New Music Art Production and the French Institute in Warsaw are proud to announce Chopin Inspire Gainsbourg, a concert which will take place on 29 March 2010 at the Teatr Wielki. The concert will feature Polish and French music stars: Jane Birkin, Gaba Kulka, Andrzej Smolik, Nosfell , Berry, Claire Denamur , the Andrzej Jagodziński Trio, and Jan Krzysztof Broja, who will perform works by Fryderyk Chopin and songs by Serge Gainsbourg inspired by Chopin's music. The concert has been prepared specially for the celebration of the anniversary of the composer's birth, one of the priorities of Polish-French cultural co-operation.

   Fryderyk Chopin is among the most popular composers of classical music in both Poland and France, though people sometimes forget that his heart is kept in Warsaw. This is why the fourth edition of the Francophonic Festival in Poland includes such a unique concert showing the affinity between Chopin's music and contemporary French song. The concert will present the influence of Chopin's musical heritage on French culture by juxtaposing the works of the 19th-century pianist with pieces by one of France's leading singer-songwriters, Serge Gainsbourg.

   In a way, Serge Gainsbourg "co-wrote" some of his songs with Chopin. The Polish composer and piano virtuoso served as a musical point of reference for Gainsbourg. In the artist's aesthetic hierarchy, Chopin and Mozart always came first. Even if modesty made the French singer-songwriter consider his art to be of little importance, the relations between classical music and Gainsbourg's songs are still unique. In addition, Gainsbourg's Russian origins left a lasting trace in his soul, together with a sensitivity to Slavic culture. One might even guess that Chopin's Polish romanticism appealed to the Russian part of Gainsbourg's heart.

   The 200th anniversary of Fryderyk Chopin's birth is an excellent opportunity to present his works with the songs of Serge Gainsbourg. An aid campaign for Haiti will accompany the concert.

Duration: 1 hr 45 min.

Co-organizer of the concert: Teatr Wielki - Polish National Opera

As part of the Francophonic Festival 

Tickets to the concert cost PLN 70, 90, 110, 150, 170, 190, and 230.

They are available online from ticketonline.pl, ticketpro.pl, and eventim.pl, and at the following points of sale:
    EMPiK shops nation-wide
    Saturn shops nation-wide
    Media Markt shops nation-wide
    Eventim box offices in Warsaw
Group bookings and mail order ticket sales:
biletynakoncert@newmusicart.pl  , tel. 22 425 37 47 

Photo of Serge Gainsbourg - Archive