Friday, October 22, 2010
Lech Walęsa to Join Building and Construction Trades in Solidarity Rally - NYC
The Nobel Peace Prize winner will headline the rally sponsored by the Building and Construction Council of Greater New York, the umbrella group representing more than 100,000 workers citywide. The rally will highlight Mr. Walesa' experience in leading the solidarity movement that defeated Communist rule and how solidarity among union members and working men and women can fight exploitation and rebuild America's middle class.
“Lech Walesa is legendary figure who epitomizes what the union movement is all about in the U.S. and around
the world: strength, spirit and solidarity,” said Gary La Barbera, president of the Building and ConstructionTrades Council of Greater New York. “We know that solidarity is critical to advancing the union movement and the rights of workers everywhere, and this is exactly what will be on display at this historic rally.”
Monday, October 25; 3:00-4:00 pm
TIMES SQUARE (7th Avenue from 42nd Street to 36th Street, Manhattan)
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
Polanski Short Films on Tour
With live music by Sza/Za, an experimental electro-acoustic duo from Warsaw, the program of Polanski’s seven short films will premiere at BAMcinématek on November 2, and then tour the U.S. to be presented at some of the most prestigious venues on the East Coast and West Coast, including the National Gallery of Art in DC and the Letterman Digital Arts Center in San Francisco. The project will pay tribute to the Polish jazz pioneer Krzysztof Komeda, Polanski’s long time collaborator in Europe and Hollywood.
Between 1958 and 1962, the acclaimed director made a series of short films, mostly as a student at the renowned Lodz Film School in Poland. From playful filmmaking exercises: Murder (1957) and Teeth Smile (1957), and the metaphorical Break Up the Dance (1957) and Mammals (1962), to his award winning film Two Men and a Wardrobe (1958).
Roman Polanski: Short Films will reveal the director's surreal and dark style, his masterful storytelling ability and his restless search for the truth about human nature. The grotesque and often disturbing world of his short films, and his meticulously clean direction are traits that would be later developed in such masterpieces as Rosemary’s Baby, Chinatown, The Pianist, and his most recent The Ghost Writer.
Sza/Za (Pawel Szamburski and Patryk Zakrocki) – musicians, improvisers and promoters of culture in the Warsaw music and independent art scene since 1999 – have composed a new score for this special event. Using clarinet, violin, analogue loop stations and subtle effects, their music
is a unique mix of noise and silence, pop and contemporary chamber music, which convey both the beauty and ugliness of sophisticated wisdom and pure, naive thoughtlessness.
LISTINGS:
- Tuesday, November 2, 7:30 pm: BAMcinématek – 30 Lafayette Avenue, Brooklyn, NY; www.BAM.org.
- Thursday, November 4, 7:30 pm: Cornell Cinema – 104 Willard Straight Hall, Ithaca, NY; www.cinema.cornell.edu.
- Sunday, November 7, 7:00 pm: Alamo Drafthouse Ritz – 320 E. 6th St.Austin, TX; www.originalalamo.com.
- Monday, November 8, 7:30 pm: Boulder Theater – 2032 14th St., Boulder, CO; www.bouldertheater.com.
- Tuesday, November 9, 8:00 pm: The Cinefamily – 611 N. Fairfax Ave, Los Angeles, CA; www.cinefamily.org.
- Wednesday, November 10, 7:30 pm: Letterman Digital Arts Center - One Letterman Dr., San Francisco, CA; www.sffs.org.
- Thursday, November 11, 7:30 pm: Seattle International Film Festival Cinema – 321 Mercer St., Seattle, WA; www.siff.net.
- Saturday, November 13, 4:30 pm: National Gallery of Art/ East Building Large Auditorium - 4th St. & Constitution Ave., NW, Washington, DC; : www.nga.gov.
- Sunday, November 14, 7:00 pm: Film Row Cinema/Columbia College – 1104 S. Wabash, Chicago, IL; www.pffamerica.com, www.societyforarts.com.
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
Polish Film Receives U.S. Premiere
the U.S. audience at the New York premiere.The costume drama is based on a classical comedy by Count Aleksander Fredro, one of the most popular Polish playwrights of the 19th century. The film is an adaptation of that work with the action taking place in two time periods – the contemporary set where the actors portraying main
characters exist and the era in which the comedy takes place.War of Love received it's U.S. premiere in Chicago. The film will be distributed in the US in as many as fifty locations. Check www.pffamerica.com for further details.
From Poland with Love - Buffalo, NY
Celebrate Polish Heritage Month and Chopin's 200th Birthday with Canadian-born pianist Berenika Zakrzewski in an all-Polish music program. The Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, The Polish Cultural Institute in New York and The Western NY Chapter of the Kosciuszko Foundation will present From Poland with Love with Zakrzewski and the Buffalo Philharmonic on Saturday, October 23, and Sunday, October 24; 8:00 pm at the Kleinhans Music Hall – 3 Symphony Circle in Buffalo, NY.
The program will include Szymanowski: Concert Overture in E major, op. 12, Chopin: Concerto for Piano no. 2 in F major, B43/Op. 21, Karlowicz: The Sorrowful Tale, Symphonic Poem for Orchestra
and Lutoslawski: Concerto for Orchestra. For tickets: www.bpo.org.
Monday, October 18, 2010
Białystok Puppet Theatre Comes to NYC
With music by Fryderyk Chopin and text by Wojciech Szelachowski, the piece is a theatrical reflection on the life and work of the world's greatest composer for the piano, performed in perfect synchrony with selections from Chopin's works and by marionettes representing the composer and the historical figures who surrounded him.
The minimal English narration and silent manipulation of the marionette cast enact Chopin's artistic friendships, musical impressions, and life experiences. Every detail has been
worked out. The puppet's fingers move precisely in the rhythm of the mazurkas, nocturnes and waltzes as played by Polish virtuoso pianist Krzysztof Trzaskowski. The Bialystok Puppet Theatre is one of the leading puppet theaters in Europe and one of the oldest Polish theater companies to cultivate a puppet repertoire for adults. Since 1972, it has regularly produced works by such authors as Boccaccio, Calderon, Rostand, Gogol, Bernhard, Rozewicz, and Mrozek.Chopin-An Impression was originally commissioned by the Polish Ministry of Culture and National Heritage as part of the worldwide celebration of The Year of Chopin 2010, celebrating the bicentennial of the composer's birth in Żelazowa Wola, Poland. In New York the play will be presented as a part of the The La MaMa Puppet Series IV--Built to Perform, an annual event that carries on La MaMa's long standing tradition of supporting puppet theater artists from all over the world.For schedule and ticket information: www.polishculture-nyc.org or http://lamama.org.
Sunday, October 17, 2010
Teresa Krakowiak is Miss PKM at Pulaski Day Parade - Philadelphia, PA
The P.K.M. Dancers - Polish Intercollegiate Club of Philadelphia (Polskie Kółko Miedzykolegialne) appeared at Philadelphia's Pulaski Day Parade on October 3, presenting their Stara Warszawa suite.
This year's Miss PKM is Teresa Krakowiak, a graduate of Norwich University, Northfield, Vermont with a Bachelor's Degree in Computer Security and Information Assurance. She has been a dance member of PKM for a year carrying on a family tradition; Teresa is the daughter of Cynthia and John Krakowiak, both PKM Alumni.
PKM will perform in the lobby of the Kimmel Center as a pre-show prior to the Mazowsze performance in Philadelphia on Sunday, November 14.
Saturday, October 16, 2010
Monika Pastuszak's "Venetian Masks" - Greenpoint-Brooklyn, NY
A photographic exhibit entitled Venetian Masks by Monika Pastuszak will be shown
October 1- November 3 at the Starbucks Coffee - 910 Manhattan Ave in Greenpoint-Brooklyn.
"Many years ago I started my adventure with photography, but I never thought that others will see my photographic images,” said Paztuszak. “In 2006, during the carnival I
went to Venice. What I saw exceeded my expectations and while there I could not wait another year to capture it on film. I returned to Venice.Two days shooting mysterious figures in masks and greed fixation of distance run, satisfied my belief that photography is my passion, my window to the world.”
For more about Pastuszak's work check: www.monikapastuszak.com.
Polonaise Ball - Middletown, NY
The Emotionalist Group's 16th Birthday - Greenpoint-Brooklyn, NY
The Emotionalist Art Group will celebarte their 16th year of existence with The Emotionalists – New Works on October 15 – November 3 at Kurier Plus Gallery - 145 Java Street in Greenpoint-Brooklyn.
Artists participating include: Lubomir Tomaszewski, Maria Fuks, Janusz Skowron (exhibit curator), Mieczysław Mietko Rudek, Wojciech Kubik, Ivan Bratko, Beata Szpura, Zbigniew Nowosadzki, Jan Hausbrandt, Artur Skowron, Anna Zatorska, Maksymilian Starzec, Patrycja Todo, Ryszard Semko, Piotr Betlej, Kinga Kolouszek, Christine Tomaszewski, Katarzyna Derda, Malina Boreyko, Beata Trefon, Jolanta Budny Badyna, Witold Vito Wójcik, Agnieszka Uziębło, Adam Panek, Jacek Wolski.
Agnieszka Solawa's Necklace Art - Summit, NJ
Agnieszka Solawa, an accomplished artist and architect is exhibiting a collection of handmade necklaces utilizing beads and pendants made from a variety of materials including coral, fresh water pearls, African metal beads, among others. The necklaces are Solawa's creation from a collection of beads that she acquired during her travels around the world and will b e displayed during the month of October at the Summit Public Library at 75 Maple St. in Summit, NJ.
Born in Kraków, Poland, Solawa grew up surrounded by art. She was only 10 years old when she received her first commission for five icons of the Polish mountain technique of reverse paintings on glass for the Missionary Church in Kraków. She immigrated with her family to South Africa to escape Communism. Freedom was essential to her growth as an artist. She moved to the United Statesin 1987 and resides in Summit, NJ.
To see more of Ms. Solawa's work check: www.solawa.com.
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
Fryderyk Chopin Piano Competition - October 19, NYC
.jpg)
Tue, Oct 19 at 10 am
In celebration of the Chopin Bicentennial, this competition presents today’s most promising young pianists, selected from the finest conservatories and music schools, in performances of Chopin’s best-known études, ballades, mazurkas, polonaises, préludes and waltzes. Join the panel of distinguished international judges, including Ewa Kupiec, Benjamin Hochman, Philip Kennicott, and Daniel Epstein, and be part of the decision-making process for the Grand prize—a 2011 recital at Symphony Space in New York and a weeklong trip to Poland for an international debut recital in Warsaw.
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
Magdalena Baczewska to play at the Consulate - NYC
The Consulate General of Poland in New York and the De Lamar Mansion Salon of Arts & Ideas will present a piano recital – Chopin and His Legacy by Magdalena Baczewska on Sunday, October 17, at 4:00 pm. The program will consist of works by Chopin, Gershwin, Liszt, Paderewski, Ginastera, Szymanowski and Rachmaninov, and will be held at the Consulate (233 Madison Avenue, NYC).
As a winner of international piano competitions, Magdalena has appeared worldwide as a solo artist and in orchestral performances. She holds a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the Manhattan School of Music, along with Bachelor and Master's Degree from the Mannes College of Music, New School University. She is a faculty member at the John J. Cali School of Music, Montclair State University in New Jersey and at the International Keyboard Institute and Festival in New York City. She was among the jurors of the International Chopin Competition at Columbia University.
Her recordings and performances have been hailed as "eloquent and technically flawless" (The Washington Post).
The event is free and open to the public. Registration required. Contact :evz@polishconsulateny.org, (646) 237-2114.
Thursday, October 7, 2010
Polish American Heritage Month Coloring Contest
The Polish American Heritage Month Committee, Michael Blichasz, National Chairman are celebrating the National Celebration of Polish History, Culture and Pride in Cooperation with the Polish American Congress and Polonia across America with numerous events.
Each year the committee sponsors a Coloring Contest with the objective to allow students
to learn something about the history of Polish people and their contributions to the world. This year's contest is devoted to the world renowned pianist and composer of Polish Descent - Fryderyk Chopin.
To download the coloring contest entry and for suggestions on how to sponsor a Coloring Contest check: www.polishamericancenter.org.
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
Polish Cultural Institute and Komeda Project at 92nd St. Y Festival - NYC
The Polish Cultural Institute in New York made their yearly appearance representing Poland at the 92nd St. Y Street Festival. At their booth directly across from the 92nd St. Y, they handed out brochures about upcoming events, they distributed books, brochures and information promoting Poland and various aspects of Polish culture.
Established in 2000, PCI is a diplomatic mission to the United States. One of 22 such institutes around the
world, it serves under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Poland. The Institute is dedicated to nurturing and promoting cultural ties between the United States and Poland, both through American exposure to Poland's cultural achievements, and through exposure of Polish artists and scholars to American institutions, professional counterparts, and to currents in American culture.
In addition to their booth , PCI presented the Komeda Project at the Festival. In his short life (until his untimely death in a tragic accident in Hollywood at the age of 38), Krzysztof Komeda (1931-1969) wrote music to over 40 films, including such Polish cinematic classics as Roman Polanski’s "Knife in the Water" and Andrzej Wajda’s "Innocent Sorcerers." He is widely credited as
being one of the founding fathers of the modern jazz movement in Poland. Born and raised in Poland, founders of the Komeda Project, pianist Andrzej Winnicki and saxophonist Krzysztof Medyna have been playing together for over thirty years. They bring both a European classicism and melancholy Slavic melodism to music that's heavily refracted
through the prism of the American tradition. Before moving to the United States in the late 1980s, they spent years touring Europe with the award-winning group Breakwater. Winnicki and Medyna decided to form the all-acoustic Komeda Project in 2004.
For information on the Polish Cultural Institute's season check: www.polishculture-nyc.org.
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
REVIEW: Chopin with Jazz at Carnegie Hall
by Staś Kmieć
Frédéric Chopin's 200th Birthday Party - A Polish Jazz Celebration was presented at Carnegie Hall on October 4 presented by the High Arts Society of Warsaw, Poland . This show was arranged to demonstrate the composer's source of inspiration – folk music, as well as his work being a source of inspiration of jazz and contemporary music. The ambitious concert was performed in Chicago, New York City and Inowrocław, Poland.
The missing component of the program should have come between the inspiration source and the inspired invention and that was a representation and acknowledgment of Chopin's original compositions.
The inventive Jazz improvisations on Chopin's work were evidence of how revelatory his music is. A contemporary molding of Chopin's genius. Straying from the beaten path they attempted to forge a new language of Chopin. In some offerings a glimmer of Chopin could be heard, but often his contribution appeared unrecognizable to listening audience.
In spite of their efforts, musicologists have still not solved the precise sources of the quotations in Chopin's music. He was influenced by the folk music of Poland, but did not reproduce it, what he did was to compose his pieces in the spirit of folk music.
The Janusz Prusinowski Ensemble, in my opinion was the standout of the evening. Focused and concise, they offered the rural perspective of the music from the country side that influenced and inspired the great artist. With antique instrumentation they presented an expression of vitality and authenticity.
“Oj chmielu, chmielu” (their first selection) is the oldest known ceremonial wedding song, sung during oczepiny, when the bride symbolically passes into the state of married ladies and when a bonnet replaces her head wreath. From the scratchy, clear-toned folk violin to the emotional shawm, punctuated by the baraban cymbal-drum and the rhythmic foot step-stamp motif of the musicians, the tune resonated through the hallowed establishment of Carnegie Hall.
The shawm, a medieval and Renaissance musical instrument of the woodwind family made in Europe from the late 13th century until the 17th century was developed from the oriental zurna and is the predecessor of the modern oboe. The instrument gave the song a hypnotic transcendental quality.
The song is derived from pagan times, before the adoption of Poland's baptism in 966. Its tonality of the pentatoni
c and modal scale indicate an even earlier origin of the melody. The second piece was a suite of melodies that may have inspired Chopin including “Czemu nie orzesz, Jasieńku,” which is reflected in Mazurka in G minor, Op. 24 No. 1 with its rhythmic rubato, minor scales and minor
subtleties of melody and harmonic accompaniment. Theaccents of przytup stamping broke into dance by the final rendition of Chopin's Mazurka in D major, Op. 33, No. 2. The national mazur is based on the folk mazurek (chłopskie mazur), but it represents a break with folk
tradition. Compared to the rural version,it differs by being filled with dotted rhythms. At the end of the 18th century the Mazurka became part of the piano repertoire and it reached perfection in the hands of Chopin. Upon examination it becomes clear that these compositions contain a blend of various traditions, dominant among which are the national mazur and the folk kujawiak. A triple-time round dance with a crescendo rhythm, the kujawiak consisting of the slow “sleeping” ksebka, followed by the true kujawiak odsibka – a “whirling dervish” of a mazur or oberek rhythm.A memorable New-Age performance was given by Kwadrofonik. Water-colored, airy and
mysterious their modern compositions interpreted Chopin in a dreamlike, surreal exploration ofrhythmic sound. African-American saxophonist Azar Lawrence visited Poland in 1974 and his impressions of the composer were expressed through improvisational technique reaching great emotion and depth. Jazz powerhouse Gunhild Carling of Sweden offered welcome relief late in the program. She began on a humorous note blaring the 
Funeral March Sonata No. 2 (Op. 35) on the trombone and followed in a strong nuanced voice with a song improvisation alternating on the trombone, fife and trumpet.Among the other performers were Krzesimir Dębski (Poland/USA) – emcee, music director, violin, Vocalists Agnieszka Wilczyńska (Poland) and Grażyna Auguścik World Sound (USA) with The Chicago International Trombone Ensemble, jazz pianist Sławomir
Jaskułke (Poland), and theAndrzej Jagodziński Trio (Poland).The 2-hour concert at times meandered, particularly during the jazz riffs
and individual improvisations, which at times appeared uninspired. For many acts abbreviated or single selections would have sufficed. Flow and format were not evident in the structure of much the presentation; however the free-for-all celebration aspect and variety was engaging and infectious.
Monday, October 4, 2010
Chopin Song Concert - Washington, DC
The Embassy of the Republic of Poland will celebrate the 200th Anniversary of Fryderyk Chopin’s Birth (March 1, 1810 – October 17, 1849) with a recital of songs by Iwona Sobotka - soprano, accompanied by Brian Ganz on piano. The concert will take place on Friday, October 8, 7:00 – 9:30 pm at the Embassy of the Republic of Poland -2640 16th Street NW, Washington, DC.
