The USC Polish Music Center presents the Paderewski Lecture-Recital, an annual concert event commemorating pianist, composer and statesman Ignacy Jan Paderewski by spotlighting current achievements in Polish music.
The USC Polish Music Center is home to the world-renowned archival collection of Henryk Wars (aka Henry Vars, 1902-1977), Poland’s foremost film composer of the inter-war era, whose hit tunes of are still familiar to Poles around the world today. The Wars manuscripts at USC were recently honored by UNESCO with the ‘Memory of the World’ designation. If such an international honor were not reason enough to celebrate, this fall also marks the 40th anniversary of the Polish Music Center’s archives, which were inaugurated in 1984 with a stunning gift of 5 manuscripts from one of the world’s leading composers, Witold Lutoslawski. Join us at the USC University Park Campus on Sunday, October 20 for day of original music and film, and escape to the flourishing art scene of 1930s Warsaw. Period attire encouraged!
The afternoon’s celebrations will begin with a 3:30 pm Film Screening of Zapomniana melodia [Forgotten Melody], a 1938 Polish film with score by Wars. Beloved songs from this charming film include Ach, jak przyjemnie! and Już nie zapomnisz mnie, the titular “forgotten melody” which has the power to inspire invention and bring lovers back together. Recently restored by our colleagues at the National Film Archive – Audiovisual Institute in Warsaw, the film will be screened in Polish with English subtitles.
Next, the 40th anniversary season of the USC Polish Music Center will kick off at 5:30pm with a Champagne Reception. RSVP will be required to attend this exclusive event. Stay tuned for details!
Finally, the highlight of the evening—a 7:00pm Concert of Works by Henryk Wars, in their original 1930s arrangements. The virtuoso ‘Thornton Art Deco Orchestra’ will take the stage of Newman Recital Hall to perform a selection of Wars’s greatest hits, including such enduring tunes as Czy tutaj mieszka panna Agnieszka?, Ach, jak przyjemnie! and the New York Times foxtrot—one of the first jazz pieces in Poland. The evening will be MC’d by our own Marek Zebrowski, a Henryk Wars scholar and author, who will guide the audience through the sound world of this UNESCO-honored composer.
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 20, 2024 | UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
2024 Paderewski Lecture-Recital: Celebrating Henryk Wars ~ UNESCO Honors & 40 Years of PMC
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3:30 pm – Film Screening of Zapomniana melodia [87 min.]
USC Ray Stark Theatre: 900 W 34th St #108, Los Angeles, CA
FREE admission, open seating5:30 pm – Champagne Reception
Venue TBA
RSVP required7:00 pm – Concert of Big Band Works by Henryk Wars
USC Newman Recital Hall: 3616 Trousdale Pkwy, Los Angeles, CA (map)
FREE admission, open seating
~Campus Parking: $4/hr or $20/day (McCarthy Way Structure)
If you require assistance between parking and/or venues, please call 213-764-4977