The selection of writings by and about Ignacy Jan Paderewski (1860-1941) reprinted here includes documents about three aspects of Paderewski’s life: [1] as a performing musician with a particular approach to style and interpretation (Paderewski’s article on tempo rubato first published in 1909 in Henry Finck’s book Success in Music and How it is Won); [2] as an internationally-recognized and honored artist-statesman, who received numerous special awards, governmental medals and honorary doctorates (press notices published in February 1923 in the Los Angeles TimesLos Angeles Examiner, and the Daily Trojan about Paderewski’s honorary degree of the Doctor of Law, conferred upon him by the University of Southern California in Los Angeles; the notices are annotated by Zak Ozmo); [3] as the former prime-minister of Poland and a tireless advocate for the country’s independence, whose role in re-establishing the country in 1918 was celebrated during a dinner sponsored by the Kosciuszko Foundation and held in 1928 in New York and followed by the publication of a commemorative volume with greetings and speeches; the reprinted materials include a selection of these greetings by U.S. governmental officials (current and future presidents, governors), musicians (Damrosch, Hofman), and philanthropists (Elizabeth Sprague Coolidge), as well as speeches by Charles Vauclain, Arthur V. Sewall, John H. Finley, and Paderewski.

  1. Ignacy Jan Paderewski: Tempo Rubato
  2. Paderewski’s Honorary Doctorate from USC (1923)
         Reports in The Daily Trojan, the Los Angeles Times, and the Los Angeles Examiner
  3. Paderewski and the Tenth Anniversary of Poland’s Independence (1928):
    Part I: Introduction and Selected Greetings to Paderewski
    Part II: Speeches by Samuel Vauclain, Arthur Sewall, and John H. Finley
    Part III: “Remarks in Self-Defense” by Ignacy Jan Paderewski