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FROM SOLO to DIALOGUE
Piano SOLO & DUO recital by
Dang thai son & ewa pobłocka
SATURDAY 7 NOVEMBER 2026
7:30PM
ESPLANADE CONCERT HALL
Few pianists have shaped the art of Chopin interpretation more profoundly than Dang Thai Son and Ewa Pobłocka, first as laureates of the 10th International Chopin Piano Competition in Warsaw and, for decades after, as regular distinguished jury members. In the first half of this recital, Dang, the Gold Medallist in 1980, dives into the intimate world of the solo piano with a programme that moves from the understated poetry of Federico Mompou to some of Chopin's most cherished works.
The second half opens a new musical chapter as Dang is joined by Pobłocka. Together, they explore the rich repertoire for piano duo, from the sparkling elegance of Mozart and the lyrical charm of Schubert to Chopin's rarely heard Rondo for two pianos. The evening culminates in Poulenc's irresistible wit and theatrical flair, bringing the recital to a joyful and exhilarating close.
From Solo to Dialogue traces a compelling journey from the solitary expression of a single pianist to the vibrant conversation between two extraordinary artists. It is an evening that celebrates not only the expressive possibilities of the piano, but also the artistry, trust and shared imagination that lie at the heart of great musical collaboration.
PROGRAMME
DANG THAI SON, piano
MOMPOU –
Preludes Nos. 1 and 7
Le lac from “Paisajes”
Cancion y Danza No. 8
CHOPIN –
Nocturne in B-flat minor, Op. 9 No. 1
Polonaise in C-sharp minor Op. 26 No. 1
Three Mazurkas, Op. 50
Ballade No. 1 in G minor, Op. 23
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DANG THAI SON, EWA POBŁOCKA, piano duo
MOZART – Sonata for Piano 4 Hands in D major, K.381/123a
SCHUBERT – Rondo in D major, D. 608 for Piano 4-hands
CHOPIN – Rondo in C major for two pianos, Op. posth. 73
POULENC –
Elegie for two pianos, FP 175
Capriccio d'après Le bal masqué for two pianos, FP 155
(Programme subject to change at the artists' discretion)
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THE ARTISTS
DANG THAI SON, piano
“A genuine musician” (Isaac Stern)
An outstanding international musician of our time, Vietnamese-Canadian pianist Dang Thai Son was propelled to the forefront of the musical world in October 1980, when he was awarded the First Prize and Gold Medal at the Xth International Chopin Piano Competition in Warsaw. It was also the first time that a top international competition was won by an Asian pianist.
He began piano studies with his mother in Hanoi. Discovered by the Russian pianist Isaac Katz, who was on visit in Vietnam in 1974, he pursued his advanced training at the Moscow State Tchaikovsky Conservatory in Russia with Vladimir Natanson and Dmitry Bashkirov.
Since winning the Chopin Competition, his international career has taken him to over forty countries, into such world renowned halls as the Lincoln Center (New York), Barbican Center (London), Salle Pleyel (Paris), Herculessaal (Munich), Concertgebouw (Amsterdam), Opera House (Sydney), and Suntory Hall (Tokyo).
He has played with numerous world-class orchestras such as The Philharmonia Orchestra, BBC Philharmonic, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Orchestre de Paris, St-Petersburg Philharmonic, Orchestre Symphonique de Montreal , Czech Philharmonic, Staatskapelle Berlin, Dresden Philharmonic Oslo Philharmonic, Warsaw National Philharmonic, Prague Symphony, NHK Symphony, New Japan Philharmonic, Helsinki Philharmonic, Sydney Symphony, Hungarian State Symphony, Moscow Philharmonic, Russian National Symphony, as well as Virtuosi of Moscow, Sinfonia Varsovia, Vienna Chamber, Zurich Chamber, Royal Swedish Chamber Orchestras, and the Ensemble Orchestral de Paris. Also, he has appeared under the direction of Sir Neville Marriner, Vladimir Ashkenazy , Pinchas Zukerman, Mariss Jansons, Pavvo Jarvi, Ivan Fisher, Frans Bruggen, Vladimir Spivakov, Dimitri Kitaenko, Sakari Oramo and John Nelson among others.
In the field of chamber music, he has performed with the Berlin Philharmonic Octet, the Smetana String Quartet, Barry Tuckwell, Tsuyoshi Tsutsumi, Pinchas Zukerman, Boris Belkin, Joseph Suk, Alexander Rudin, and he has played duo-piano with Andrei Gavrilov.
Other career highlights include a New Year’s Day concert (1995) with Yo-Yo Ma, Seiji Ozawa, Kathleen Battle, and the late Mstislav Rostropovich, in a major international event produced by the Japanese Broadcasting Corporation NHK; in January 1999, a Gala-concert opening the Chopin year, where he was the only foreign artist invited to appear as soloist with the Warsaw National Opera Theatre Orchestra; concerts in Isaac Stern’s last festival in Miyazaki, Japan in 2001, which included three performances with Pinchas Zukerman; a special performance in 2005 as the only guest artist at the Opening Gala Concert of the XVth International Chopin Piano Competition in Warsaw, where he was also a member of the jury; and on Chopin’s 200th Birthday, March 1st, 2010, he played at the Gala Concert the Concerto in F minor with the Orchestra of the Eighteenth Century under the direction of Frans Bruggen at the Warsaw National Opera Theatre.
EWA POBŁOCKA, piano
Ewa Pobłocka is a prize-winner of the 10th International Fryderyk Chopin Piano Competition in Warsaw (1980), where she also won the prize for the best performance of mazurkas. She won First Prize in the International Viotti Music Competition in Vercelli (1977) and the gold medal in the International Festival of Young Laureates in Bordeaux (1979).
Pobłocka has performed throughout Europe and the Americas, as well as in China, Indonesia, the RSA, Singapore, South Korea, Japan and Australia, in such venues as the Herkules-Saal in Munich, Musikhalle in Hamburg, St. Petersburg Philharmonic Hall, Théâtre des Champs Elysées in Paris, Kyoi Hall in Tokyo, Auditorio Nacional in Madrid, Barbican Centre and Wigmore Hall in London, Musikverein in Vienna, Lincoln Center in New York, Glenn Gould Studio in Toronto and Sala Cecília Meireles in Rio De Janeiro, among many others. She has played as a soloist with the London Symphony Orchestra, English Chamber Orchestra, Orchestra del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, Bayerischers Rundfunkorchester, Sinfonia Varsovia and Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra. She repeatedly toured as a Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra soloist under the baton of Kazimierz Kord. She is an accomplished chamber musician.
She has given numerous first performances and made world premiere recordings of works by Polish contemporary composers, including Andrzej Panufnik, Witold Lutosławski (first Polish recording of the Piano Concerto with the Polish Radio Symphony Orchestra under the composer’s baton), Paweł Szymański and Paweł Mykietyn. Pobłocka has worked with European radio stations and recorded more than 50 discs (for Deutsche Grammophon, Polskie Nagrania, CD Accord and Bearton, among others). Many of her recordings have won prizes and critical acclaim, including two ‘Record of the Year’ distinctions awarded by the Studio Magazine and the John Field Medal for the recording of his complete Nocturnes (the first recording of the whole set ever made). She is the first Polish pianist in history to record both volumes of Das Wohltemperierte Klavier by Bach. Recently she has performed both the volumes in a recital series in many venues in Europe. Her last album with the 1st Book has been awarded “Recording of the Month” by Gramophone magazine, which also placed it among the fifty best recordings of Bach’s music in history. It also received special commendation in The Record Geijutsu.
Pobłocka is a distinguished pedagogue, teaching at the Academy of Music in Bydgoszcz. She has given numerous master classes in Canada, the United States, Vietnam, Japan, Mongolia, Korea, China, Ireland, Germany, Denmark, Norway, Poland, and Belgium, among many others. She has been a jury member of the most prestigious international piano competitions, such as the Chopin Competition in Warsaw, Artur Rubinstein Competition in Tel-Aviv, as well as the competitions in Hamamatsu, Pretoria, Calgary, Hastings and Ettlingen, among many others.
Pobłocka also willingly devotes herself to literary activities – her first book, "Forte-piano", was released in 2021. Since 2020, she has been running the broadcasts "Start with Bach" and “Bach’s Cases” on Polish Radio.
