Mieczysław Weinberg’s opera, The Passenger, is not only a complicated work of art, but a complicated work of historical trauma. Magda Romanska reviews the work with a brilliant survey that covers the opera, the history, the novel by Zofia Posmysz, the film by Andrzej Munk, and the responses to the production.
When Beth Holmgren writes about Poland’s interwar cabaret, you can almost hear the champagne corks flying. This time, the cabaret goes to war. Isn’t that when you need it most?
Roy Eaton is a man of many talents, much charm, a lot of courage, and irrepressible spirit who long ago decided to treat adversity as a gift.
Winner of the first Kosciuszko Foundation Chopin competition, his recordings include “The Meditative Chopin” and “The Joyful Joplin;” Roy Eaton is both.
She is neither Polish nor British. She is a 21st century hybrid. And when she sings about Poland, she is an author of renaissance, not an author of requiem.
Lithe, blonde, willowy and a free spirit, prewar cabaret star Hanka Ordonowna was to become a wartime rescuer of children and a sensitive chronicler of their harrowing story.
The singer/songwriter of Kommander’s Car – Katy Carr – had not met the “Kommander” until after her song about him became a hit. It was a thrill when she finally did. That said, her spiritus movens was always her Polish/British identity, and the history behind that. Justine Jablonska talks to Katy Carr.
Getting the vote is all well and good. But what if women want more than that? Beth Holmgren looks at Poland’s interwar cabaret culture.
Historian Adam Zamoyski has updated his biography of Chopin, giving us a comprehensive portrait of the composer, the man, the patriot, and the lover. At once scholarly and sensitive.
Jan Lisiecki on being a citizen of the world and on why he prefers music to math.
Chopin starts from a simple melody and then, releasing his imagination, departs from the main theme and plays one variation after another… Part of our series of articles for the Year of Chopin – 2010.
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