Did Paderewski ever use his music to make a political statement, like Shostokovich?
The honoree, Ignacy Jan Paderewski (1860-1941), was a Polish pianist, composer, and patriot who became the country’s first prime minister in the 20th-century and Poland’s representative to the League of Nations. Paderewski was also an inspiring orator, humanitarian and philanthropist who donated millions to charitable causes; yet, due to various political and aesthetic factors, his cultural significance has been under appreciated both in Poland and abroad in the second half of the 20th century. One of the reasons was the lack of interest of the communist government of Poland (after 1945) in publicizing Paderewski’s political achievements. Another important factor was the general dislike for late-romantic music during the modernist period, beginning in the 1910s and continuing through the century until the 1970s.
