Category: PMC News

Oct 2024: Celebrating Henryk Wars ~ UNESCO Honors & 40 Years of PMC

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…Continue Reading Oct 2024: Celebrating Henryk Wars ~ UNESCO Honors & 40 Years of PMC

PMC Gifts: May/June 2024

From the Chopin University Press The Polish Music Center recently received a large package of gifts for our library from our colleagues at the Chopin Music University. Sent by Marzena Radowska, the delivery was filled with fascinating recordings made by musicians associated with this prestigious institution, many of which are award nominees or winners already….Continue Reading PMC Gifts: May/June 2024

Exhibition: “Memory of Poland. UNESCO Memory of the World Program National List – 5th Edition”

The manuscript of the Nobel-prize winning epic novel Chłopi [The Peasants], the dethronement act of Tsar Nicholas I, the “golden bull” of the Polish language from 800 years ago, the works of Henryk Wars, the legacy of Jerzy Kukuczka and 12 other priceless historical documents were included this year on the UNESCO Memory of the…Continue Reading Exhibition: “Memory of Poland. UNESCO Memory of the World Program National List – 5th Edition”

UNESCO Honors PMC Archives

On June 26 at the Belweder—the Presidential Palace in Warsaw—the 2024 UNESCO Pamięć Świata/Memory of the World ceremony will take place. The palace’s elegant ballroom will be filled to capacity with distinguished guests, among them Marek Zebrowski, representing the USC Polish Music Center and Dennis Mitchell, grandson of Henryk Wars (1902-1977). Poland’s President, Andrzej Duda,…Continue Reading UNESCO Honors PMC Archives

UNESCO and its Polish History and Culture Program

Founded in London in November of 1945 and headquartered in Paris, UNESCO—the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization—is an agency that aims to promote world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences, and culture. Thanks to the PMC’s longstanding relationship with the National Archives in Poland, we have learned of the…Continue Reading UNESCO and its Polish History and Culture Program

PMC Gifts: April 2024

Writings on Paderewski & Chopin This month we received yet another donation from Rich Widerynski, a longtime PMC friend and supporter of not only the Polish Music Center but many Polish-American organizations in California. This time around, he presented us with several books on Chopin and Paderewski, including the following items: ▪ Marian Marek Drozdowski:…Continue Reading PMC Gifts: April 2024

Henryk Wars at the 2024 NFM Orchestra Academy Final Concert

The concert concluding this year’s edition of the NFM Orchestra Academy will take place on April 27. It will be attended by NFM instrumentalists, participants of two orchestral academies—from the National Forum of Music in Wrocław and the Staatskapelle Berlin. The concert will be led by Chinese conductor Jong-Jie Yin, winner of the 11th Grzegorz…Continue Reading Henryk Wars at the 2024 NFM Orchestra Academy Final Concert

Sounds of a Bygone Era

A Review by Marek Zebrowski Sunday afternoon, April 21, marked the end of the 2023/2024 concert season organized jointly by the Holocaust Museum LA and USC Polish Music Center. The performers for this occasion were a dynamic duo of violinist Karolina Mikołajczyk and classical accordionist Iwo Jedynecki. They performed in the Childrens’ Memorial, an evocative…Continue Reading Sounds of a Bygone Era

Heartfelt Musicmaking at PMC’s Spring Concert

A Review by Marek Zebrowski The Verona Quartet (Jonathan Ong and Dorothy Ro, violins, Abigail Rojansky, viola, and Jonathan Dormand, cello) visited the USC campus for a master class on March 20 and a concert on March 23. Their sojourn at USC elicited great interest from string students and faculty, culminating in a packed auditorium…Continue Reading Heartfelt Musicmaking at PMC’s Spring Concert

April 2024: Karolina & Iwo Duo at HMLA

In another collaboration with the Holocaust Museum in Los Angeles, the Polish Music Center presents one of the brightest young stars of the Polish chamber music scene: Duo Karolina & Iwo. Both virtuosos in their own right, Karolina Mikołajczyk and Iwo Jedynecki bring great energy to the stage, highlighting not only existing repertoire for accordion…Continue Reading April 2024: Karolina & Iwo Duo at HMLA