Earlier this year, Trudy Ossowski sent us three big parcels of sheet music, recordings and books from the Walter and Jerome Ossowski music library. There are many fascinating and rare publications and music scores—mainly from the 1920s-1950s—which will be catalogued and added to the PMC’s exisiting Ossowski Collection. Since many of the items are in fragile condition, they will be scanned and stored in special acid-free envelopes to preserve them in the best possible condition. As this process is currently ongoing, watch our Newsletter for further updates on our progress and on a complete listing of this donation as soon as the cataloguing of it is completed.
As one of the participants in the 41st annual conference of Museums, Archives and Libraries abroad [MAB] held in September in Lublin, the PMC received a treasure trove of gifts for our library from the conference organizers—the John Paul II Catholic University [KUL] and the National Remembrance Institute [IPN]. These additions to our collection include:
CD recording of Krzysztof Penderecki’s Te Deum and Lacrimosa with the composer leading the Kraków Radio Orchestra, soloists and choir (DUX 0402)
CD recording of Wieniawski and Saint-Saens violin concertos with Vadim Brodsky and the Katowice Radio Orchestra under Antoni Wit (DUX 0464)- Polonika emigracyjne [Polish Items Abroad], a catalogue published by IPN, presenting each of the MAB-affiliated institutions
- Szkice na stulecie Archiwum Państwowego w Lublinie [Sketches on the Centenary of State Archives in Lublin], a book by Józef Kus
- Gawędy na jubileusz [Tales for an Anniversary], a book by Antoni Dębiński, current president of KUL
- W drodze do Niepodległości [On the Way to Independence], a collection of papers edited by Dr. Andrzej Biernat and presented at the 40th MAB Conference in Paris in August of 2018
- Guide to the Polish Museum of America Archives and Collections, edited by Edyta Targońska and published jointly by the Polish Museum of America in Chicago and State Archives in Warsaw
- Historia tworzy naszą tożsamość [History Makes our Identity], a brochure published by IPN illustrating the scope of the Institute’s activities
Afisze, plakaty i druki ulotne [Posters, Prints and Pamphlets], an album prepared by Krzysztof Kołodziejczyk, showing the items from 1918-1921 in the collections of State Archives in Lublin- Unia Lubelska 1569 [The Union of Lublin 1569], a bilingual album by Leszek Andrzej Wierzbicki, depicting the inception of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth
Nowiny Lubelskie z Marca 1569 roku [The Lublin News of March 1569], an album by Piotr Dymmel and Henryk Gmiterek about the source documents of the Union of Lublin- Biuletyn Instytutu Józefa Piłsudskiego w Ameryce [Bulletin of the Józef Piłsudski Institute of America], August 2018-July 2019
- Hanna Weynerowska—Kali, an album by Anna Tomczak, published by Polish Museum in Rapperswil, highlighting the artistic career of a little-known Polish painter, Hanna Weynerowska
- The John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin—Serving God and Country for 100 Years, a bilingual brochure on the history of KUL
- Museum of the John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin, a brochure detailing history and holdings of the KUL Museum
- A Story about a Unique University, a bilingual brochure about the Catholic University of Lublin
- Odzyskany blask [The Restored Glamour], an illustrated brochure about the Baroque altar sculptures in the collection of the KUL Museum
- Znaki pamięci [Symbols of Remembrance], a collection produced by IPN featuring reproductions of pins and religious medals worn by Polish volunteers fighting in World War I.
During the October Musicology Institute at the Polish Academy of Sciences [PAN] conference in Warsaw, the following items were donated to the Polish Music Center:
- Muzyka Pawła Szymańskiego w świetle poetyki intertekstualnej postmodernizmu by Prof. Violetta Kostka, donated by the author who is on the faculty of the Moniuszko Music Academy in Gdańsk.
Dr. Sławomir Dobrzański, also present at the PAN Conference, donated to us:
- Opery Józefa Michała Ksawerego Poniatowskiego by Ryszard Daniel Golianek, published by Dom Wydawniczy Duet;
- Uwory fortepianowe/Piano Works, a collection of solo piano music by Zbigniew Popielski, published by Chopin University Press.
Following PMC Dir. Marek Zebrowski’s recital of music by Paderewski and Chopin on Paderewski’s old Steinway grand currently housed at the Otwock branch of the National Museum, violinist Karolina Mikołajczyk donated a CD of her recital with accordionist, Iwo Jedynecki. Co-produced by Dwójka Polish Radio and published by Requiem Records and Opus Series, this album contains music by Barbara Kaszuba, Bartosz Kowalski, Edward Sielicki, Ignacy Zalewski, and others. (DUX 1362)
In late October, professors Maciej Staszewski and Aleksandra Bęben came to research the Ryterband Collection at PMC. They also donated 3 DVDs of Stanisław Moniuszko’s opera Flis, performed by the soloists, orchestra and choir of the Łódź Music Academy who are also publishers of this attractive and rare item.