Paganini International Violin Competition, at which he was also awarded the special prize for the best interpretation of Paganini’s Caprices. He was honored with a copy of the violin “Il Cannone,” which had belonged to the legendary virtuoso.

His other noteworthy achievements include being a prize winner of the Joseph Joachim International Violin Competition (Hannover), a finalist of the International Stradivari Competition in Cremona (1998), fourth prize winner at the International Carl-Nielsen Violin Competition, and winner of the special prize of the Odense Symphony Orchestra (2000).

Patyra has extensively toured Europe, Japan and the United States, always meeting enthusiastic response from audiences and critics.

He has played with such notable orchestras as the Royal Chamber Orchestra Tokyo, Orchestra Fondazione Arturo Toscanini, Orchestra di Roma, Orchestra Filarmonica Marchigiana, Polish Radio Symphony Orchestra, National Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra, and Sinfonia Varsovia.

His program in Roswell will include pieces by Chopin, Brahms, Debussy and others.

European journalist Bozena Zaremba interviewed Patyra, and is excerpted here:

Zaremba: When people talk about the violin, the word “virtuoso” is often used, probably more often than with any other instrument. Why, in your opinion?

Patyra: Mainly because many people associate the violin with Niccolo Paganini, a phenomenon who really started a new era. It was a revolution. Techniques like pizzicato, staccato or double flageolets, which we owe to Paganini, had been unheard of before him. At that point our understanding of virtuosity came into new light.

Zaremba: In your interpretations one can hear incredible technical skill but no flashiness, while in romantic pieces, there is great emotion but no sentimentality. Is this balance between technical prowess and expression intentional?

Patyra: I am really proud that you think this way. I had to work hard to achieve this sound. Being very self-critical, I have always been raising the bar higher and higher. I owe this to my mom, who had never let me skip a note till I was 19. At the age of 15 I was able to take on pieces with the highest degree of virtuosity.

I worked on my technical skill for many years, but life experience has had a significant influence on the expression in my interpretations.

Zaremba: During your U.S. concert tour you will be playing nocturnes by Chopin, who is associated practically only with the piano. Chopin on violin? Sounds like blasphemy.

Patyra: Chopin’s music has found its place in the program to honor the Chopin Society’s mission. In my opinion, Chopin should of course be played only on the piano. Transcriptions can be dangerous, but if you understand the soul of the composer’s music, you can show its genius, even on a different instrument. And this is what I am trying to accomplish.

Zaremba: Which is not easy since everyone has his or her own theory about how Chopin should be played.

Patyra: Art is immeasurable. There is no one method, a golden key to playing his music. After all, who truly knows how to play Chopin? The world only knows the most famous renditions of the greatest pianists. Nobody has ever heard Chopin play. We can only imagine his intentions, especially that the music itself – through its dynamics, phrasing – suggests the character of the piece.