The Lion of Poland

Book excerpt: Ignace Jan Paderewski was born in Poland in November, 1860. At his death in 1940, he was honored by burial in the Arlington Cemetery. As a boy, young Ignace saw repeated Polish rebellions against the controlling foreign powers fail. He determines that the way to help Poland become free and united is for him to become a person of renown-somehow! His vast natural instinct for music unexpectedly opens a door. Though he excels in musical theory and composition, his dream of becoming a concert pianist is continually thwarted by poor advice and instruction. Then, in 1884, displaying the exceptional gift that recurs throughout his lifetime-of meeting the right person at the right time-Ignace starts on the path to becoming a virtuoso pianist at the unheard of age of 24! By 1910, after taking the world by storm through his brilliance as a performer and popularity as a man of humility, warmth and appeal, Ignace begins his incredible career as statesman. It is now that his lifetime of meeting, winning and helping others comes to the fore, granting him vital influence among political figures and situations of his day. Here is an absorbing portrait, full of lively and illuminating incident, observations from contemporaries and matter for reflection, of a man who was aptly called "a genius who happens to play the piano." Historical Insight article by Daria SockeyLocation: Poland and the U.S.Time Period: Modern Era, WW1