We invite you to the concert 'Sibelius and Musical Europe', dedicated to the works of Jean Sibelius, shown against the background of European music.

Matti Asikainen, Finnish pianist, composer and musicologist, will perform solo and in duo with Polish pianist Ewa Guz-Seroka.

CONCERT PROGRAMME
1. W. A. Mozart - Sonata in D major KV 381
Allegro - Andante - Allegro molto
2. F. Schubert - Military March in D major Op. 51 No. 1
3. F. Chopin - Youthful Polonaises
G minor and B flat major op. posth

4. A. Dvorak - Slavonic Dances
E minor, Op. 72 No. 2
C major op. 46 no. 1

5. G. Faure - Dolly Suite Op. 56
Bercause
Le pas Espagnol

6. J. Sibelius - Lullaby Op. 24 No. 10
Spruce Op. 75 No. 5
Romance in D flat major Op. 24 No. 9

7. M. Asikainen - Valse en forme de guirlande (2000)
8. F. Busoni - Finnländische Volksweisen op. 27
9. E. Grieg - Norwegian Dance Op. 35 No. 2
Troldhaugen Wedding Op. 65 No. 6

Matti Asikainen - graduated as a pianist from the J. Sibelius Academy of Music in Helsinki and the St. Moniuszko Academy of Music in Gdańsk. He also graduated in musicology from the University of Jyväskylä and in Polish studies from the University of Helsinki. He made his recital debut in 1974 at the J. Sibelius Concert Hall of the Academy of Music. As a pianist and chamber musician, he has performed in Poland, Germany, Greece, Russia, Lithuania and Italy, as well as with the symphony orchestras of the Baltic Philharmonic in Gdansk and the Koszalin Philharmonic. He is a laureate of the Hannikainen National Piano Competition (3rd prize, 1975) and the Wiener Musikseminar International Piano Competition (2nd prize, 1985), and a recipient of the Pro Musica fund (1990), among others. He was artistic director of the Jagiellonian Summer of the Arts festival in Finland as part of the Chopin Jubilee Year celebrations. In 2002 he was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland for his activity in promoting Poland and Polish culture in Finland. He teaches a piano class as a lecturer at the Institute of Music, Art and Cultural Studies at the University of Jyväskylä in Finland.

Ewa Guz-Seroka - graduated in piano from the Fryderyk Chopin Academy of Music in Warsaw under the direction of Professor Barbara Muszyńska (piano) and Professor Krystyna Borucińska (piano chamber music). She also studied with Bernard Ringeissen at music courses in Weimar. She has given concerts as a soloist and chamber musician at home and abroad, including Finland, Germany, England, Spain, Italy, Hungary and Latvia. Together with the Symphony Orchestra of the Fryderyk Chopin Academy of Music conducted by Maciej Niesiołowski, she recorded Ignacy Jan Paderewski's "Polish Fantasy on Own Themes", Op. 19 for Polish Television. She also took part in a performance of all the outstanding composer's piano works on the 125th anniversary of his birth. She has collaborated with the Chamber Orchestra of the National Philharmonic and the National Concert Hall as a soloist and chamber musician. She has made recordings of Polish music for the Polish Radio with Eugenia Rezler-Rozlach. She is a laureate of the Stanisław Moniuszko International Vocal Competition in Warsaw, the Jan Kiepura International Vocal Competition in Krynica, the Janina Garścia International Piano Competition in Stalowa Wola and the Edmund Kossowski Inter-University Polish Song Competition in Warsaw. She works as an assistant professor at the Fryderyk Chopin University of Music in the Piano Chamber Music Department at the Faculty of Vocal and Acting. She received the title of Doctor of Art in the musical discipline - instrumental studies, defending her thesis 'The Piano in the Work of Paweł Łukaszewski'. In addition, she is a piano trainer and examiner for the European Suzuki Association based in London. For all her activities, she was honoured with a diploma from the Minister of Culture and Art and an award from the Rector of the Fryderyk Chopin University of Music.