Gdańsk · St Catherine's Church
One pianist and fifty minutes of Chopin inside St Catherine's, the oldest church in Gdańsk.
Likely to sell out, and no two nights play quite the same selection of pieces.
Why this evening
Chopin wrote dances, night pieces and studies for the piano, and a programme like this one gives you all three. The polonaise and the mazurka come from Polish dances, the nocturne is a night piece, and the études were turned from exercises into concert pieces. Knowing the three types is enough to follow the evening.
Bach and Beethoven are in the tradition Chopin was taught in, and he named Bach as one of the two composers who shaped him most. Liszt was his friend, Schumann hailed an early work of his in print as the work of a genius, and Rachmaninoff wrote pieces that hold their own beside Chopin's. The guide to Chopin's friends tells each story.
The concert is held in St Catherine's, which English Wikipedia calls the oldest church in Gdańsk. It stands in the Old Town beside the Radunia Canal and the Great Mill, a huge medieval building, so the walk to the door already belongs to the evening.
On the programme
The pianist chooses a selection each day from the list the booking page gives. These eight entries show what some of the pieces are, and why composers other than Chopin are on the programme.
ÉtudeOp. 10 No. 12 · about 1831
The last of Chopin's first set of études, dedicated to his friend Franz Liszt. A legend ties it to the fall of Warsaw in 1831, but Chopin never gave it a name, and the title was added by others. Listen for the left hand, which keeps running from the first bar to the last.
NocturneC-sharp minor · published 1875
Chopin wrote this nocturne shortly after arriving in Vienna in 1830, for his older sister Ludwika to practise before she took on his Second Concerto. It was published after his death. A nocturne is a piece that evokes the night, and Chopin wrote 21 of them.
PolonaiseA major, Op. 40 No. 1 · 1838
Composed in 1838 and dedicated to Julian Fontana, this polonaise is played almost entirely forte or louder. The polonaise started out as a dance for walking, and Arthur Rubinstein called this one the symbol of Polish glory. Listen for the steady polonaise rhythm under the big chords.
BarcarolleF-sharp major, Op. 60
Chopin composed the Barcarolle between autumn 1845 and summer 1846, three years before his death. It is based on a barcarolle rhythm, and its double notes in the right hand imitate the style of bel canto opera arias. It is often considered one of his more demanding works.
BachWell-Tempered Clavier, book II · 1738
The eighteenth prelude and fugue in the second volume of The Well-Tempered Clavier, written in 1738. Chopin cited Bach and Mozart as the two most important composers in shaping his musical outlook, so a fugue beside his nocturnes is a way of hearing his teacher's voice.
SchumannPapillons · 1831
Robert Schumann wrote Papillons in 1831, aged 21, as a representation of a masked ball inspired by a novel by Jean Paul. Repeated notes near the end suggest a clock striking and the ball ending. In the same year Schumann reviewed Chopin's Op. 2 variations and called him a genius.
LisztAnnées de pèlerinage · second year
Liszt's Sonetto 104 del Petrarca, in E major, belongs to the Italian volume of his Years of Pilgrimage, composed between 1837 and 1849. Liszt and Chopin were friends, and Chopin dedicated the first set of his études to Liszt. Liszt took a sonnet by the poet Petrarch as his starting point.
RachmaninoffÉtudes-Tableaux, Op. 33 · 1911
Rachmaninoff wrote his Op. 33 Études-Tableaux between August and September 1911. The title is translated as study pictures: concert pieces that evoke something seen rather than drills for the fingers. They continue the idea that an étude can be a work of art.
The programme may change, and none of these pieces is promised for your night. Read the entries as a taste of the repertoire, nothing firmer.
The building
Four facts about St Catherine's Church, taken from English and Polish Wikipedia and from a tourist guide to the city.
English Wikipedia says building began in the 1220s and calls it the oldest church in Gdańsk. Polish Wikipedia calls it the oldest parish church in the Old Town and says it was extended after 1379. The ticket describes a Gothic church of the 13th century.
The astronomer Johannes Hevelius, chairman of the council of the Old Town, died in 1687 and was buried in St Catherine's Church. His tombstone, dated 1659, can still be seen inside the church.
The tower is 76 metres tall and topped with Baroque spires, and it houses a carillon. English Wikipedia adds that the tower holds the Museum of Turret Clocks and, since 2011, a pulsar clock.
In 2006 a major fire brought down the roof of the church. The roof was rebuilt afterwards, and some visitors mention that parts of the building were still being restored when they came.
Church or storyteller
| The evening | What its ticket describes | Choose it if |
|---|---|---|
| Church concert | 50 minutes in St Catherine's Church. Chopin with Bach, Beethoven, Liszt, Schumann and Rachmaninoff, in a different selection each day. | You want the building and its acoustics. |
| Rajska 4C concert | About an hour without an interval. Chopin's life in order, from early works to his last pieces, with commentary before each piece. | You want a story that follows the composer. |
| What they share | Candlelight, a piano and Chopin at the centre, and a refund if you cancel a day or more ahead through GetYourGuide. | You simply want Chopin by candlelight. |
Church, mill and composer
The nave of St Catherine's, the Great Mill by night and by day and a portrait of Chopin from 1849. The brick outside of the church and the tombstone of Hevelius appear higher up the page.
The concerts
Two candlelit piano evenings are shown here. Choose a day in the calendar beneath them for the seats left and the start time.
A piano concert of 50 minutes in St Catherine's Church, with works by Chopin, Bach, Beethoven, Liszt, Schumann and Rachmaninoff. A different selection is played each day, and the ticket lists free cancellation up to 24 hours before.
See dates and seats ↗About an hour of piano without an interval, told in the order of Chopin's life, from his early pieces to his last works, with commentary before each piece. It takes place at Rajska 4C, a different place from the church, and the ticket lists English and Polish.
See dates and seats ↗More evenings to book in Gdańsk
Practical notes
The concert, the music and the church: guides
Which evening to book, what the ticket covers How to book the Chopin piano concert by candle glow in St Catherine's Church, Gdańsk: what the ticket covers, how nights differ and who it suits.
Read this guide → The evening in order: the room, the cold, the music What to expect at the Chopin concert by candle glow in St Catherine's Church, Gdańsk: arriving, the room, the pianist, the chill and the 50 minutes.
Read this guide →FAQ
Chopin leads the programme, with pieces by Bach, Beethoven, Liszt, Schumann and Rachmaninoff. Prokofiev is named too, and the pianist plays a different selection each day. Some guests describe other performers on some nights, so a pure solo-piano evening is not promised.
Fifty minutes of music. Start times differ by night, so look at the one beside your chosen date before you book dinner.
In St Catherine's Church, a Gothic brick church in the Old Town of Gdańsk, beside the Great Mill. The meeting point on the ticket is Wielkie Młyny 7, and your confirmation gives the entrance.
The pianist chooses a selection each day from the list the ticket gives. It includes the Revolutionary Étude, a polonaise, a nocturne and Chopin's Barcarolle, but the organiser may change it, and none is promised.
Guests describe it as cool or cold, and a few advise bringing something warm. Treat a layer as part of the ticket.
No, it is a ticketed piano concert inside a working church. Keep your voice low, switch your phone off and treat the building as you would any church.
Yes. This page shows a second candlelit piano concert at Rajska 4C that tells Chopin's life in order. It is a different venue and a different format, so read both descriptions before you choose.
Yes, on the GetYourGuide ticket: until 24 hours before the start you can withdraw and be repaid in full, and you may book now and settle later. Other sellers set their own rules.
No. This site is an independent guide and every booking link leads to GetYourGuide. The concert is the organiser's own, and the organiser has no link with this page.
All fares here are shown in US dollars for one person, and the booking calendar converts them into your own currency.