The programme of this matinee spans the musical styles cultivated in the Parisian salons of the 1830s, from “sérieux” to brilliantly entertaining, and juxtaposes an imagined meeting between Frédéric Chopin and Felix Mendelssohn with the real artistic friendship with cellist Auguste Franchomme.

 “It is certain that Chopin and Mendelssohn were in Paris around 1831 and visited the city's famous salons. In aristocratic circles, waltzes and pleasant melodies were more popular, but in bourgeois salons, people also listened intently to more progressive, serious music,” explains cellist Friedemann Ludwig. 

“Chopin had enjoyed success as a virtuoso, but not as a composer. He was very unhappy that he was not well received in Paris and needed money. According to one anecdote, he had already booked a ticket to America when he met Mendelssohn, who had an enormous reputation and offered him support. We begin the concert by jumping forward in time to Mendelssohn's piano variations from 1841 and the magnificent second cello sonata from 1843. In it, his life seems to pass before our eyes, from youthful genius to the humour of “A Midsummer Night's Dream” to deep religiosity.

In the second part, it is contrasted with Chopin's Cello Sonata – one of his last works, which he dedicated to his long-time cello partner Auguste Franchomme. The piano and cello are completely equal in this work. Together with the famous cellist, he also composed a ‘Grand Duo Concertant’ on themes from ‘Robert le Diable’ by Meyerbeer, the star Parisian opera composer of the era, which we play as a virtuoso finale.”