The musicians will visit Copenhagen (Sept 9th), Gothenburg (Sept 9th), Oslo (Sept 11th), Dover (Sept 19th) and Boulogne-sur-Mer (Sept 17th), to return to the ship’s homeport of Gdynia on September 25th. The last part of the voyage is a reference to Chopin’s journey from France to England. Travelling to London for what turned out to be his final public performance, the composer set out from Boulogne-sur-Mer and reached the British shores nearby the present port of Dover. 

The orchestra and conductor Jacek Kasprzyk are touring together with pianist Philippe Giusiano. The musicians' repertoire embraces Fantasy in A major on Polish Airs Op. 12, Andante spianato and Grand Polonaise in E-flat major, as well as Rondo à la Krakowiak in F major Op. 14. What is more, at each concert the orchestra will be playing Claude Debussy’s La Mer (The Sea) along with pieces inspired by the sea and written by composers native of the countries the musicians are visiting. For example, while in Denmark, the orchestra will perform Carl Nielsen’s A Fantasy Journey to the Faroe Islands, in the UK they will play Benjamin Britten’s Sea Interludes and in Norway - Edvard Grieg’s suite Peer Gynt Op. 55. In Gothenburg, the audience will be treated to Widoki znad Morza (Views Over the Sea) by Roman Maciejewski, Polish composer, who spent the last 15 years of his life in Sweden and whose 100th birthday falls this year. 

Apart from the musicians, the ship carries 30 students of the Maritime University in Gdynia. Despite the professional support, the orchestra will be divided into shifts to perform regular crew tasks. The musicians already gained some sea-time experience during their tour of the Baltic states in 2006. This year’s voyage is of more festive character as it coincides not only with Fryderyk Chopin’s birth bicentenary but also the orchestra’s 75 years of existence. 

Click to see a detailed programme