A Salute to Paderewski

The political conditions of Poland had been revolutionary. The Polish nobility owned the estates with the serfs living there practically as slaves. Finally by order of the Emperor they were made free in 1861. During the revolution in 1863, when Paderewski was just three years old, his father was sent to prison for his support of the serfs. He remembered 150 Russian Cossacks on horseback surrounding the house and then searching the house for propaganda. When Paderewski asked the soldier why they were taking his father away, the tall Cossack hit the child. He lived with these painful memories all his life.

Paderewski and his older sister went to live with their aunt a hundred miles away. Paderewski had been picking out melodies on the piano from the age of three. The only teacher available to try and teach him was a violinist who wasn't much help in learning to play the piano. The young Paderewski just improvised on his own. After several months Paderewski's father was released from prison but everything was different now, the property he had managed was now in receivership so the children continued living with their aunt until their father found a new position. It was in a township with a population of 2000 of which 1800 were Jewish. Their house was right next to a cemetery, only a few hundred yards away. Paderewski was only seven years old and very impressionable and was deeply affected by the constant laments at funerals each week. Seeing and hearing the funerals was frightening and even after every funeral there were hours of crying ..."It was terrible...and the sound was like a great wall rising up into the air. I remember the agonizing picture it made on my childish mind." After moving to this home he became depressed, melancholy and was always thinking about death and afraid of being buried alive.

By understanding Paderewski's childhood, we can understand his passion for politics later in life and his deep desire to learn to play the piano. He played "soldier" every day and practiced the piano every day. Patriotism and piano went hand in hand. Soon another teacher came every week for two years teaching Paderewski and his sister to play four-hand opera arrangements. Then in 1868, a Mr. Babianski began teaching the children history, grammar, math and geography. From this man Paderewski gained a great knowledge of Polish history which fostered his feelings of patriotism and longing to help his country. When he was just ten years old, Paderewski read about the battle of Grunwald, which was fought in 1410 against the Knights of the Cross (the Germans) and which was a victory for the Polish. He got the idea that the year 1910 would be the 500th anniversary of the victory and wanted to plan to erect a monument. He remembered it his whole life and did realize his dream by giving the City of Cracow, the ancient capitol of Poland, a monument. He kept the dream to himself till 1908. He never liked to speak of anything that he intended to do.

Paderewski was frustrated at his piano lessons. His teachers gave him no instruction in fingering or correct position of the hands. He did have natural talent and composed some songs but desired to really learn right. Because they lived so far from cities they did not have a music library and he only played the Carnival of Venice and pieces by Kalkbrenner, the rest he improvised. When he was twelve his father took him to the Warsaw Conservatory where he was to study. He lived with a kind family with ten children who manufactured pianos. His first piano teacher said he didn't have hands for playing the piano. He liked theory class and was given some encouragement in composing though. At school he ended up having lessons on most every instrument, flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, trumpet. After weeks on each instrument, his teachers would say he had no talent for that instrument and send him to the next instrument. Paderewski wanted to play the piano and was always discouraged by his teachers. They said he had a future playing the trombone! His second year at school he was playing in the orchestra and rehearsals were taking up too much of his extra time. He couldn't study for final exams. When Paderewski opposed the rehearsals, he was expelled from the Conservatory. Finally the school realized they were wrong and invited Paderewski back. Examinations were taken and then rehearsals began again. This time protests broke out and the press took up the battle. He was expelled again and left the conservatory for a year. Paderewski went to the piano professor for private lessons and was told after the fourth lesson, "Now, I'll give you some good advice - do not try to play the piano, because you will never be a pianist. Never." Paderewski returned home then returned to the Conservatory determined to get his diploma and finished in six months instead of two years.

In 1880, at the age of twenty Paderewski married Antonina Korsak a young girl who was a student at the Warsaw Conservatory. They were very happy but then just a year later his wife died, leaving him with a baby boy. Sadly, Paderewski left the child with his wife's mother. He decided to move to Paris and study composition. Some of his pieces had been printed in Warsaw and were successful. He loved composing but really wanted to be a performing pianist as well. Finally at the age of twenty-four Paderewski went on to Vienna to study with the greatest piano teacher of the time, Mr.Leschetizky. This great teacher made him start from the beginning with finger exercises and Czerny studies. Paderewski had to make up for all the years lost when nobody showed him how to play right. Leschetizky was kind and generous and never charged him for lessons.

Paderewski had no repertoire as yet, he just played his own compositions at concerts. Leschetizky tried to discourage him many times, saying ..."It is too late! too late! You cannot become a great pianist because you have wasted your time in studying perhaps more pleasant things for yourself, such as counterpoint, the orchestration, and so on." In spite of all this, Paderewski learned a Concerto of Saint-Saens, a few Bach pieces, one Sonata of Beethoven and one Schumann Sonata. During this time Paderewski practiced seven hours a day and he also composed his own Concerto.

Paderewski was famous everywhere for composing his Minuet in G. In 1891 he came to America and gave his first concert at Carnegie hall on November 17, 1891, then gave 117 concerts on his tour. Early in the First World War (1914-18) he raised large sums of money for the Polish Victim's Relief Fund through his concerts in America. Paderewski soon abandoned his artistic career and returned to Poland. In 1919. at the age of 80, Paderewski headed the national party and was elected the first President of the Polish Republic. Under his inspiring leadership Paderewski was able to unify opposing political parties and accomplish his work of founding the republic. After his work was done he retired in 1920. Paderewski returned to his concert career and gave recitals in America in 1923 and then in England. Paderewski devoted the proceeds of his work to post-war charities and also set up a Paderewski Trust Fund for American composers.

Paderewski was a great pianist and composer and the first composer to be honored on a postage stamp. He died in New York City in 1941 and was buried in Arlington National Cemetery.