Symphony B minor op . 24 „Polonia ” by Ignacy Jan Paderewski

Autor: Halina Rostkowska-Niemczyk Źródło: LaMD

Ignacy Jan Paderewski was one of the first prime ministers of independent Poland. A famous pianist and globally renowned composer. He created the ‘Polonia’ symphony in honor of the 40th anniversary of the January Uprising.

Poland should be grateful for Paderewski – it was under his rule that president Woodrow Wilson, in his ultimatum (which lead the US to signing the Treaty of Versailles), included a paragraph demanding the agreement on Poland’s sovereignty. This is the reason behind the existence of
the independent Poland. It’s in relation to the 102th anniversary of Poland regaining it’s independence, and the 110th anniversary of the symphony’s debut, that a CD with the h-moll op. 24 ‘Polonia’ symphony by Jan Paderewski was released. The Symphonic Orchestra from the Lviv’s National Philharmonic was conducted by the founder of Academia Orchestra, co-creator and artistic director of the International Music Festival Sacrum Non Profanum, Bohdan Boguszewski. This valued conductor and educator decided to use sarrusophones and a tonitruon, thus  embeding this masterpiece on a compact disc released by DUX records. The promotion of the album took place on the 3rd of November 2020 in the Ballroom of the Royal Castle in Warsaw – Museum of the I Republic of Poland’s Kings’ Recidence, and on the 11th of November at  Kosciusko’s Fundation’s headquarters in the USA. The celebration’s honorable sponsor was Tomasz Grodzki, the Speaker of the Senate, also, the album was sponsored by Kosciusko’s Fundation in Washington. In the name of the Foundation, we highly recommend watching the American promotion of

this event. https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=D_ZdCVBpa9Y

„This recording executes Paderewski’s intentions exactly as written in the score through the masterful playing of the Lvov Symphony under the commanding baton of maestro Bohdan Boguszewski. It should be in the library of all classical music lovers and included in the standard repertoire of contemporary symphony orchestras to celebrate more than just national holidays” – says Professor Bogdan Czerniak,M.D., Ph.D., from University of Texas in Houston, USA. I can certainly agree with the Professor’s thesis, and I’m also happy that we had such an amazing Polish man, master, politician as Ignacy Jan Paderewski among us. Let’s remember who he was for our motherland.