Pianist, composer, philanthropist, statesman, film star: Paderewski’s brilliance wasn’t just confined to the keyboard.
It would beyond the scope of many pages to catalogue the man’s history and achievements; so this page is mostly limited to his considerable talents as a composer.
But first, Paderewski the film star (you can watch the whole of Moonlight Sonata here):
Works for piano and orchestra include his Concerto in a, Op. 17 (1889) and this, the more overtly nationalistic Polish Fantasy, Op. 19 (1893).
Paderewski only wrote one opera, Manru (you can watch the entire work here). The plot is rather like Carmen but inverted – a love triangle in which it’s the eponymous male lead who is the gypsy (a synopsis here). In this is extract from Act III, Manru is finally seduced into returning to the gypsy life:
An opportunity to evaluate the work and it’s interpretation:
Work:
Performance:
And, if you feel inclined to expand on your decisions…
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And then there are the purely orchestral works: a large brooding symphony in b entitled Polonia and this, simply entitled Overture:
Work:
Performance:
And, if you feel inclined to expand on your decisions…
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Pantygwydr!
The Art of Listening 