On 8 November 1838 Chopin arrived in Mallorca. 188 years later, his music returns to the place where he wrote it, the Charterhouse of Valldemossa, played on a piano from his own time. 🎶🎹

German pianist Tobias Koch, one of the leading specialists in historical keyboard instruments, marks the anniversary with a recital at the 17th Pianino Festival 2026.

🎶 TOBIAS KOCH · Frédéric Chopin 1838-1839

📅 Sunday 8 November 2026

🕐 5.00 pm (doors open one hour earlier)

📍 Frédéric Chopin and George Sand Cell, Charterhouse of Valldemossa

🎟️ €20 · book at info@pianino.es or via WhatsApp on +34 659 63 91 00

🎹 The programme

Works from 1838 and 1839, the winter Chopin spent in Valldemossa with George Sand and her children: Boléro Op. 19, Impromptu No. 2 Op. 36, 2 Polonaises Op. 40, Ballade No. 2 Op. 38, 2 Nocturnes Op. 37, 4 Mazurkas Op. 41 and Scherzo No. 3 Op. 39.

Woven between them is a selection of the 24 Preludes Op. 28, whose final version was completed at the Charterhouse. Koch follows Chopin's own practice: he never performed the full cycle in public. Duration: 92 minutes.

🏛️ An 1851 Pleyel

The concert is played on an Ignace Pleyel et Compagnie pianoforte (Paris, 1851), Chopin's favourite maker. Its colour and intimacy bring listeners close to the sound the composer actually had in mind.

Koch was the first German pianist invited to the Chopin birthday concerts in Żelazowa Wola, the composer's birthplace, and performs at festivals across Europe and in Canada.

ℹ️ Good to know: limited capacity, booking in advance is recommended.

✨ Chopin's music, in his cell and on his kind of piano. A one-off evening in Mallorca.