Tomasz Ritter

At the Vancouver Playhouse

The Vancouver Chopin Society presents Tomasz Ritter

On Sunday, April 16th, the Chopin Society will officially celebrate their 25th anniversary with this very special performance by the young Polish pianist Tomasz Ritter, gold medalist of the 1st International Chopin Competition on Period Instruments (2018).

Tomasz Ritter will be performing on a 1819 Conrad Graf piano, built by master instrument builder Paul McNulty, and on loan to us for this concert from our friends at Early Music Vancouver.

Of his performance of Chopin’s 1st piano concerto, veteran critic Michael Moran writes, “So many levels of expression were present here, some bordering on the divine.” The same writer comments on Ritter’s performance of Chopin’s Op. 33 Mazurkas, “His pauses were eloquent and emotionally charged. There were heartbreaking moments of the conclusion of this (B minor) mazurka.”

Although equally comfortable with the modern piano, Ritter has been involved with early instruments since the age of 12. He is already a veteran of the concert stage, having performed extensively throughout the music world. In 2014, he released his first album featuring works by Bach, Beethoven, Szymanowski and Ginastera for the Polskie Nagrania label.

As part of our celebration, there will be a reception for all audience members following the performance.