From Poland with Music

Book excerpt: The first comprehensive publication on Polish literature to explore the theme of emigration among composers from the 20th and 21st centuries. From Poland with Music: 100 Years of Polish Composers Abroad (1918–2018) is the first comprehensive treatment of the theme of emigration among Polish composers of the 20th and 21st centuries. The book focuses on classical composers (e.g. Paderewski, Weinberg, Panufnik), but extends to important figures from the worlds of jazz and film music (Komeda, Makowicz, Kaczmarek, Korzeniowski). The first part of the book contains a series of essays on overarching themes related to the Polish musical diaspora, while the second part comprises an engaging collection of interviews with experts concerning the life and legacy of selected composers, with revealing insights into the artists’ personalities and entertaining anecdotes from their lives. Ignacy Jan Paderewski was not only an outstanding pianist and composer, but also the prime minister and minister of foreign affairs of free Poland in 1919. Bronisław Kaper was the first Polish composer to win an Oscar in 1954 for Lili, and Henryk Wars scored 60 projects for Columbia, Universal, Twentieth Century Fox, MGM, United Artists and Paramount. From Poland with Music recalls all of these stories, revealing just how impactful Polish composers have been on the international music scene in the last 100 years.