Thanks to a timely initiative by Dean Jeff DeCaen and Marvin Munson of USC Thornton Operations and Eric Johnson, Director of Operations at USC Landscape and Grounds, the Paderewski monument—which stand right next to the main Thornton School of Music building—has been brought back to its original gleaming look. This restoration project was carried out…Continue Reading Paderewski in Full Splendor at USC
More Manuscripts From Meyer! Polish composer Krzysztof Meyer has made another generous donation of his manuscripts to the Polish Music Center’s flagship Manuscript Collection. Two beautifully bound scores were given by the composer himself to the PMC’s Director Marek Zebrowski during his visit in Poland late this fall. The first of these remarkable documents is…Continue Reading PMC Gifts: December 2023
It is our deep sorrow to report that our friend and former PMC librarian, Dr. Barbara Zakrzewska, passed away in Poznań on November 30, 2023 at the age of 77….Continue Reading Obituary: Composer and Musicologist Barbara Zakrzewska
An Encore by Chylińska! The month of November at the Polish Music Center began with a few very welcome gifts. The first and the most fascinating among them is yet another look into Karol Szymanowski and his life by the indefatigable expert-biographer, Teresa Chylińska. Recently published by PWM, Chylińska’s latest opus, Jak Karol Szymanowski pisał…Continue Reading PMC Gifts: November 2023
Dear Friends of the Polish Music Center, Another year has passed very quickly and, again, quite a lot has happened at the USC Polish Music Center throughout 2023. As you peruse the summary below of our major events, milestones, and accomplishments achieved this year, we hope you will consider making a tax-deductible donation to support…Continue Reading Year-in-Review: PMC in 2023
Earlier this month, long-time PMC collaborator pianist Seoyon MacDonald released the first digital recording of Krzysztof Meyer’s completion of Dmitri Shostakovich’s Prelude and Fugue in C# minor. Based on his previous work writing a bestselling biography of Shostakovich and orchestrating several of his works, Meyer was given the Prelude and Fugue in C# minor in…Continue Reading The Forgotten Prelude and Fugue of Meyer-Shostakovich
This has been a very exciting half a year at the USC Polish Music Center, so exciting that we’ve barely had time to properly digitally welcome our newest staff member, Dr. Tomasz Fechner. Tomasz, or Tomek, has been a good friend of the PMC since 2015 when he was a classical guitar student at the…Continue Reading PMC Welcomes New Staff Member: Dr. Tomasz Fechner
The “Muzea, Archiwa i Biblioteki Polskie na Zachodzie” [Museums, Archives, and Polish Libraries in the West], also known by its slightly easier acronym MAB, held its annual conference in Solothurn, Switzerland in early September. Members of several MAB-affiliated institutions in Germany, France, Switzerland, United Kingdom, Canada, Argentina, and the United States assembled in this charming…Continue Reading PMC at MAB Conference in Switzerland
In early October, a very large and heavy package arrived at the PMC, bearing the Katalog Zbioru Kratograficznego Towarzystwa Historyczno-Literackiego Biblioteki Polskiej w Paryżu [Catalogue of Cartographic Holding of the Historical-Literary Society at the Polish Library in Paris]. Housed in a decorative sleeve, this beautiful clothbound edition features introductions from Kazimierz P. Zaleski, Director of…Continue Reading PMC Gifts: October 2023
Information Goldmine for Pianists! Grzegorz Mania, a noted concert pianist, author, and President of Polish Chamber Musicians’ Association [SPMK], is a man of many ideas. His latest brainstorm was to start a brand new publication for pianists, called Notatnik pianistyczny [The Piano Notebook]. This quarterly publication covering the months of July through September came out…Continue Reading PMC Gifts: September 2023