The End of the Chopin Year (Vol. 2, No. 3)

We spent a very special year in the company of Fryderyk Chopin, his music, his thoughts, his friends and poets writing about him. In February 2010, Chopin with Cherries was officially unveiled at the Third International Chopin Congress in Warsaw. In the past, there were many studies of Polish poets associated with Chopin: friends whose poems he set to music, and those writing about him and his music after his death. The Chopin with Cherries anthology and presentations of various aspects of its contents is the first effort to gather and study English-language poetry about Chopin. Our year-long journey was filled with exciting events and publications, leading to an increased recognition of the lasting value of this collection. The next step will be issuing a version for e-book readers, but it is time to celebrate what has been accomplished so far.


The Poets

I am the most grateful to all the poets who submitted their work to this anthology and helped me find more poems to include. John Z. Guzlowski’s assistance has been invaluable in publicizing this collection through his Polish-American blogs and contacts. He also told me of Margaret C. Szumowski’s wonderful poem and connected me to Charles Fishman, who in turn sent me an inspired poem by William Pillin. Kathabela and Rick Wilson attended each of the four Chopin with Cherries group readings, in Pasadena, Los Angeles, Venice, and Chicago. At Venice and in Chicago, Rick played Chopin on historical flutes from his collection. They also hosted a Chopin Salon in Pasadena, helping local poets connect to Chopin's music. Dr. Mira Mataric has faithfully participated in all California readings and is working on Serbian translations of selected poems.

A sincere thank-you to all the poets featured in Chopin with Cherries: Millicent Borges Accardi, Austin Alexis, Lucy Anderton, Sheila Black, George Bodmer, Lia Brooks, Kerri Buckley, Allison Campbell, Peggy Castro, Sharon Chmielarz, Victor Contoski, Clark Crouch, Beata Pozniak Daniels, Jessica Day, Diane Shipley DeCillis, Lori Desrosiers, Charlie Durrant, T. S. Eliot, David Ellis, Donna L. Emerson, Charles Ades Fishman, Jennifer S. Flescher, Gretchen Fletcher, Linda Nemec Foster, Emily Fragos, Jarek Gajewski, Helen Graziano, John Z. Guzlowski, Lola Haskins, Shayla Hawkins, Elizabyth A. Hiscox, Marlene Hitt, Roxanne Hoffman, Laura L. Mays Hoopes, Ben Humphrey, Carol J. Jennings, Charlotte Jones, Lois P. Jones, Georgia Jones-Davis, Christine Klocek-Lim, Jean L. Kreiling, Leonard Kress, Emma Lazarus, Marie Lecrivain, Jeffrey Levine, Amy Lowell, R. Romea Luminarias, Rick Lupert, Radomir V. Luza, Mira N. Mataric, Ryan McLellan, Anna Maria Mickiewicz, Elisabeth Murawski, Ruth Nolan, Cyprian Kamil Norwid, Rosemary O'Hara, Dean Pasch, Nils Peterson, Richard Pflum, William Pillin, Kenneth Pobo, Carrie A. Purcell, Marilyn N. Robertson, Susan Rogers, Alison Ross, Mary Rudge, Russell Salamon, Gabriel Shanks, Marian Kaplun Shapiro, Joseph Somoza, Lusia Slomkowska, Kathi Stafford, Maxine R. Syjuco, Fiona Sze-Lorrain, Margaret C. Szumowski, Katrin Talbot, Taoli-Ambika Talwar, Thom Tammaro, Mark Tardi, Cheryl M. Thatt, Tammy L. Tillotson, Helen Vandepeer, Devi Walders, Erika Wilk, Martin Willitts, Jr., Kath Abela Wilson, Leonore Wilson, Meg Withers, Anne Harding Woodworth, and Marianne Worthington.

Three poets have responded to my requests for personal comments about Chopin’s music and their inspirations: Mark Tardi, Tammy L. Tillotson, and Ben Humphrey. It would be nice to hear from more poets…

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Pushcart Prize Nominations

As the editor of the collection, I took the liberty of nominating some of my favorite poems to the 2010 Pushcart Prize for Poetry. It was a very hard choice since I love all the poems in this anthology. I picked those who could “use” a nomination, so to speak… The Pushcart Prize and publication in the annual collection of the best poetry published by small presses and literary journals nationwide has become one of the most prestigious honors in the poetry field. The nominations are made by editors and publishers who select the best of the best from amongst the work that they have published during the past year. We are proud to present the following Pushcart Prize 2010 nominees:

• Lia Brooks for "During Nocturne"
• Elizabeth Murawski for "Polonaise"
• Diane Shipley DeCillis for "Postcards of Home and Homesick"
• Sharon Chmielarz for "Chopin: Apples"
• Katrin Talbot for "It's been a tough symphony week," and
• Leonard Kress for "The Piano of Chopin," a translation of Cyprian Kamil Norwid's poem "Fortepian Szopena"

Congratulations to all the poets! It would not be amiss to mention here that some of our poets have received other nominations and prizes. Elizabeth Murawski won the prestigious 2010 May Swenson Award (read her blog entry) Lois P. Jones and Millicent Borges Accardi were nominated for Pushcart Prizes by other small-presses.

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Reviews

CHRISTOPHER WOODS: “For those who have been moved by the music of Fryderyk Chopin, this new international anthology will be a treat… one breathtaking aspect of the anthology is the diversity of voices, both stylistically and geographically. .. One of the striking aspects of the anthology is the way in which the editor, Polish born Maja Trochimczyk, arranges the various sections, not only by musical forms, but also into sections like beauty and death, words that often come to mind when considering Chopin’s life, his passions and his early demise.” Christopher Woods in Contemporary World Literature 5 (Feburary 2011).

ELIZABETH KANSKI: "In Poland, June is the month for Bing cherries (czeresnie) and July for sour cherries (wisnie), but it is Chopin season year-round, especially in 2010, the 200th anniversary of the birth of the great composer. Maja Trochimczyk, Polish American music historian, poet and photographer, decided to celebrate Chopin's birthday in an unconventional manner: with 123 poems by 92 poets, gathered together into a handsomely produced and exciting new anthology." Elizabeth Kanski in the Polish American Journal, September 2010, p. 21.

ALISON ROSS: "What is most striking about this verse tribute is how deftly the editor weaves together the various themes, treatments and styles within the volume, meticulously detailed in the introduction and then presented format-wise in the book... All in all, I am immensely pleased with how this anthology turned out. In fact, it exceeded my expectations, because it is so comprehensive and cohesive. The poems are fascinatingly diverse in voice, topic, content, and style, and the poems reveal such richly individualistic interpretations of Chopin's powerful pathos. . . "Chopin with Cherries" is an anthology to treasure as intimately as one might cherish Chopin's compositions. Alison Ross, in the Clockwise Cat, May 2010

JOHN Z. GUZLOWSKI: "Maja Trochimczyk's Chopin with Cherries... is a masterful celebration of this composer and the complex range of emotions, impressions, memories, and dreams his music evokes... Finally, let me say that I cannot remember reading an anthology of poems centered around a single-theme that I liked more. The poems Maja Trochimczyk has gathered together to commemorate Chopin's 200th birthday are inspiring and exhilarating, as I have already noted, and - I don't know how else to say this - fun to read." John Z. Guzlowski in The Cosmopolitan Review 2 no. 1 (Spring 2010).

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Poetry Readings and Conferences

Annual Meeting of the Polish-American Historical Association, Boston, Mass., January 8, 2011. Maja Trochimczyk’s paper "The Image of Chopin's Death in Art and Poetry".

Semi-Annual Conference of the Polish American Historical Association, Jagiellonian University, Krakow, Poland, June 26, 2010. Maja Trochimczyk’s paper "Chopin in Polish-American Poetry: Lost Country, Found Beauty." Publication forthcoming in the Polish American Studies.

Chopin with Cherries IV - Anthology Reading at Loyola University Chicago, part of Chopin & Paderewski 2010 Conference, November 13, 2010.

With poets: Sharon Chmielarz, Gretchen Fletcher, George Bodmer, Ben Humphrey, Katrin Talbot and Maja Trochimczyk. The photographs from the event are posted in a Picasa Web Album.

Chopin Lecture, Recital and Poetry Reading at Polish Fest LA, Adams Blvd., Los Angeles, September 25, 2010, at 1 p.m. - featuring poets Maja Trochimczyk, Mira N. Mataric, Susan Rogers, and Lois P. Jones. www.polishfestla.com

Chopin with Cherries III - Anthology Reading at Beyond Baroque, Venice, CA, September 12, 2010 at 3 p.m.

With Maja Trochimczyk, anthology editor, Rick Wilson, flute (historical crystal glass and ivory flutes) and sixteen poets, appearing in person: Marlene Hitt, Georgia Jones-Davis, Lois P. Jones, Marie Lecrivain, R. Romea Luminarias, Radomir Vojtech Luza, Rick Lupert, Mira Matric, Ruth Nolan, Marilyn Robertson, Susan Rogers, Kathi Stafford, Taoli Ambika Talwar, Maja Trochimczyk, Kathabela Wilson, and Erika Wilk. A full program with the list of poems and the poets' biographies was included in this blog: Chopin at Beyond Baroque and photos are on Chopin III Picasa Web Album.

Chopin with Cherries II: An Evening of Poetry and Music. Ruskin Art Club, Los Angeles, CA, Saturday, May 8, 2010, 7 p.m. Chopin recital by eminent Polish pianist Dr. Wojciech Kocyan with readings by poets from around the country.

The poetry reading and concert by pianist Wojciech Kocyan was hosted by Maja Trochimczyk, editor and featured 14 poets: Gretchen Fletcher, Millicent Borges Accardi, Georgia Jones-Davis, Donna Emerson, Erika Wilk, Laura Mays Hoopes, Mira Mataric, Maja Trochimczyk, Kath Abela Wilson, Kathi Stafford, Marian Kaplun Shapiro, Beata Pozniak Daniels, Taoli-Ambika Talwar, and Susan Rogers. The festivities ended with a polonaise to Chopin's music, led by Edward Hoffman, choreographer of the Krakusy Polish Folk Dance Ensemble. See photos at Picasa Chopin II Photo Album and the PDF flyer with more information: Chopin at the Ruskin.

Chopin with Cherries I: An Evening of Poetry and Music. South Pasadena Library Auditorium, 1115 El Centro St., South' Pasadena, CA, 91030; Sunday, April 11, 2010, 6 p.m.

Reading by 20 poets with Chopin's music played by American pianist, Dr. Neal Galanter and by students of Prof. Roza Yoder from Azusa Pacific University. pianists Kristi Chiou, Stacy Chiou, and Anna Nizghorodtseva, Dr. Neil Galanter and Sue Zhou, poets Mira N. Mataric, Erika Wilk, Lois P. Jones, Kathabela Wilson, Marilyn N. Robertson, Rick Lupert, and Radomir Luza poet Russell Salamon,. Maja Trochimczyk, Susan Rogers, artist Monique Lehman, Peggy Castro. Photo album from this event is at Chopin I: Picasa Web Album.

Concert of Romantic Music, Azusa Pacific University, Azusa, CA, Tuesday, Feburary 16, 2010, 7:30p.m. With Roza Yoder, Director. Piano music performed by APU students. Readings from Chopin with Cherries by Maja Trochimczyk and local poets. Erika Wilk, Mira Mataric, Susan Rogers, Taoli-Ambika Talwar and Maja Trochimczyk

Bicentennial Chopin Celebration, Colburn School of Music, Los Angeles, CA, Saturday, February 27, 2010, 8 p.m. With eminent pianists John Perry, Wojciech Kocyan and actress Jane Kaczmarek reading poems from Chopin with Cherries. Presented by the Paderewski Music Society and Helena Modjeska Polish Arts and Culture Club. All proceeds will be used to support the first International Paderewski Piano Competition in California, May 2010.

3rd International Chopin Congress, Warsaw, Poland, February 25 - March 1, 2010. Congress organized by Fryderyk Chopin Institute and the University of Warsaw.

The official presentation of the book during Maja Trochimczyk's paper "From 'Eternal Eloquence' to 'What Does he Know' - Images of Chopin in English-language Poetry." University of Warsaw Old Library, Warszawa, ul. Krakowskie Przedmiescie 26/28, Poland. See pictures in the Chopin Congress Photo Album.

Chopin Salon for Poets on Site – Pasadena, August 1, 2009. Maja Trochimczyk’s presentation at Kathabela and Rick Wilson’s Poetry Salon for poets and friends of poets interested in Chopin’s image and place in Polish history, including reading of several poems from the first round of submissions.

67th Annual Meeting of the Polish Institute of Arts and Sciences of America, Jersey City, New Jersey, June 2009. Maja Trochimczyk’s paper "From 'Eternal Eloquence' to 'What Does He Know?' - Images of Chopin in English-language Poetry."

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Poetry Reprints

Poems from the Chopin with Cherries anthology were reprinted in this blog, but also in other venues:

Wyspa Kwartalnik Literacki, A Polish literary quarterly (December 2010) featured a translation of "Rubies and Sapphires" by Kerri Buckley, by a Polish poet, Mira Kus ("Rubiny i szafiry").

The Cosmopolitan Review (February 2010) featured a selection of poems from the book, i.e., works by: Kerri Buckley, Ryan McLellan, Rick Lupert, Elizabeth Murawski, Ruth Nolan, William Pillin, Katrin Talbot, and Maja Trochimczyk.

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... and our Readers

Gifts of Chopin with Cherries were received by, among others:

Lech Walesa, Polish politician, former Solidarity leader and winner of Nobel Peace Prize, got his copy of Chopin with Cherries on December 17, 2010; with a photo to prove it.

Jane Kaczmarek, Polish-American actress who read a selection of poems at Chopin Bicentennial Celebration in February 2010 received her copy during the First International Paderewski Competition in Los Angeles, June 2010.

The Polish Museum of America, a gift accepted by Ms. Malgorzata Kot, Librarian, during the Loyola University Chicago Chopin & Paderewski Conference in November 2010.

Chopin in Colorado with Ben Humphrey (Vol. 2, No. 2)

The last 2010 group reading from the Chopin with Cherries anthology took place at the November 2010 Chopin & Paderewski Conference at the Loyola University Chicago.

A lively and lovely group of poets gathered, including guests from Chicago who listened to visiting poets from around the country. George Bodmer, Sharon Chmielarz, Ben Humphrey, Gretchen Fletcher, Katrin Talbot, Maja Trochimczyk, Kathabela and Rick Wilson were there in person, sharing the poems by others.

Photos from the event may be seen at the Loyola University Chopin Album, and, to those who are friends of Kathabela, on her Facebook page, but a more substantial review still waits for its completion.

Each of the poets presented their work in a different way. Colorado-based Ben Humphrey decided to write out little introductions to his two poems and allowed me to reprint them, along with his poems.

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Ben Humphrey - Introductions and Poems

Introduction to An Invitation in D-flat Major

When I go to a reading, I like to know a little about the poet and how a poem came to be written, so I’ll trouble you with a few comments about my own work.

I live at 9,300 ft in the Rockies. I’m six miles from a paved road, so it’s quiet, and except when I’m listening to music, there is only the sound of the weather or “the sound of silence.”

I’m never annoyed by the weather. I have a dog; she always has her coat. So we go for walks whatever nature has to offer. Rain, snow, sleet and hail are a blessing; we need water for the trees and wild flowers.

I like to watch the snow fall and my dog loves to romp in snow drifts. One day in watching the swirling snow, the idea of the wind whistling a waltz can to mind and that lead to Chopin’s Minute Waltz.

An Invitation in D-flat Major

Snowfall over, sun’s out,
wind whistles a Waltz,
refracting flakes whirl in triple time.

My focus limited
to page, paragraph.
Sun warms my cabin’s roof.

A crescendo of clattering slabs
Awakens me from my book
calls me – to take a Minute for the dance.

* * * * * * * * * *

Introduction to: A Pastoral Piece in D-flat Major

It’s quiet where I live, and I enjoy the sound of the weather, rain, wind, sleet or hail. Poor Chopin, his vacation in Majorca was ruined by rain.

One morning, I was enjoying the sound of rain against my windows. I started to write a poem, cited the repetitious notes and then Chopin’s: The Raindrop Prelude, came to mind.

I reworked the poem and included as many musical terms as possible: motif, pianissimo, figures, grace notes, theme and cadence.
Finally it occurred to me, if the solo piano can take center stage, so can the weather.

A Pastoral Piece in D-flat Major

Gently beating on a window pane,
a rain storm’s motif
usually a patter, pianissimo
like repetitious figures of a Chopin prelude.

There are grace notes in raindrops,
a passing pastoral theme and a final
closed cadence. An atmospheric disturbance
has occupied center stage.

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NOTE: Photos from the Loyola University Chicago Conference include all poets present in person with musician Rick Wilson. L to R: Rick Wilson, Sharon Chmielarz, Kathabela Wilson, Gretchen Fletcher, Maja Trochimczyk, Katrin Talbot, George Bodmer, and Ben Humphrey. The second photo depicts Ben Humphrey in conversation with Gretchen Fletcher. Ben provided the following biographic note for the book:

"In his somewhat wasted youth, G. BENNETT HUMPHREY received a MD and PhD from the University of Chicago, a disfiguring experience that turned his head into an egg. In his not so wasted youth, Ben studied piano, trumpet and later the banjo. Music was and still is an escape into solitude. Ben is pleased to have an opportunity to participate in this tribute to Chopin. He has been a guest on several occasions in Poland and wishes to express his gratitude for the hospitality that was extended to him by the Polish people. A retired Professor of Pediatric Oncology, Ben has been writing poetry since 2005. His poems have been published in American and British Journals and anthologies. He is an active member of Poetry West and serves on its Board of Directors."

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Happy New Year 2011! (Vol. 2, No. 1)

Our Chopin adventure is coming to a close, with the festivities of the Chopin Year largely completed. In January 2011 at the Polish American Historical Association's Annual Meeting held in Boston, Mass., I will read a paper based, in part, on poetry and illustrations from Chopin with Cherries. The topic will be more sombre than other ones: the association of Chopin and his music with morbidity and death in popular culture and poetry. The vintage, turn-of-the-century postcards, like the one reproduced below will provide some of the most radical and kitchy illustrations of the fin-de-siecle spiritual malaise.

A report from this event will have to wait, as I have not even written about our fantastic group reading at the Chopin & Paderewski 2010 Conference at Loyola University Chicago back in mid-November 2010. In the backlog, we also have a guest blog by Ben Humphrey who wrote introductions to both of his poems presented at the conference.


The new year will bring new amusements and divertisements... I hope it will be healthy and happy for everyone. Among hundreds of wishes in my inbox this year (Christmas, Holiday, Birthday and New Year's Wishes), the following one in Serbian from Mira Mataric, a wonderful Serbian-American poet:

Živeli zdravo, radosno, radoznalo, raskošno, razumno i razborito, povremeno se okliznite u avanturu i ne zažalite za onim što odlazi!

I do not know exactly what it means, but it certainly looks good! I also liked very much the anumated wishes from two Polish friends, "Happy New Year Everybody" from Krysia Kaszubowska and "Happy New Year" from Eva Matysek Mazur. It seems that paper cards have been replaced with lovely animated ones these days, just as books are slowly giving way to electronic "reads" on things like I-Pads, Kimbles and other electronic book readers. I like cleaning the frost flowers off the electronic window to see the village covered in snow outside - just like the villages and the frozen flowers of my (and Chopin's) Polish childhood. The flat fields covered in a white blanket, snowflakes swirling in moonlight, the allure of warmth inside the homes, lights shining from their windows into the cold darkness around... Feeling nostalgic for real winter yet? I must admit I like electronic snow much more than the real one, and that's why I live in Southern California...



At a recent Haiku Party of the Southern California Haiku Study Group, chaired by Debbie Kolodji at the welcoming home of Wendy and Tom Garen, I read two new haiku celebrating the change of the year, from the tumultuous Year of the Tiger to the placid Year of the Rabbit. These are my first poems of the year, expressing the hope for a serene and content future, or, at least, some rest. The first one got accidentally printed on four lines. The white rabbit is the one from Monty Python, of course. Enjoy! Even without Chopin or cherries...



Happy New Year! Dosiego Roku!

Christmas and New Year's Wishes (Vol. 2, No. 16)

Everyone loves "Chopin with Cherries" - even Lech Walesa! He came to California for a brief, unofficial visit, on behalf of his foundation, to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Solidarity movement. There were lectures and receptions and an opportunity to present him with a copy of our anthology, inscribed "to a wonderful hero of our times." If he does not lose it on the way, scholars of political history will find the book in his library and wonder how on earth did it get there...

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For the holiday season, I was asked to write something "Christmasy" for the party of Little Landers Historical Society at Bolton Hall in Tujunga. I thought that a recent poem for a married couple celebrating their 35th wedding anniversary would fit it quite well, if there was a carol in the text. I chose to quote a carol that remains one of the most beloved Polish carols, cited by Fryderyk Chopin in his Scherzo in B-minor, op. 20.




Married Christmas

May your path be smooth,
and your sunlight mellow
~ an old blessing

He said
“You are the apple of my eye”
She said
“Let us have tea for two”

Steam rises from bronze liquid
freshly-baked szarlotka waits its turn
scent of cinnamon sweetens the air
the music box plays an ancient carol

Lulajże, Jezuniu, moja perełko,
Lulaj ulubione me pieścidełko
She does not have to finish –
one glance and he knows
after thirty-five years together
faithful like cranes on a Chinese etching

Their looking glass is hidden away
in a box of treasures they don’t need
to find blessings
among daily crumbs of affection



The carol's text incipit means: “Hush, hush, Baby Jesus, my little pearl, my lovely little darling…” – This ancient Polish carol is a simple lullaby, filled with tender love for the infant, held in the arms of his gentle mother. There are many lullabies among Polish carols; the focus of Polish Christmas is on the baby and his mother, on the familial love that binds them. The Lulajże Jezuniu carol is sung throughout the Christmas holiday season, from Christmas Eve to February 2nd, the Candlemas.

Last year, I was traveling close to Christmas, and the empty airports were full of fake cheer, recorded Christmas carols blaring from the loudspeakers and tinsel with childish decorations everywhere. The poem I wrote about that is similar in tone to the "Married Christmas" - extolling the virtue of the subtle affection, gentle understanding of a shared life, the true family virtue...


Rules for Happy Holy Days

Don’t play Christmas carols
at the airport. Amidst the roar
of jet engines, they will spread
a blanket of loneliness
over the weary, huddled masses,
trying not to cry out for home.

Don’t put Christmas light on a poplar.
With branches swathed in white
galaxies, under yellow leaves, the tree
will become foreign, like the skeleton
of an electric fish, deep in the ocean.

Clean the windows from the ashes
of last year’s fires. Glue the wings
of a torn paper angel. Brighten
your home with the fresh scent
of pine needles and rosemary.

Take a break from chopping almonds
to brush the cheek of your beloved
with the back of your hand,
just once, gently. Smile and say:
“You look so nice, dear,
you look so nice.”


This is the poetry of a moment in the kitchen, home cooking meals of the season and sharing a togetherness and affection that is quite beyond words, yet forms the very fabric of life.

Thanks to all poets and friends who have shared our Chopin with Cherries journey through the Chopin year. Happy New Year with Chopin, Music and Poetry!

Tammy Tillotson on Chopin and Cherries

Time to return to Chopin with Cherries, the fruit of the season! After Mark Tardi's responses to my four questions back in October, we had a hiatus of two months, but finally have a contribution from another poet featured in the anthology, Tammy L. Tillotson.

Her poetry has appeared in Sweetbay Review 2008 and won an honorable mention in the Writer’s Eye 2008 and the 2009 Wergle Flomp Humor Poetry Contest. She is the editor of the Writers Studio Young Authors Anthology, entitled Bull Bay Review. She earned her Bachelor of Science degree from Old Dominion University and her Master of Arts in Liberal Studies from Hollins University.

Ms. Tillotson contributed three epistolary poems to Chopin with Cherries. These letters are ostensibly written by three different people, protagonists in Chopin's personal drama concerning his failed marriage plans to Maria Wodzińska. His personal documents contain a packet of letters to/from Maria Wodzińska, marked "moja bieda" ("my sorrow") - it was one of his great personal tragedies and Ms. Tillotson dramatizes it in her three poems:

• A Letter from Countess Wodzińska to her Daughter Maria, Winter, 1835
  
• A Letter from Maria Wodzińska to F. Chopin, September, 1836
  
• A Letter from Fryderyk Chopin to Himself, September, 1836

INTERVIEW WITH TAMMY L. TILLOTSON

[Maja Trochimczyk]: What is your earliest or most intense memory associated with Chopin's music?

Tammy L. Tillotson: My earliest memory associated with Chopin’s music is connected to my suffering through piano lessons as a child. Since my mother wanted my sisters and I to learn to play an instrument, she arranged for a private teacher, who was also a family friend, to come to our house and teach my sisters and I one afternoon a week. My turn was always last as I was never very good and I dreaded the lesson, especially because it took me away from whatever book I would rather have been reading that afternoon.

Before my lesson would begin, the teacher would sometimes take a moment to play something himself. At first, I thought he did so because I was a difficult student and it helped him be more tolerant of my not-so-gentle touch. He was very patient with me, even while his ears were cringing and his bushy eyebrows were wrinkling up. He repeatedly, yet very kindly, often admonished, “Tammy, you must practice, practice, practice, and then, one day, you will play like this...” He would close his eyes and his fingers would dance across the keys, transporting him somewhere else entirely. Once, he stopped playing abruptly and I saw there were tears glistening in his eyes. In awe, I clapped and asked what he had just played. He answered, “Chopin.” Then he quickly closed the lid over the keys and announced, “Today’s lesson is over.”

MT: Why do you like Chopin's music and what does it mean to you?

TLT: It was during those brief moments of listening to my piano teacher play, that I felt, in his own way, he understood me. I felt the piano, for him, was like what writing and escaping into a book was for me.

I was some years older when I learned my piano teacher was of German/Polish descent. His closest relatives had been killed during the Holocaust, and he alone had survived because somehow he had been sent to another town a day ahead of his relatives. His wife once told me how he came from a family that had been very talented musically and how, when they were courting, he used to play Chopin, Bach, and countless others for her. She loved to hear him play though she thought he didn’t play as often anymore because the songs made him so very sad.

Because of these early experiences, I saw how people sacrifice a piece of themselves for beauty, art, and music to exist in the world...I suppose this is more vital to our making sense in a nonsensical world than we will ever truly realize or appreciate.

MT: What is your favorite piece by Chopin and what do you like about it?

TLT: “Romance-Largetto” – the inclusion of this particular Chopin piece is still what I love the absolute most about “The Truman Show.”

MT: Do you like cherries, if not what is your favorite fruit?

TLT: While I like cherries, they will never be my favorite fruit. If I am completely honest, this is partly because both my older sister and my younger sister can tie a cherry stem in a knot with their tongues. I am still a bit jealous, but I can humbly admit that it is not due to lack of effort on my part. Yet, I could always hull strawberries twice as fast as they could and especially in the summer, they still prefer to come to my house for daiquiris. I’d have to choose strawberries any day of the week over cherries!

MT: What are your current poetry projects?

TLT: Since Chopin with Cherries, I continue to write in-between keeping up with a busy three-year-old and a strong-willed kindergartener who remains convinced it is infinitely better to stay home with his brother than go to school!

Most recently, I’ve had poems included in Volume 26 of The Poet’s Domain and Sweetbay Review 2010. Several others are forthcoming. “Scare Crow” will appear January 1, 2011 in Beltway Poetry Quarterly’s special theme issue celebrating the legacy of Langston Hughes. “Overlooking the Blue Ridge Parkway” will appear in The University of Nebraska Gender Programs / Women's Center Becoming anthology. Also, a short poem and nonfiction memoir will be included in the Silver Boomer Books Flashlight Memories anthology.

MT: Now, that's a lot of work! You are one busy poet! You mentioned your sons, I'm just curious, do they like cherries? What is their favorite fruit?

TLT: Both my boys love blueberries and one of their favorite books is Blueberries for Sal. This summer I took them blueberry picking for the first time and pretty much they just sat down and ate berries! They were both a bit disappointed we didn't see any bears, though my youngest laughed and laughed, "Mommy, me full up with berries for the winter!" I owe Robert McCloskey the biggest bear hug ever.

MT: That's a lovely story and congratulations, again. This time, for being a wonderful mother. The portrait with blueberries is very cute. In time, someone will play Chopin to your sons, too...

Górecki, Chopin, and the Mountains

In the summer of 1997, I traveled to the mountain town of Zakopane, in Podhale (the Foothills) area of Tatra Mountains, to persuade Henryk Mikolaj Górecki to come to Los Angeles for a residency at the University of Southern California, called the Górecki Autumn. He conducted his Third Symphony, in a historical, legendary performance that lasted good 10 minutes longer than any other. . . I was his personal translator and accompanied him everywhere, like a substitute daughter (my middle name is hers, Ania). 

 We talked a lot (a short interview appeared in the Musical Quarterly in 1998), but for an in-depth musical conversation I had to go back to Poland. In April 1998, we shared a plate of his wife's beet soup, and hours of conversations about music. He played for me Chopin's Mazurka in A-minor op. 17 no. 4, his favorite one. He talked about musicological discoveries that excited him, though soon faded into obscurity in the academic world of changing theories and fashions. 

Here is a fragment of that interview I translated and published in 2003. "Composing is a Terribly Personal Matter": Henryk Mikołaj Górecki in Conversation with Maja Trochimczyk (Katowice, April 1998), fragment of an interview by Maja Trochimczyk [1]

Maja Trochimczyk: Thank you for agreeing to talk to me today. I have a lot of questions to ask. Where shall we start? 

 Henryk Górecki: I would like to share with you my excitement about a true musical revolution. Grzegorz Michalski first told me about this discovery which was announced during a small musicology session in Warsaw. During the session, Jan Węcowski - I'm sure you know him - revealed a bit about the mystery that he is working on.[2] In his study he proves that Chopin used Polish religious church songs in his works. I called him up and talked to him on the phone. He confirmed that - and I quote - "Chopin arranges old Polish church songs." But this has never been mentioned before! Never, in no books! Of course, we know about his use of the Christmas carol, "Lulajże Jezuniu," but this is just the beginning. 

I have never seen anything like it and I have seen a lot of research on Chopin; I have a lot of books. Nobody mentions it. But if this is true, and it has to be true, because Węcowski is a serious fellow and knows what he's doing - then we have a true Chopin revolution. Węcowski told me: "Do you know what a tragic character Chopin really was?" Of course, we know all the cliches, all the banalities about the revolutionary etude, the struggle, the uprising, the bayonets. . . This is a 90 percent martial matter. We have attached this image of a revolutionary patriot to Chopin. At the same time we have this image of Chopin as a "ladies' man" who sits at his instrument and reflects about the lost Poland and does nothing really. All these obertas, kujawiaks, are nice, but nothing more than nice.

 But if you could prove that he actually used church songs, that have texts that mean something, not only the folk mazurkas, but also the expressions of folk spirituality, then we see how Chopin returned to the foundations, to the roots from which all the music grows. Similarly you have Szymanowski using the material from Skierkowski's collection.[3] You know, if it weren't for Skierkowski, if it weren't for the Kurpian music, this Szymanowski would be very poor. In the end he found the material that he had been searching for. And Skierkowski helped him a lot with that. He went beyond górale music which is somewhat one-dimensional. It is rich, do not misunderstand me, but it is one-dimensional. One or two melodies suffice to give the whole technical image of this music. 

In contrast, Kurpian music is built from melodies, melo-structures based on intervals. It is much more complicated and it is certainly not accidental that Szymanowski turned his ear, so to speak, towards this region. But we have to know that church songs are 90 percent folk songs. These are folk songs that were created over centuries: at first there were old plainchant melodies, already adjusted to the needs of the people. The pastor sang his music and the people listening to him transformed the music in their way. They wrote new texts, etc. It is also interesting that Węcowski is going to publish a Dictionary of Polish Church Songs simultaneously with his study on Chopin. Most probably a lot of these songs were already forgotten. Therefore, for me it is completely different. Or, not completely different. It is the Chopin revolution. 

 MT: How so? Why is it so important?

HMG: It is a revolution because the whole mystery of Chopin's craftmanship, of Chopin's music - of this amazing genius is - now explained. You know that geniuses do not fall from the sky. The fact that you have hearing, that you have memory is good, but it is not enough. . . Something else is needed for me to be "myself." 

 MT: Personality? 

 HMG: Yes, Chopin - who learned how to move his fingers quickly over the keyboard - had a good memory: he knew almost all music, he was sensitive, attentive, erudite, but that was not all, that was not enough. He knew all the piano literature, but in order to be "Chopin" he had to do something special within himself, inside himself. These sounds were in his mind; one person would say that they were in his heart, someone else that they were in his head. Composers are like that. Somewhere within us the music sounds, we are surrounded by these sounds. But what would one do with all that music? This is an incredible truth, an incredible discovery. It is clear that it was filtered through his education, his knowledge but that there was the source for his melodies. There is no other melody like Chopin's. 

 MT: It is often said that Chopin's melody is derived from the opera, especially from Bellini. 

 HMG: But it has nothing to do with Bellini! Look: Chopin's harmony naturally develops from his melodies. Just look how different he is from his contemporaries: Hummel, Spohr, Field. There are lots of them, but he is different. But he did not fall down from heaven here, he did not come out of nowhere. He knew the music literature. He had to know it. He collected all these new things and distilled them into his harmonic language. Bach also collected and distilled the religious music of his time. Chopin alone collected Polish songs. After Chopin it was all over. After Chopin one could not go further along the same path, because he did it with such genius. There were many other composers in his time: Kalkbrenner, Field... Hummel will remain Hummel, Bellini will remain Bellini. . . 

 But Chopin's music was not about Bellini! This is a half-truth that someone heard somewhere and which keeps recurring. But they do not repeat that Chopin played and remembered Bach's fugues and preludes until the end of his life. Nobody talks about the fact that once, after a concert he gave his favorite student the score of Beethoven's Fidelio, not Bellini. He bought this score for his student, so, he knew what Fidelio was. He also knew what Bach's fugues were. Now, consider this: Bach's head was also filled with his Protestant chorales and with his own church songs. You can see it everywhere, every note of Bach's music stems from this source, not from the music of other composers that surrounded him. And now let us look at Chopin: It is truly amazing to discovered that he did the same thing as Bach, that he turned to his own religious folk songs for sources of material, for inspiration. I am very grateful to Jan Węcowski for his work on Chopin's use of Polish church songs. I regard musicological studies of this kind highly, studies that I can take and use, studies that teach me something.

_______________________ 

 NOTES TO THE INTERVIEW: 

 [1]. The interview recorded on two 90-minute cassette tapes in late April 1998 in Gorecki's studio in Katowice, Poland. It was transcribed by Adrianna Lis and Blanka Sobuś, translated by Maja Trochimczyk and published online as "Composing is a Terribly Personal Matter:" Henryk Mikołaj Górecki in Conversation with Maja Trochimczyk (Katowice, April 1998) in the last issue of the Polish Music Journal, vol. 6 no. 2. 

 [2]. Jan Węcowski's article, "Religious Folklore in Chopin's Music," was published in Polish Music Journal vol. 2, nos. 1-2 (1999), online. 

 [3]. Władysław Skierkowski, Puszcza Kurpiowska w pieśni [Songs from the Kurpie Forest], 2 vols. (Płock: Wyd. Tow. Naukowego Płockiego, 1928-1934).

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In the light of a recent fashion to bring Chopin's music entirely to the level of its relationship to the Italian opera of the early 19th century, Górecki's comments are fascinating. The interview continues, moving on to ancient religious anthems (Bogurodzica), the golden section, and the topic of motherhood and mothers, prominent in the Third Symphony. 

Since I dedicated to this topic a whole article, Mater Dolorosa and Maternal Love in Górecki's Music, I see no reason to further discuss it here. In the interview, Gorecki described his own approach to composing. He spent hours and years crafting pieces with deep connections to the history and spiritual roots of Polish music. When Kronos commissioned the Third String Quartet, the work materialized 12 years later. He could have written 20 quartets in this time, but he worked on one, the right one - a piece of music in which every note is in its place, every chord belongs. There are no random fillers, materials "just so" - everything has its meaning and its function in the overall design. It may be deceptively simple, but being crafted so well, it will survive centuries. 

 The news of Górecki's death on November 12, 2010 was announced at the Chopin & Paderewski 2010 conference at Loyola University Chicago. It interrupted our proceedings (see event photographs onPicasa Web Albums). It made us pause and reflect on greatness. In an impromptu commemoration, I spoke about being his guide and translator on his tour of Los Angeles, of the visit to my small home, to the San Gabriel Mountains. I mentioned his lesson for students: "do everything right, one think at a time, if you eat, eat, if you make music, do so with a passion..." Górecki hated multitasking, he said: "do not do two things at once. It is better not to do it at all, because when your attention is divided you are doing both things badly..." This is a Zen maxim, almost, I thought later: "eat, when hungry, sleep, when tired..."

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 I thought of no better way of honoring the great composer after his death than by writing him an elegy. After posting it on Facebook, I read it at a workshop of Westside Women Writers. Millicent Borges Accardi, Jean Paik Schoenberg, Kathi Stafford, Susan Rogers, and Georgia Jones-Davis mostly liked it. Susan said, "A very beautiful poem. You have honored your teacher well. Your poetry is the fruit of your harvest, the glimpses of grace and the light which glimmers on the horizon and follows us out." She talked about waves of crescendo, the musical flow of ideas. Others focused on the turning point, one line announcing his greatness: "How do I know? He taught me..." 

 Millicent brought her recording of the Third Symphony; the rich harmonies filled the air, brightened by golden afternoon sunlight, while we read our poems. Moved by the beauty of the moment, I realized I needed to change the poem a bit. My friends' reactions showed that they simply do not know as much about Górecki or his music as I do. So I added some details. Here it is. The original version appears in the December issue of "The Voice of the Village" - a local newspaper in Sunland. As Poet Laureate of my community, I shared the news of Górecki's passing in our Californian foothills.

 _______________________________________

   

  Mountains of Grief 

  "Euntes ibant et flebant..." (Psalm 126:6, The Vulgate), 

for Henryk Mikołaj Górecki in memoriam 

  “Mom, don’t cry – Mamo, nie płacz –“ 

the soprano soars above lush chords of the orchestra 

 Sorrow, endless sorrow 

 He grew up bitter, alone at the keyboard, 

waves of sound crashing all around him 

 His Mama, smothered with a pillow 

on her hospital bed, an orphaned child, sickly 

 With a leg damaged by illness, limping gait – 

a great man comes, truly great 

 How do I know? He taught me – 

 To do everything well, with my whole heart, 

whole being, dance despair into frenzy, 

relish that last plate of barszcz 

 Laugh loudly, play the second fiddle 

in góralska muzyka, find Chopin's mazurka 

under my fingers Look beyond the edge of grief,

 toward the mountains, shrouded 

by the clouds of unknowing 

 Sing lullabies of consolation, 

weave music from strands of pain, 

sudden glimpses of grace 

 Seek safety in the cocoon of timelessness, 

under gold stars on the blue cloak of Mother Mary – 

sixteen portraits on one wall of his studio 

in Katowice Give of myself fully – 

 an offering of daily bread, beg for crumbs 

of mercy, morsels of blessings 

 Carry the cross, my cross 

Walk towards the glimmer of light 

on the horizon, bearing the fruit of my harvest 

 (C) 2010 by Maja Trochimczyk

 ____________________________ 

 NOTES TO THE POEM:

Henryk Mikołaj Górecki (6 December 1933 – 12 November 2010), Polish composer of: Piano Sonata op. 1 (1956), Euntes Ibant et Flebant op. 32 (1972), Third Symphony “Symphony of Sorrowful Songs” op. 36 (1976), and Kleines Requiem für Eine Polka, op. 66 (1993).

“Euntes ibant et flebant portantes semina sua – venientes autem venientes in exultatione…” “He went off, went off weeping, carrying the seed. He comes back, comes back singing.” Psalm 126: 6

“Mamo, nie płacz” – the first words of an inscription on the wall of a Gestapo prison in Zakopane by young Helena Błażusiak, used as text of the second movement of the Third Symphony.

“Barszcz” – traditional beet soup we shared in Katowice in 1998.

“Góralska muzyka” – folk ensemble of four strings playing music from the Tatra Mountains, Górecki’s chosen home. His last name means “of the mountains” and he settled in the village of Ząb in the Foothills area (Podhale) after spending most of his life in his native Silesia, in Katowice. ___________________________

Photographs of Górecki and his parents' portraits in his studio in Katowice; photo of San Gabriel Mountains from the road to Lake Arrowhead (December 1996) by Maja Trochimczyk. Photograph of Maja Trochimczyk and Górecki by Jadwiga, his wife.

Chopin Songs by Marta Wryk and Adam Kosmieja (Vol. 1, No. 13)

The month of October in the Chopin Year "belongs" to Chopin. His death anniversary is on October 17. On October 10, 2010, the Modjeska Club (modjeskaclub@blogspot.com) hosted two wonderful young musicians from New York, students from the Manhattan School of Music, already engaged in a variety of professional activities. Mezzosoprano Marta Wryk and pianist Adam Kosmieja gave a Concert of Romantic Music celebrating the 200th birth anniversary of Fryderyk Chopin at the South Pasadena Library Community Room. The engaging and well-presented program included songs and piano works by Chopin and songs by Antonin Dvorak.

Adam Kosmieja set the tone for the evening with a dramatic interpretation of Chopin's Etude in C Minor, Op. 10, No. 12, "Revolutionary." The fluid waves of arpeggios and anguished drama of internal voices evoked the feelings of turmoil and helplessness recorded in Chopin's famous Stuttgart Diary. The emotional intensity of the music came to life under the pianist's fingers with youthful zeal and freshness.

Ms. Wryk divided the songs by Chopin into two sets, framing those of Dvorak and interspersed with Chopin's piano pieces. Chopin composed songs all his life; he wrote for his friends, family, and for salon entertainment. He gave them as special, personal gifts and souvenirs written into albums of his admirers, friends, and family members. He did not think these songs were good enough to be published and left instructions to destroy them along with all unpublished works after he died. Had these wishes been followed, the world would have suffered a tremendous loss. Despite Chopin's insistence, these musical gems were gathered and published after his death by his friend and confidante, Julian Fontana, who found and annotated 17 songs from Opus 74 (two more songs were added later).

The first song on the program, Zyczenie (A Wish, or A Maiden's Wish), remains the best known and the most beloved among Chopin's songs, reaching the level of popularity that would have transformed it into a folk song, had it been easier to sing.

Its delightful interpretation by Ms. Wryk was enhanced with her lovely gestures, as if catching the sunlight, spreading arms widely in exuberance, turning around... She was, in turn, coy, bashful, and joyous - and a joy to behold. A classic, Slavic beauty, in an elegant, purple, satin evening gown, she transported us to a romantic salon of Chopin's time. The engaging presentation of the music served to amplify the main asset of Ms. Wryk as a singer: her fantastic voice. Rich and flexible, her "instrument" easily filled the large hall, reaching out to each individual listener. Her intonation and phrasing were impeccable.

Her emotional range was further revealed in the poignant interpretation of Smutna Rzeka (Sorrowful River), Gdzie lubi (Where he likes), Śliczny chłopiec (A Beautiful Lad), Hulanka (A Wild Party), and Wojak (A Soldier). Ms. Wryk also gave a beguiling interpretation of a set of energetic, amusing, and melancholy Gypsy Songs by Antonin Dvorak. She sang the Czech songs quite differently than the pieces by Chopin, revealing a flexibility of a true artist. The fluid melodies and seductive rhythms of Gypsy music were amplified by Adam Kosmieja's lively accompaniment, sparkling with wit and expression.

Mr. Kosmieja's interpretative talents were apparent in two sets of Chopin's piano pieces: three Mazurkas from Op. 56 (written in 1843 and published in 1844) and the Polonaise in A-flat Major, Op. 53. More sophisticated and complex musically than Chopin's early works of this type, the Mazurkas Op. 56 showcased the pianist's virtuosity and expressive scope. Kosmieja skillfully highlighted the strong echoes of folklore in the second piece from the set, Mazurka in C Major. The melancholy final piece called for an ability to structure a larger form which was also apparent in the noble, "Heroic" Polonaise, truly inspired and inspirational. The Polonaise provided a rousing finale to the recital, and was followed by another rendition of Zyczenie as an encore welcomed by a standing ovation. The full program of the concert is listed below.

On Monday, October 11, 2010, Ms. Wryk and Mr. Kosmieja attended a meeting of the American Jewish Committee, held in Beverly Hills. The guests were treated to a special mini-recital, consisting of just three pieces: two Chopin songs, Zyczenie (A Wish) and Melodia (A Melody), and the Revolutionary Etude.

Having heard the first song, a setting of a love poem by Stefan Witwicki, many times, I was again delighted by its youthful sweetness. The mature, haunting rendition of Melodia impressed the listeners with its profundity of emotion. Zygmunt Krasinski's poem was amplified in Chopin's setting by an emphasis on the desolate loneliness of the "forgotten" heroes, whose struggles were in vain. This interpretation of Melodia proved beyond any doubt that Ms. Wryk is a great artist, destined for international success.



PROGRAM

Fryderyk Chopin - Etude in C Minor, Op. 10, No. 12, "Revolutionary"
Adam Kośmieja - Piano

Fryderyk Chopin - Selected Songs, Op. 74
Marta Wryk – Mezzosoprano
Adam Kośmieja – Piano

o A Wish / Życzenie
o Lithuanian Song / Piosnka litewska
o Sorrowful River / Smutna rzeka

Antonin Dvorak - Gypsy Songs, Op. 55
Marta Wryk – Mezzosoprano, Adam Kośmieja – Piano

o My Song of Love Rings Through the Dusk /
Má píseň zas mi láskou zní

o Hey, Ring Out, My Triangle /
Aj! Kterak trojhranec můj přerozkošně zvoní

o All Round About the Woods are Still /
A les je tichý kolem kol

o Songs My Mother Taught Me /
Když mne stará matka zpívat, zpívat učívala

o Come and Join the Danci /
Struna naladěna, hochu, toč se v kole

o The Gypsy Songman /
Široké rukávy a široké gatě

o Give a Hawk a Fine Cage /
Dejte klec jestřábu ze zlata ryzého

Fryderyk Chopin - Three Mazurkas, Op. 56
Adam Kośmieja – Piano

o Mazurka in B Major, Op. 56 No. 1
o Mazurka in C Major, Op. 56 No. 2
o Mazurka in C minor Op. 56 No. 3

Fryderyk Chopin - Selected Songs, Op. 74
Marta Wryk – Mezzosoprano
Adam Kośmieja – Piano

o Where he likes / Gdzie lubi
o A Lovely Boy / Śliczny chłopiec
o A Wild Party / Hulanka
o A Soldier / Wojak

Fryderyk Chopin - Polonaise in A-flat Major, Op. 53 ("Heroic")
Adam Kośmieja – Piano


PERFORMERS

Born in Poznań, Polish mezzo-soprano Marta Wryk has been active as a recitalist and opera singer performing in Europe and the United States since 2004. Recently Ms Wryk won the first prize in the 15th International Voice Competition in Gorizia, Italy, where she was the youngest participant. Last year the young artist had her debut at the Manhattan School of Music Opera Theater where she performed Prince Orlowsky in Die Fledermaus. This year she appeared as Mirtillo in Handel`s Il Pastor Fido, also at the Manhattan School of Music, and she was praised for her clear sound and assured presence. This summer Ms. Wryk was covering Gondi in Maria di Rohan in prestigious Bel Canto at Caramoor Festival.

While attending voice classes at the Fryderyk Chopin University of Music In Warsaw, Ms Wryk appeared in many operas and operatic ensembles, in roles including Dorabella in Cosi Fan Tutte, 3rd Lady in Der Zauberflöte, Idamante in Idomeneo Re Di Creta, and Ms. Quickly in Falstaff.

Ms Wryk performed at the Caramoor Music Festival in New York, International Festival Art-Connection in Rotterdam, First International Baroque Festival in Warsaw and IVth Forum of Baroque Music in Warsaw. She also sung for Henryk Wieniawski Music Society in Poznan, Kammeropere Schloss Rheinsberg in Germany, Kosciuszko Foundation and De Lamar Mansion in New York. This spring brought Ms. Wryk to Albuquerque where she performed a recital with great American instrumentalists Kevin Kenner and William De Rosa and to Toronto where she performed arias from Carmen with Toronto Sinfonietta. Her future concert engagements include recitals in Symphony Space in New York,Chopin Foundation in Miami and in Teatro Comunale in Ferrara, Italy. In her still young career, she has been selected for master classes by such artists as: Franc Corsaro, Ileana Cotrubas, Tom Krause, Helena Łazarska, Alison Pearce, Simon Standage, Wiesław Ochmann and Jerzy Marchwiński.

Ms. Wryk graduated with distinction from the Fryderyk Chopin University of Music In Warsaw. In 2004-2007 she was studying in the College of The Inter-Faculty Individual Studies in the Humanities at Warsaw University. She majored in musicology and was under the tutorial of legendary Polish musicologist Michał Bristiger. Currently she is studying Voice at the Manhattan School of Music under Maitland Peters.


In addition to her musical performances, Ms. Wryk is also active as a musicologist, poet and writer. She has won numerous competitions for young poets and writers. Her poems and essays were printed in important Polish literature journals and magazines such as Zeszyty Literackie, Gazeta Wyborcza and Arkusz. Currently she is publishing her music reviews and articles in Przegląd Polski of Nowy Dziennik.

During summers she also serves as a tutor for Polish Children’s Fund, teaching class about opera. In appreciation of her numerous achievements in both music and humanities, Ms. Wryk has been awarded scholarships from Polish Children’s Fund, the Ministry of Education, the Prime Minister of Poland, Business and Professional Women`s Club, Leszek Czarnecki Foundation and Polish and Slavic Federal Credit Union. Ms. Wryk is a also a recipient of the Manhattan School of Music Scholarship.


Adam Kośmieja was born in Bydgoszcz, Poland, started playing piano at the age of six, and first performed with orchestra at the age of eleven. For 13 years, he studied with Dr.Ludmiła Kasyanenko, at The Arthur Rubinstein High School of Music in Bydgoszcz, Poland. He currently studies with Solomon Mikowsky at the Manhattan School of Music, New York. At the same time he is a student at the Feliks Nowowiejski Academy of Music in Bydgoszcz, Poland in Jerzy Sulikowski's class. A first-prize winner at the Chopin Piano Competition at Columbia University, New York (2010) he also received First Prize at Mieczysław Munz Piano Competition, New York (2009). He performed in the U.S., Poland, France, & Sweden.

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PHOTO CREDITS:

Vintage Chopin Postcard from Maja Trochimczyk Collection. Used by Permission. All Rights Reserved.

Photographs by Anna Harley-Trochimczyk and Wieslaw Zuchowski. A complete album is found on Picasa Web Albums: http://picasaweb.google.com/Maja.Trochimczyk/ChopinSongsByWrykAndKosmieja#

Photo 4: Maja Trochimczyk, Marta Wryk, Wanda Presburger, Adam Kosmieja.