Paderewski Pride

To celebrate the 60th anniversary of the death of one of Poland's greatest statesmen and artists, the Polish Senate has named 2001 the Year of Ignacy Jan Paderewski.

The climax of the Paderewski Year was June 29-the 60th anniversary of the death of the great man. Celebrations have been taking place throughout Poland in memory of Paderewski since January, with more to come, including holy masses, concerts of his music, exhibits and readings, as well as educational programs and the publication of several works and recordings.

Ignacy Jan Paderewski

...was born Nov. 18, 1860 in Kury?óˇŤĄ in the Russian zone of partitioned Poland. His father, Jan Paderewski, worked as an administrator of land estates. Ignacy and his elder sister Antonina were brought up by their father, aunts and, from 1867, by their father's second wife. Young Paderewski showed passion for music from early childhood. Initially, he was taught to play piano by a private tutor. In 1872, 12-year-old Paderewski began a formal musical education at the Warsaw Conservatory.

In 1878, after graduation, Paderewski was offered a job at the conservatory as piano teacher. He was a talented teacher but did not like the work.

At the age of 20, Paderewski married Antonina KorsakóˇŽĄ. She died a year later leaving her husband with a disabled, seven-month-old son.

Paderewski's musical career began in 1887 with a charitable concert in which the famous Italian singer Paulina Lucca appeared in his company. After the concert Paderewski was declared a brilliant musician. In 1888, he achieved more success in Paris and London. From that time Europe's concert halls were open to him. After his European debut, the artist performed in Poznań ŠŽ 1890.

Paderewski's first tour of America took place in 1891. It was a great artistic and financial success and marked the beginning of a long career. Paderewski gave concerts in almost all countries of Europe, North and South America, Africa (1912) and Australia (1904).

In 1899, Paderewski married Helena Rosen and, in the same year, settled in Riond-Bosson near Morges, Switzerland.

In the meantime, the famous pianist also wrote many musical compositions. During this period he composed Concert in A minor for Piano and Orchestra op. 17 (1888), the opera Manru (1900) and his Piano Sonata in E flat minor op. 21 (1903) and Symphony in B minor Polonia (1907). He reportedly stopped composing around the year 1907.

Paderewski's patriotism led to his decision to finance the construction of the Grunwald Monument in Cracow, which he donated to the Polish nation. The monument was unveiled July 15, 1910. During the ceremony Paderewski said the famous words: "Stand by your land, religion, language and the Polish spirit. Stand firm until the revival."

In 1913 Paderewski settled in the United States, where, with the outbreak of World War I, he started political activity. In the years 1917-1919, he was a member of the Polish National Committee in Paris and its representative in the United States.

In 1918, after Poland regained independence, Paderewski returned to Poland, and was greeted by Poles enthusiastically. Jan. 14, 1919 JóşĽŚ Pi?sudski named him prime minister of the first Polish government. He remained in office for almost a year.

In 1922, Paderewski ended his active involvement in politics and returned to music. U.S. audiences received Paderewski's comeback with great enthusiasm.

After the 1939 German invasion of Poland, Paderewski became head of the Polish government in exile and Sept. 23, 1940 left for the United States. While in the United States, Paderewski appealed for assistance to Poland. His famous radio speech of April 13, 1941 was broadcast across America. In March 1940, the 80-year-old artist gave concerts to raise funds for Poland.

June 29, 1941 Paderewski's busy life came to an end. He was posthumously decorated with the Polish Virtuti Militari order and buried at Arlington national cemetery in Virginia. In 1992, his ashes were brought back to Poland and buried in the vault of the Warsaw cathedral.

In Warsaw June 30, a celebratory concert was held at St. John's Cathedral with the participation of the Cappella Bydgostiensis and the National Philharmonic Choir, with Henryk Wojnarowski conducting. The following day, in the Podchor??óˇŤĄ building in Royal ?azienki Park, today home to the Paderewski and the Polish Emigration Museum, four important and prestigious events linked with the Paderewski Year took place.

A concert of music by Paderewski and Frederic Chopin started the celebrations, performed by the distinguished artists Karol Radziwonowicz, the only pianist in history to have recorded all of Paderewski's piano compositions, and the I Solisti di Varsavia string quintet. Just before the concert, Radziwonowicz offered gifts to the Paderewski Museum-a special edition of U.S. postage stamps featuring the image of Paderewski, published in 1960, and the first U.S. music recording of Paderewski's work, dating from 1906. Both gifts were purchased at an auction in the United States by a friend of Radziwonowicz.

Radziwonowicz played on Paderewski's piano from 1929. After the magnificent concert, a plaster copy of a Paderewski monument was unveiled. The original is located in Geneva, in the United Nations Palace, and was made by the brilliant sculptor Maksymilian Biskupski (see foto). The copy was so skillfully made that, without touching it, it's impossible to tell it is made of plaster, not bronze. The unveiling of the sculpture was accompanied by the opening of Lech A. Charewicz's Geneva 2000 photo exhibit, documenting the celebrations surrounding the unveiling of the monument.

The final event of the celebration was the opening of a new gallery devoted to Paderewski and Polish emigration. Most of the exhibits come from the master's private collection, which he left in his will to the National Museum in Warsaw on the condition that it has its own, separate exhibition space.

The collection is mostly made up of artistic handicrafts and including gold and silver trophies awarded to Paderewski in recognition of his work, including various awards, crosses, cups, vases and wine glasses and a large collection of silver laurel wreaths, amongst these a wreath the Warsaw Philharmonic awarded Paderewski in 1901 at its inaugural concert. In addition to trophies, the collection also includes personal objects, such as a dummy keyboard, a cigarette case, a suitcase with an original stamp from Lisbon-from his last trip to the United States-and objects belonging to Helena Modrzejewska, a brilliant pre-World War II actress and close friend of the musician.

The main contributors to the Warsaw celebrations include the Paderewski and the Polish Emigration Museum, part of the National Museum in Warsaw, which has prepared several exhibits as part of the Paderewski Year, including A Pole of Uncommon Caliber in November 2000, several academic conferences, lectures and concerts, as well as educational contests for children; the National Library, which is behind issuing a retrospective reworking of Paderewski's musical pieces and publishing postcards and stationery in Polish and English; the National Philharmonic, which organized a chamber music concert in March with the participation of Urszula Kryger, Wojciech Drabowicz and Tomasz Herbut; and Polish Radio 2, which has organized a number of Paderewski recitals and concerts and published an album of Paderewski's symphonies featuring the Sinfonia Varsovia orchestra under the direction of Jerzy Maksymiuk.

Beside the wealth of activities mentioned above, many other valuable initiatives have also been undertaken, including the creation of the biographical film Paderewski, Prof. Marek Drozdowski's book Ignacy Jan Paderewski, an album in four languages, and a Paderewski impersonator contest.

The gallery features a permanent exhibit at the Ignacy Jan Paderewski and Polish Emigration Museum in Royal ?azienki Park, 9 Szwole?eróˇ "t., where you may visit the monument, the Geneva 2000 exhibit, a temporary exhibit of caricatures and the newly opened gallery Tue.-Sun., 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Tickets cost zl.3 and zl.6, free admittance on Thursdays.

Dorota Dziuba

Reproduced with
permission from

July 8, 2001 No. 27 (663)

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