Wszystkiego najlepszego z okazji urodzin!

Or better yet, Happy Birthday!



The new 20 zloty note featuring bicentennial birthday boy and Poland's favorite son, Fryderyk Chopin.

Unfortunately for conductors, the only orchestra music Chopin wrote lies in the piano concertos, which, while containing little actual music for the orchestra, are notoriously difficult to coordinate with the soloist. Fortunately for pianists and music lovers everywhere, he left an remarkable legacy of piano music, particularly in large sets of miniatures (waltzes, etudes, preludes, mazurkas) - all featuring extraordinary harmonic complexity, melodic nuance and variety of mood.

For your enjoyment - famed Chopin interpreter Vladimir Horowitz playing a duo of Mazurkas, including one of my favorite (the modal-sounding A minor one):



For more information on Chopin festivities click here.