Piano Keys & Clouds with Maciej Grzybowski, May 11, 2012, in Santa Monica

Keys and Clouds – A Piano Recital by Maciej Grzybowski


Friday, 11 May 2012, 7:30 p.m.


The First Presbyterian Church (1220 2nd St., Santa Monica, CA 90401)

The Board of Directors of the Modjeska Club, in association with the Adam Mickiewicz Institute of Poland, and the Consulate General of the Republic of Poland in Los Angeles has the pleasure to invite you to a piano recital by one of most eminent Polish pianists, Maciej Grzybowski.

The Keys & Clouds Recital will take place on Friday, May 11th, 2012, 7:00 p.m., at the First Presbyterian Church (1220 2nd St., Santa Monica, CA 90401).

The program will include music by Polish composers (Paweł Mykietyn, Witold Lutosławski, Paweł Szymański, Fryderyk Chopin), and Western classics – Johannes Brahms, Claude Debussy, and Maurice Ravel.





Born and educated in Warsaw, Maciej Grzybowski is the winner of the First Prize and the Special Prize at the 20th Century Music Competition for Young Performers in Warsaw (1992). He made numerous phonographic, radio and television recordings as a soloist and chamber musician and collaborated with Sinfonia Varsovia conducted by such maestros as Jan Krenz, Witold Lutosławski and Krzysztof Penderecki. From 1996 to 2000 Grzybowski was a co-director of the "NONSTROM presents" concert cycle in Warsaw. He took part in numerous music festivals in Poland, e.g., the Warsaw Autumn, Musica Polonica Nova, Witold Lutoslawski Forum, Warsaw Musical Encounters, and Polish Radio Music Festival. He also performed at the Biennial of Contemporary Music in Zagreb, Hofkonzerte im Podewil, Berlin and festivals in Lvov, Kiev, and Odessa (Ukraine).

In March 2005 Grzybowski’s recital at the Mozart Hall in Bologna was recognized as the greatest event of the decade. After Grzybowski’s U.S. debut in New York, in August 2006 EMI Classics released his second solo CD with works by Paweł Szymański. He also appeared in three concerts at the critically acclaimed Festival of Paweł Szymański's Music in Warsaw. In February 2008, he premiered a Piano Concerto by an unjustly forgotten composer, Andrzej Czajkowski. Bohdan Pociej, one of the most famous Polish music critics said: “How refreshing and exciting it is to be in the presence of such great art of interpretation akin to a genius!”

The event is free to Club members and a $15 donation will be collected from guests. Reception to follow. Please do not forget to stock our buffet with beverages and desserts. Affordable public parking is across the street.

Beth Holmgren's Modjeska at the Bowers Museum, April 22, 2012 at 1:30 p.m.

The Helena Modjeska Art and Culture Club is proud to co-sponsor a lecture by Prof. Beth Holmgren (Duke University), “On Tour with Madame Modjeska.” The lecture will take place on Sunday, Apr 22 1:30 pm to 2:30pm, followed by a reception at Bowers Museum (2002 N. Main St., Santa Ana, CA 92706, tel. 714.567.3600). Free with museum admission tickets ($8.00).

Beth Holmgren, Ph.D. Professor of Slavic Cultures and Theater Studies, and chair of the Department of Slavic and Eurasian Studies, Duke University, will read from her recently published biography of the great Polish-American actress Helena Modjeska (1840-1909). This lecture will feature numerous photographs from the Bowers Museum collection. The book signing will follow.

Starring Madame Modjeska: On Tour in Poland and America (Indiana University Press, 2011) traces the meteoric rise to international fame of Poland’s leading actress, Helena Modrzejewska (1840-1909), who emigrated to the U.S. in 1876. After the failure of her plans to establish a utopian community on an estate in Orange County, CA, she changed her name to Modjeska and quickly became a leading star on the American stage, where she reigned for the next 30 years. During this time, she established herself as America's most esteemed Shakespearean actress, playing opposite such celebrated actors as Edwin Booth and Maurice Barrymore. Prof. Beth Holmgren is author of, among other books, Women's Works in Stalin's Time, editor (with Helena Gościło) of Poles Apart: Women in Modern Polish Culture, and translator and editor (with Helena Gościło) of The Keys to Happiness by Anastasya Verbitskaya.

The event is presented in association with the Helena Modjeska Foundation that sponsors their own event on Saturday, April 21, 2012. See the attached flyer. For more information, please e-mail education@bowers.org or call 714.567.3677.

_____________________________________

Modjeska Luncheon and Book Signing

for the Helena Modjeska Foundation of Orange County

will take place on Saturday, April 21, at 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

at the Irvine Ranch Historic Park:

13109 Old Myford Road

Irvine, CA 92602


Tickets are $30 for lunch. Advanced reservations are required.
Call (949) 923-2230 with questions.

Modjeska Club Wishes and Plans for April and May

Best wishes of wonderful holidays of Easter and Passover to all our members and friends!

Wszystkiego Najlepszego!!!

from the President and the Board of Directors



Next event: Beth Holmgren's Book Reading from Starring Madame Modjeska, Bowers Museum, Santa Ana, April 22, 2012 (Sunday), at 1:30 to 2:30 p.m. $8 Museum admission.

Beth Holmgren, Professor of Slavic and Eurasian Studies and Theater Studies at Duke University, has recently published Starring Madame Modjeska: On Tour in Poland and America (Indiana University Press, 2011). The biography traces the meteoric rise to international fame of Poland’s leading actress, Helena Modrzejewska (1840-1909), who emigrated to the U.S. in 1876. After the failure of her plans to establish a utopian community on an estate in Orange County, CA, she changed her name to Modjeska and quickly became a leading star on the American stage, where she reigned for the next 30 years. During this time, she established herself as America's most esteemed Shakespearean actress, playing opposite such celebrated actors as Edwin Booth and Maurice Barrymore.

Starring Madame Modjeska traces the actress's extraordinary life and career from her birth in poverty in Kraków, to her successive reinventions of herself as a star in both Poland and America. Prof. Beth Holmgren is author of, among other books, Women's Works in Stalin's Time, editor (with Helena Goscilo) of Poles Apart: Women in Modern Polish Culture, and translator and editor (with Helena Gościło) of The Keys to Happiness by Anastasya Verbitskaya.


MOTHER'S DAY CONCERT BY MACIEJ GRZYBOWSKI
Friday, May 11, 2012, 7:30 p.m.
First Presbyterian Church, Santa Monica, CA

A special treat for Mother's Day - a virtuoso from Poland will present Polish music for Modjeska Club members (free) - and our friends and guests - 15 dollars donation per person. Public parking at nearby lots. Dessert reception to follow.



ALBUMS FROM OUR RECENT EVENTS:

1. Polish-Lithuanian Connection, Piano Recital by Aron Kallay at USC Newman Recital Hall, March 23, 2012 and Guided Tour of Alina Szapocznikow Exhibition at the UCLA Hammer Museum on March 23 - Picasa Web Album for USC and the Hammer Museum

2. 40th Anniversary Ball, 4 February 2012 at the Mountaingate Country Club, Brentwood, CA: Web Album by Grazyna Gasiorowska