Overview

Paderewski Essays & Poems written and edited by Maja Trochimczyk is a book dedicated to a Polish pianist, composer, statesman and philanthropist, Ignacy Jan Paderewski (1840-1941) who gain international fame not only as a celebrated virtuoso pianist, but also as an architect of Poland's regained independence (1918, after 123 years of partitions). The richly illustrated volume consists of three parts. For the first part, ""Paderewski Poems,"" Dr. Trochimczyk transcribed 52 poems about Paderewski, penned in English by American, British, Scottish, Irish and Australian poets, mostly in 1890-1940. The majority of these poems are from Paderewski personal correspondence preserved at the Archive of Modern Records in Warsaw Poland. The second part presents four essays about Paderewski by Dr. Trochimczyk. Two of these studies, written in 2001 and 2025 are dedicated to the textual and contextual analysis of the poems, The first describes a variety of poems about Paderewski that viewed him either as a musician or statesman, a Polish patriot. The second, traces the changing image of the pianist, from a virtuoso, through a divine messenger, comparable to a seraph or archangel, to a heroic Polish patriot, and finally to an immortal, spiritual master. The remaining two studies focus on the constructs of Paderewski stage persona and his reception, predominantly by his female audiences. A discussion of the idealized portraits of the pianist as an archangel, worshipped mostly by women, includes references to poetry, art, and philosophy of Aestheticism of the Gilded Age (2010). The fourth essay explores the ramifications of the ""Brighton Album"" assembled in 1890-1898 (with some items from 1911-14) by one of Paderewski's ardent female fans in England. Miss Madeleine Michell attended over 50 concerts and preserved hitherto not known documents about his career. In the last part of this volume, readers find a detailed calendar of Paderewski's life and career, and lists of his writings, speeches, & music compositions, as well as a bibliography.

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9781945938870

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Maja Trochimczyk is a Polish American music historian, poet, translator, editor, and photographer. With two masters degrees from Poland (a M.A. in musicology from Warsaw University, Poland, and a M.A. in sound engineering from Chopin University of Music in Warsaw), and Ph.D. from McGill University, Montreal, Canada, she published nine books on music and Polish culture, & nearly 60 chapters and peer-reviewed articles about Polish composers (Chopin, Szymanowska, Paderewski, Lutoslawski, Górecki, Bacewicz, etc.), and other topics. She presented her work at over 90 international conferences. An award-winning poet, President of the California State Poetry Society, & the Editor of California Quarterly, she wrote and edited eleven poetry volumes, including five anthologies. Maja Trochimczyk is a Polish American music historian, poet, translator, editor, and photographer. With two masters degrees from Poland (a M.A. in musicology from Warsaw University, Poland, and a M.A. in sound engineering from Chopin University of Music in Warsaw), and Ph.D. from McGill University, Montreal, Canada, she published nine books on music and Polish culture, & nearly 60 chapters and peer-reviewed articles about Polish composers (Chopin, Szymanowska, Paderewski, Lutoslawski, Górecki, Bacewicz, etc.), and other topics. She presented her work at over 90 international conferences. An award-winning poet, President of the California State Poetry Society, & the Editor of California Quarterly, she wrote and edited eleven poetry volumes, including five anthologies.

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