Major international classical music competitions evoke strong emotions in both participants and observers. They offer winners cash prizes, concert commissions, and recording contracts; provide commentators ample material for reflection and discussion; and deliver unforgettable aesthetic experiences to audiences. One of the oldest public events of this kind is the International Fryderyk Chopin Piano Competition, which…
One of the several classic ‘Polish insurgences’: armed, bloody and lost. Apart from the romantic legend around it, it is distinguished by the fact that the episode lasting a year was unusually effective in unsettling things as they were. After the lost uprising, two paths of development, possible before, were not available to the Poles…
It is easier to wipe a country off the map than to destroy its soul. In the 19th century, that truth was discovered by Russia, Prussia and Austria as the loss of independence had a mobilising effect on the Poles. It became an impulse for spreading patriotic attitudes as well as an unprecedented flourishing of…
He spent the last months of his life in an apartment in the Royal Castle in Warsaw provided by the president. It was a truly unique way to honor this extraordinary writer, making Żeromski equal to the kings who once ruled the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. Stefan Żeromski certainly deserved such honors. by Tomasz Starzewski Żeromski…
Although more than seventy years have passed since the end of the Second World War, this topic is still very relevant. Today it comes up, for example, due to the report prepared by Polish authorities on the consequences of the conflict for Poland. What losses did Poland suffer as a result of the war and…
It was not until late July 1944 that the decision had been taken to fight an uprising against the German occupation forces in Warsaw. Prior to that, commanders of the Home Army had no intention of taking military action in Warsaw, wishing to avoid war damage and the suffering of civilians. by Łukasz Wojtach …
