The program with violoncellist Sergei Istomin is presented on two modern copies of surviving examples of the most famous fortepiano makers of Chopin‘s time: C. Graf, 1819 and I.Pleyel, 1830. Graf was preferred by Chopin when he first performed in Vienna. The sophistication and sonority of Pleyel, Chopin‘s favorite from the time he moved to Paris, moved Chopin to write to his best friend Tytus Woyciechowski: ‘‘Pleyel's piano are 'non plus ultra'. The copies were built by the renowned fortepiano builder Paul McNulty.

Sergei Istomin earned his Master’s degree at the Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatory. He completed post-graduate studies with Catharina Meints Caldwell and August Wenzinger at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music and the Oberlin Baroque Performance Institute, Oberlin, Ohio. Sergei Istomin performs solo and chamber music recitals in many European and North American Festivals. He has recorded for Analekta, CBC, Music and Arts Programs of America, Sony Classical and Zig-Zag Territoires. Sergei Istomin lives in Belgium from which he continues his international career.