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This fall’s cultural season has already begun. Perhaps not as crowded as usually are well known halls and the audience less joyful under the long shadow of past September, but culture, this unlimited meeting space of ideas and sensitivities, still bring us together.

Polish cultural presence in the USA this year will be richer than ever due to the fact that our so far infrastructure has been considerably reinforced. In New York, one of the world’s metropolitan cities of culture, the Polish Cultural Institute was established last year, and has just begun / entered intoenergetically its first season.

Also in Washington, within the structure of the Polish Embassy, after a two-year’s break, a cultural desk has appeared. Both have enriched the already existing network of Polish missions to the USA, and Polish-American institutions active in the field of culture. Let’s comment on some highlights of the fall’s programs.

Anna Niewiadomska,
Cultural Councelor   

 

THE INTERNATIONAL YEAR OF IGNACY JAN PADEREWSKI

God Bless America, this great nation, a beacon
of hope and light for the civilized world.

Ignacy Jan Paderewski

On Monday, November 5, 2001 at 8:00 p.m., George Washington University’s Lisner Auditorium, will be the venue to experience an emotional, intellectual and spiritual feast. In tribute to Ignacy Jan Paderewski, on the 60th anniversary of his death, Sinfonia Varsovia will present the classical and romantic music of Chopin, Paderewski, Moniuszko and other Polish composers. Sinfonia Varsovia, one of the finest classical music ensembles of Europe and the premier orchestra in Poland, was founded in April 1984 in Warsaw by Yehudi Menuhin, who was its principal guest-conductor and toured with the orchestra internationally. The orchestra’s repertoire is unlimited, with the finest international conductors and soloists performing as its guests.

Sinfonia Varsovia’s lone concert in Washington, DC will be conducted by Jerzy Maksymiuk, the famous Polish conductor and composer. He has composed music for ballet, film and chamber ensembles and has premiered over two hundred contemporary works around the world. Two soloists are going to join the orchestra’s performance: Janusz Olejniczak, a pianist, and Anna Bajor, a soprano. Olejniczak is the laureate of the 1970 F. Chopin Piano International Competition in Warsaw, Poland and of the 1972 Alfredo Caselli Competition in Naples, Italy. He has performed with the world’s leading orchestras in numerous prestigious music halls. He last performed in

Washington, DC two years ago, in the Kreeger Museum Concert Hall.

The Embassy of the Republic of Poland and the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage have organized the American performance of the Polish ensemble, under the patronage of the President and the First Lady of the Republic of Poland, Mr. Aleksander Kwasniewski and Mrs. Jolanta Kwasniewska. The orchestra will first perform at the Philharmonic Hall in New York, presented by the Kosciuszko Foundation. The concert in Washington has been made possible through many efforts of local Polish-American organizations, including the Friends of the Polish Library, which is celebrating its tenth anniversary this year. The event is also supported by the American Institute of Polish Culture in Miami, FL, the Polish-American Congress Washington Metropolitan Area Division, and the American Council for Polish Culture/ Polish-American Arts Association in Washington, DC.

Ignacy Jan Paderewski, who made America his second home, left bouth countries with a rich legacy of promoting freedom and democracy through education and arts. Today when Poland struck by tragic events in New York and Washington, shows her solidarity with America, sharing common concern and grief, we dedicate the concert to all those affected by the September 11th tragedy.