Monday, February 22, 2010 at 1 p.m. at the Chopin Elementary School Auditorium, 2440 West Rice Street, Chicago, Illinois, presented by The Organizing Committee for Chopin & Paderewski 2010 Celebrations and The Paderewski Association, in collaboration with the Paderewski Symphony Orchestra.
The great composer Fryderyk Chopin was born in Poland on February 22, 1810 (the date is sometimes given as March 1) and this event celebrates the 200th anniversary of his birth.
Young students of the Music Academy of the Chicago-based Paderewski Symphony Orchestra, under the direction of Barbara Bilszta, together with actors from the Little Star Children’s Theater Workshop, and the Chopin Elementary School children invite the audience to observe a re-creation of the salon in the 19th century Polish home of Chopin and to listen to his music.
Performers will enact Chopin as a boy, a teenager, and then finally as a mature young man, performing his piano compositions. Chopin’s “guests” will sing his songs, dance to his mazurkas, and relate fascinating stories about their host, citing fragments of letters, poetry, and articles penned by the young genius.
Guest speakers include Chopin School Principal Antuanette Mester; a representative of the Consulate General of the Republic of Poland in Chicago; as well as a representative of the City of Chicago.
The Chopin Elementary School, which operates as a magnet school within the Chicago Public School system, serves kindergarten through 8th grade students providing academically or socially focused instruction for nearly a century. Erected in 1917, the building houses a beautiful auditorium, which has two WPA era murals completed in 1941 by Florian Durzynski (1902-69)—one lyrical mural depicts Fryderyk Chopin.
This is the first event in a series to be held in Chicago to celebrate the 200th anniversary of Chopin’s birth and the 150th anniversary of the birth of Ignacy Jan Paderewski (b. 1860)—two of Poland’s renowned composers and musicians.
Chopin is… not a part of Poland, but precisely, the heart of Poland.
—Boris Pokrovsky, founder of the Moscow Chamber Opera Theater.
It is difficult to write of Paderewski without emotion. Statesman, orator, pianist and composer, he is a superlative man, and his genius transcends that of anyone I have ever known. Those of us who love Poland are glad that she can claim him as a son, but let her always remember that Ignacy Jan Paderewski belongs to all mankind.—Charles Phillips, The Story of a Modern Immortal, 1934.
While Chopin performed in public perhaps only 30 times, Paderewski thrilled crowds of thousands internationally with his recitals spanning over 50 years. Distinguished for his renditions of the music of Bach and Beethoven, he was above all a masterful interpreter of Chopin. His renown was worldwide in a time when public solo recitals were a new form of artistic expression. Paderewski is recognized for the definitive edition of Chopin’s Complete Works. His multifaceted activities as a composer, pianist, politician, statesman, and generous philanthropist distinguished him as one of the greatest personalities of the cultural and political scenes in the world during the first half of the past century.
UPCOMING EVENTS:
March 1, Monday: Chopin Fest: Happy 200th Birthday, Chopin!, Northwestern student pianist marathon, Lutkin Hall, Northwestern University, 700 University Place, Evanston, Illinois, 5-10 pm; Free admission and refreshments.
March 26, Friday: Paderewski Symphony Orchestra, Celebration of Chopin’s 200th Anniversary, Piotr Banasik, pianist, Symphony Center, 220 S. Michigan Avenue, Chicago, Illinois, 8 pm; Tickets: $48-$28; www.bilety.com
March 27, Saturday: Paderewski Symphony Orchestra, Celebration of Chopin’s 200th Anniversary, Youth Concert, Symphony Center, 220 S. Michigan Avenue, Chicago, Illinois, 10 am; Tickets: $35; $17 for students and educators; www.bilety.com
March 28, Sunday: Lira Ensemble, Chopin Bicentennial Concert, Pick-Staiger Concert Hall, Northwestern University, 50 Arts Circle Drive, Evanston, Illinois,
3 pm; Tickets: 773-508-7040
Urszula Lukaszuk, Marketing Director
Conservation & Design International
424 N. Oakley Blvd.
Chicago, IL 60612
ph: 312.208.4041
fax: 312.243.3573