CONCERT BY CANDLELIGHT | DANAE ELENI I PATRYCJA GAJEK

In the beautiful interior of the Fryderyk Concert Hall, lit only by candlelight, we will listen to Fryderyk Chopin's performed by extraordinary artists - outstanding musicians of our time.

The concert program will feature music by other significant composers alongside works by Fryderyk Chopin, including those who influenced his work (such as Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart) and representatives from a wide spectrum of European classical and romantic music (such as Vincenzo Bellini, Giacomo Puccini, Charles Gounod).

The concerts are two-part recitals lasting approximately 60 minutes, based on the idea of salon musical meetings popular in the 19th century.

During the concert break, we will offer you a glass of sparkling wine.

Please arrive 15 minutes before the concert.

Danae Eleni, after winning critical acclaim this summer for her debut in the role of Marienka in Smetana's “La fiancée vendue” in Opera de Baugé conducted by Konstantinos Diminakis, is excited to be performing in Athens during the staged MARIA CALLAS concert. Danae was a winner of the Let's Sing 2022 competition at Sofia Opera & Ballet and Soprano Winner of the 2021 Concorso Musica Sacra in Rome. She performed as a soprano soloist for their staged productions of Handel’s „Messiah” in 2022 in Karditsa, Greece and at the Szleske-Divadlo Theatre, Czechia. 

Last season Danae made her debut as La Messaggiera Orfeo (under the direction of Federico Bardazzi - Lyon); Contessa Almaviva Le nozze di Figaro (Teatr Marin Drzic - Dubrovnik); Mimì La bohème (Jerash Festival - Jordan) and Pamina Czarodziejski Flet (Hala Koszyki - Warsaw). In 2023, Danae was a soprano soloist during the world premiere of the cantata Μνήμες by Christos Samaras under the direction of Nikos Efthimiadis at the Ancient Theater in Filippi. During the concert, Danae made her debut with another role as Donna Elvira Don Giovanni from the Szeged Symphony Orchestra in Hungary. She performed in Florence, Corsica and throughout the UK, raising money for Help Musicians Ukraine - of which she has been co-founder since March 2022.

After graduating from the Royal College of Music and the University of Oxford, Danae currently lives between Warsaw, London and Athens. Plans for 2023 include a recital in Sopot at the Mermaids Festival, Countess Almaviva in Hala Koszyki and Christmas concerts in Warsaw.

Patrycja Gajek began her piano education at the age of five. In 2015, she graduated from the Stanisław Moniuszko Primary and Secondary State Music School Complex in Bielsko-Biała. She graduated from the Fryderyk Chopin University of Music in Warsaw in the piano class of prof. Ph.D. Jerzy Sterczyński and Dr. Tomasz Lupa.

Her most important achievements include: 2nd place at the Piano Competition "Claude Debussy and symbolism" - Katowice 2012; distinction at the International Music Competition Pro Bohemia – Ostrava 2013; distinction at the Podkarpackie Spotkania Pianistyczne - Krosno 2014; 1st place at the 3rd National Harpsichord Competition in the chamber ensemble category – Gdańsk 2014; 3rd place at the 28th International Piano Competition - Rome 2018. She is also a scholarship holder of the Prime Minister. In 2018-2020, she was also a pianist-accompanist at the "Viva il cantare" vocal workshops in Nałęczów organized by the European Foundation for the Promotion of Vocal Art. She has graduate of the Opera Academy, operating at the Grand Theater of the National Opera in Warsaw.

She improved her skills under the guidance of outstanding teachers, including: Andrzej Jasiński, Józef Stompel, Kevin Kenner. She performed both, solo and chamber music at the Grand Theater-National Opera in Warsaw, at the Witold Lutosławski Polish Radio Concert Studio in Warsaw, in the Palace on the Island in the Royal Łazienki Park in Warsaw, in the Częstochowa Philharmonic, in the Opole Philharmonic, as well as in Italy and the Czech Republic.