On May 17, 1984, pianist Alan Kogosowski came out on the stage of the 600-year-old Guildhall in the City of London and (re)created history.

On November 23, 1848, some 130 years earlier, Polish composer and virtuoso pianist Frederic Chopin had walked out on the same stage and played in public for the very last time. This came at the end of a six-month visit to England and Scotland, which he had hoped would rejuvenate his failing health, but it was not to be. For this final farewell appearance, the Illustrated London News reported that “M. Chopin, the celebrated pianiste, performed some of his beautiful compositions with much applause. The vast hall, brilliantly lighted, presented a coup d’oeil of singular beauty. The dancing commenced soon after 9 o’clock, and was continued with unabated vigour till an advanced hour in the morning. Refreshments were furnished on a very elegant scale.”

On this occasion, Chopin was not strong enough to play more than a handful of pieces. But in his recreation of the master’s last concert, Kogosowski performed a wide range of the great Polish composer’s music, from the intimate to the heroic, to a similarly gala audience.