Polish Consulate Observes Independence Day - NYC

by Staś Kmieć

The National Independence Day of the Republic of Poland (Narodowe Święto Niepodległości) was celebrated at the Polish Consulate in New York. The commemorative event began with the national anthems of Poland and the United States of America - Mazurek Dąbrowskiego and The Star Spangled Banner sung a cappella by mezzo-soprano Marta Wryk.

“Since the gloomy days of November begin to mark the end of the year, we traditionally use our National Independence Day for the reflection of the time-passing and the joy of where we came to and what we achieved,” said Consul General Krzysztof W. Kasprzyk. “2009 has been truly significant year. In Berlin our Polish living legend of Solidarity, Mr. Lech Wałęsa, pushed the first brick of a domino taking us twenty years back to the unforgettable moments of happy crowds demolishing the Berlin Wall. But the fall of that infamous wall started half a year before, with the Round Table negotiations in Poland which led to the first free elections in the Soviet bloc and forming the first non-communist government within the Soviet bloc.”

Independence Day is a public holiday in Poland celebrated on 11th November to commemorate the anniversary of the restoration of Poland's independence in 1918. After 123 years of partitions, Poland reappeared on the map of Europe as a sovereign democratic state. The Independence Day is strongly connected with General Józef Piłsudski. Ninety-one years ago the Regency Council appointed Piłsudski Commander in Chief of Polish forces entrusting him with the task of creating a national government for the newly independent country.

“We face the same challenges as entire global community but we look into the future with self-confidence and our collective pride of the unprecedented achievements of the past 20 years of freedom and progress,” said Kasprzyk.

The Consul General recalled the seventy year anniversary of the horrific event of November 6, when the Nazi Gestapo entered Collegium Novum of the Jagiellonian University in Kraków. Aimed as an extermination of the Polish intellectual elite, 144 distinguished professors and scholars were deported to the concentration camps of Dachau and Sachsenhausen. A small exhibit was on a display in the main foyer.

State distinctions from the President of Poland were bestowed upon a Polish American and two Americans. The Knight's Cross of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland was awarded to Vincent Brunhard Jr. – founder and owner of “Polonaise Terrace” restaurant and banquet hall and founder/operator of the former movie house – the Chopin Theater in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. Brunhard worked as a lobbyist to gain Poland’s entry into NATO and is Executive Vice-President of Downstate Division of the Polish American Congress.

Gold Crosses of Merit were awarded to Eric and Suzanne Klara Walther – members of the Board of Directors of the New York Dance and Arts Innovations; they are co-organizers and co-sponsors of the annual “Chopin and Friends” Festival. In the past, both were editors of Magazine Art.

A sculpture exhibit - The Spirit of Polonia – a Legacy to Mankind – the work of artist and sculptor Tracy H. Sugg was unveiled. These pillars of Poland’s national identity, heritage and culture included Kopernik, Kościuszko, Pułaski, Chopin, Madame Sklodowska–Curie, Sienkiewicz, Modrzejewska, Plater, Mickiewicz, Paderewski, Queen Jadwiga, King Sobieski, and the beloved Pope John Paul II.With a lifesize statue tribute to Kościuszko for the Redbud Springs Park in Kosciusko, Mississippi, Sugg (who is not of Polish descent) began a passionate fascination with Polish historical figures and research. Alex Storozynski, President of the Kosciuszko Foundation noted that the pieces would be for purchase at the Foundation.

Kasprzyk displayed to the audience the original copy of the invitation that the pioneering Consul General of Poland sent out in 1919, when the Consulate of the re-born Poland opened in New York.

Polish American pianist Violetta Koss played classical selections, while theinvited guest were treated to fine Polish cuisine prepared by the chefs employed by the Permanent Mission to the United Nations. Among the distinguished guests were Andrzej Towpik, Ambassador of Poland to the United Nations and Honorable Consuls General from several countries.

In Poland, officials remembered 91 years after regaining independence during a ceremony at the Piłsudski Square in Warsaw, the streets in Poland’s capital city hosted the reenactment of events which took place in 1918 with historical army formations marching along the Royal Route, jazz artists performing “Marsz Pierwszej Brygady” (“We of the First Brigade”), one of the best-known songs of the Polish Legions. The Museum of Polish Army held a large event entitled Touch Independence.

Clockwise from Top left: -- Consul General Krzysztof W. Kasprzyk; Mezzo-soprano Marta Wryk; Pianist Violetta Koss; the guests; Paul T. Sosnowski, Executive Vice President Polish & Slavic Credit Union, Consul General Krzysztof W. Kasprzyk, Rep.Michael McMahon, and Counsel Carmen J. Cognetta; Tracy H. Sugg; Kasprzyk honoring Suzanne Klara and Eric Walther; Vincent Brunhard Jr. in the background

CONCERT: Legendary Punk Band in NYC

As part of Performing Revolution in Central and Eastern Europe Festival, The Polish Cultural Institute of New York, in collaboration with The Hungarian Cultural Center will present Poland's legendary punk band Dezerter in Rebel Waltz: Underground Music from Behind the Iron Curtain on Saturday, November 7 – 11:00 pm at (Le) Poisson Rouge - 158 Bleecker Street at Thompson Street, NYC.

In spring 1981, the heyday of the Solidarity movement, the young musicians came together as SS-20, a name provocatively referring to a Soviet nuclear missile. A month after the group's debut concert, the regime imposed Martial Law, temporarily ending Solidarity's gains. When their name was then banned from posters they changed it to Dezerter. Despite censors' restrictions they officially released the first punk single to critique the system, which sold 50,000 copies before a re-issue was cancelled. The band is still going strong after three decades.

At 4:00 pm there will be a public discussion with the bands and a screening of Beats of Freedom, a documentary on Polish music of the 80's at The New School, Arnhold Hall, 55 W. 13th Street, Rm 531.

CONCERT: Warsaw Village Band’s Antique Instruments

Photo: (clockwise from top left):bębenek, lira korbowa, fidel Płocka, bas, cymbały, suka Biłgorajska; Maja Kleszcz (center)

Under the auspices of The Polish Cultural Institute of New York, The Warsaw Village Band (Kapela ze Wsi Warszawa) has been touring the United States.

The last dates to see them are:
Friday, Nov. 6 – Somerville, MA at Somerville Theater
Saturday, Nov. 7 – Washington, DC at National Geographic
Sunday, Nov. 8 – New York City at World Music Institute - Highline Ballroom

Antique traditional Polish instruments are a major inspiration for the Band which infuses contemporary rhythms and haunting cutting-edge vocals into folk forms. Among these are: cymbały (hammered dulcimer), bębenek obrzęczowy (cymbaled hand drum), baraban (double-headed side drum), lira korbowa (hurdy-gurdy), fidel Płocka (chordophone violin) and the suka Biłgorajska – a 16th century knee four string fiddle with and archaic wide but short neck, flat bottom, resonance case made from one piece of wood. A shout singing style, biały głos (white voice) accentuates the folk tunes.

THEATER: US Premiere of Wormwood – New Haven and NYC

The Polish Cultural Institute of New York, the Yale Repertory Theatre, and the World Performance Project at Yale present the US premiere of Wormwood by Theatre of the Eighth Day (Teatr Ósmego Dnia) of Poznań on November 5-7 at 8:00 pm at the Frederick Iseman Theater -1156 Chapel Street, New Haven, CT For tickets: (203) 432-1234.

Related programs, Free and open to the public are: a lecture The Poetics of “Going against the Tide”: 45 Years of the Theatre of the Eighth Day on Monday, November 2, 5:30-7:00 pm at the Whitney Humanities Center and a workshop with the company on November 3, 6:00-8:00 pm at the Theater Studies Ballroom.

In New York City, as part of Performing Revolution in Central and Eastern Europe, a performing arts festival marking the 20th anniversary of the fall of Communism in Central and Eastern Europe, The Polish Cultural Institute and the Abrons Arts Center will present the New York premiere of Wormwood on November 11-15 - performances are at 8:00 PM, except Sunday at 3:00 PM at the Abrons Arts Center, Henry Street Settlement - 466 Grand Street, New York, NY. For tickets: 212.352.3101 or abronsartscenter.com

Founded in 1964, the legendary Theatre of the Eighth Day was one of the most uncompromising theater groups in Communist Poland and remains just as uncompromising today. The revival of their celebrated production Wormwood, with the original cast was first presented in Poland in 1985. It was famously banned at the time because of its open and frank depiction of life in Poland during Martial Law. The Polish Communist Party shut down the production, and the would-be audience was met by a police barrier at the scheduled premiere. The ensemble outwitted local party officials and the police by organizing a secret premiere the following day at a different time in the same location. Performances in churches and clubs of the independent culture circuit in many Polish cities, followed.

Wormwood will be performed in Polish with English supertitles. Wormwood has a running time of approx. 60 min., and each performance is followed by a talk back with the artists.

PERFORMANCE ART: The Communist Future, if it still existed

Performa in association with The Polish Cultural Institute of New York will present Christian Tomaszewski, in collaboration with video and performance artist Joanna Malinowska in Mother Earth Sister Moon on November 4 – 21. An installation, with special live performances on: November 6, 14, and 21, 6:00 & 8:00 pm at Performa 09/Chashama - 679 Third Avenue at 43rd Street, NYC. Installation admission free. Hours: Installation on view Tues.-Sat. 12:00 - 6:00 pm.
Performance tickets: 212-366-5700.

Tomaszewski and Malinowska consider how the future was imagined by the Communist regimes of the former Soviet Bloc. Mother Earth Sister Moon explores this theme by examining the fashion and style elements of a diverse range of Eastern Bloc phenomena, including the Soviet space program, sci-fi film and literature, and the cults surrounding the mysterious 1908 explosion over the Tunguska River Valley in central Siberia.

Both Polish-born, the two are New York-based artists.

FROM POLAND: Mazowsze Opens New Center

Mazowsze has written a new chapter in its history. Years in the making, the song and dance company recently opened a new facility – Matecznik Mazowsze as a cultural center for visitor exchange between folk artists from around the world. Located on the premises of their picturesque Palace and complex in Karolin (near Warsaw), Matecznik is comprised of a rehearsal center, meeting rooms, wellness area with personal gym and sauna, a 98-person Guesthouse Inn, an 80-seat traditional Polish cuisine tavern– Karczma Staropolska, and a 3766 sq. ft multi-use amphitheatre arena – created for both indoor and outdoor concerts, which seats 563.

“Matecznik Mazowsze will help us foster the spiritual and cultural dimension of our lives,” said the main advocate of the project, Mazowieckie Voivodship Marshal Adam Strużik. “This is a unique opportunity for Poland and the Mazowsze region to promote our country’s culture and art.”

The opening ceremony was entitled Inspiracje Chopinowskie (Chopin Inspirations) featured pianist Krzysztof Jabłoński and the Polish Radio Orchestra under the direction of Tadeusz Kozłowski playing Piano concerto in F minor op. 21; a presentation of a fragment of the film Podróż Sentymentalna about Polish-born conductor Arthur Rubinstein’s 1979 return to Poland and connection to Mazowsze; and an excerpted performance by the Song and Dance Ensemble. In addition to its repertoire the company performed Witold Zapała’s ballet impression to Frédéric Chopin’s Rondo à la Krakowiak and folk songs by Chopin: Życzenie, Laura i Filon and Hulanka.

Among the invited guests were Deputy Prime Minister Waldemar Pawlak and Cardinal Józef Glemp, Primate of the Poland.