Presented on the evening of October 19 in USC’s Newman Recital Hall, the PMC’s 2025 Paderewski Lecture-Recital will explore the artistic and intellectual legacy of Szymon Laks (1901-1983). A Paris-based Polish composer, writer and philosopher, Laks’s music uniquely balances elements of French modernism, Polish folk music and American jazz. Guest lecturer Dr. Grzegorz Mania (pictured above) will discuss the life and music of Laks, who survived imprisonment at Auschwitz by conducting the camp orchestra.
After regaining his freedom in May 1945, Laks used Polish folk idioms to create his Third String Quartet, which in turn provided the musical basis for Laks’s only Piano Quintet. This lively work will be the centerpiece of this event’s program, which will be collaboratively performed by PMC guest artists alongside students of the USC Thornton School of Music Strings department.
Earlier that same day, the Polish Music Center and the Museum of Tolerance will co-present an event highlighting the experience of 2nd generation of Holocaust survivors. Dr. Mania and Mark Katrikh, MOT Deputy Director, will lead a discussion with André Laks, son of the composer. Laks’s String Quartet No. 3 will also be performed at this event, which will be held at 1:00 PM on October 19 at the Museum of Tolerance in the Pico-Robertson neighborhood of Los Angeles.
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 19, 2025 | 7:00 P.M.
2025 Paderewski Lecture-Recital: Szymon Laks
USC Newman Recital Hall – 3616 Trousdale Pkwy, Los Angeles, CA (map)
FREE admission
Reception in Herklotz Courtyard to follow the concert
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