The Paderewski Festival in Paso Robles tradition continued this year in spite of pandemic-induced restrictions. By early August—when it became clear that in-person gatherings in closed spaces are not possible—the Festival Board unanimously voted to move this year’s program online. This decision also led to changes in the number of concerts and accompanying events, which…Continue Reading 2020 Paderewski Festival Wrap-Up
The Paderewski Festival in Paso Robles announces the winners of the 2020 Youth Piano Competition. Due to the pandemic, this year’s Youth Competition auditions were held virtually and participants were invited to submit their performance by video. The jurors—Cal Poly professors India D’Avignon and Paul Woodring, and Paderewski Festival Artistic Director and USC Polish Music…Continue Reading 2020 Paderewski Festival Youth Piano Competition
In spite of the worldwide pandemic and music stages having fallen silent, our friends in the music world continue to be active and supply the Polish Music Center’s library with some well-timed gifts. Moniuszko & Karłowicz Recording by Beczała During the last week of September, two excellent CDs had reached our mailbox—one from a local…Continue Reading Gifts to PMC: Sept 2020
The Polish Music Center, USC, Announces the 2020 Paderewski Lecturer: Krzysztof Meyer Please join us to meet Krzysztof Meyer, one of the greatest living Polish composers, who will discuss his life and music during the 19th Annual Paderewski Lecture. Due to the pandemic and social distancing restrictions, this year’s Paderewski Lecture will be a virtual…Continue Reading 2020 Paderewski Lecture: Krzysztof Meyer (virtual)
As of September 1, the Polish Music Center will now be available on a limited basis on Tuesdays from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. PDT. If you would like to access the PMC in person during these hours, we require at least 24-hour notice via email at polmusic@usc.edu, at which point we will also provide…Continue Reading PMC Re-opens on Tuesdays!
From Warsaw… It is so very encouraging that, in spite of the pandemic and the worldwide disruptions it has brought to what we once referred to as “normal life,” friends of the Polish Music Center continue to remember us and send us all kinds of gifts. The first on this list of recent donors is…Continue Reading Recent Gifts to the PMC
For years, another longtime friend and PMC supporter, Betty Harford-Naszódy, has been on the lookout for Paderewski-related items in various antique bookstores and other purveyors of memorabilia and collectors’ treasures throughout California. Her most recent (and successful) hunt yielded two articles with Paderewski’s interviews, published in the 1920s and the 1930s in Etude Magazine. The…Continue Reading More PMC gifts: Paderewski Speaks…
Although the library of the Polish Music Center is currently dark and our normal on-campus events will be replaced with exciting discussions and performances online this fall, the PMC’s varied activities are still the subject of much interest. Most recently, thanks to an introduction by the ever-supportive Tomek Fechner, the PMC piqued the interest of…Continue Reading PMC in ‘VoyageLA’
On Sunday, June 28, virtuoso violinist Itamar Zorman gave a live performance of several violin and piano works by Grażyna Bacewicz. The concert was live-streamed on Facebook and interspersed with a conversation between Maestro Zorman and PMC director Marek Zebrowski. Ably assisted by pianist Liza Stepanova, Zorman was heard in Bacewicz’s Slavonic Dance, Melody, Oberek,…Continue Reading Zorman On Bacewicz
Dear Newsletter Readers and all Friends of the Polish Music Center: With a heavy heart and much regret, we must share with you the news of cancellations and closures that are affecting the operations of the Polish Music Center. First of all, our Spring Concert, California Dreamin’, scheduled for March 28 at USC’s Newman Recital…Continue Reading PMC Closure and Cancellations