Invitation to Paderewski Lecture-Recital at USC, October 14 at 7 pm

We are pleased to invite members of the Modjeska Club to attend an event partly sponsored by the Club: PADEREWSKI LECTURE-RECITAL: THE SOUNDS OF INDEPENDENCE, SUNDAY, OCTOBER 14, 7:00 PM NEWMAN RECITAL HALL. The event will be held on USC Campus; the Newman Recital Hall is located within Hancock Auditorium, 3616 Trousdale Parkway, Los Angeles, CA 90089. The program is free and open to the public. Seating is first-come, first-served, and RSVPs are not available.

Portrait of Paderewski by Sanford, Maja Trochimczyk Collection.

The USC Polish Music Center celebrates 100 years of Polish independence with a collaborative lecture performance of music composed between World War I and II, featuring the USC Thornton Chamber Singers, the Quadrophonic String Quartet, and guest lecturer, USC musicology professor Lisa Cooper Vest – who specializes in Polish music after 1945 and recently joined the faculty of the USC Thornton School of Music. The colorful program will explore how Poland’s return to the map of Europe in 1918 opened the doors for a period of intense cultural flourishing.

More information about the program: https://polishmusic.usc.edu/events/2018-sounds-of-independence

PARKING: Enter USC at the McCarthy Way Gate from Figueroa south of Jefferson, park in Structure 2. Cost $12. Walk straight into the campus on the road you drove into the parking to the main walkway, turn left, walk to the main square with the fountain. Newman Recital Hall is inside the Hancock Building to the left behind the fountain and the sculpture of Traveler – USC Mascot. The sculpture of Tommy Trojan is on the other corner of the square. 

The Modjeska Club is among faithful supporters of Paderewski Lecture-Recitals. We believe it is a duty of every Pole in California to support Polish Music Center at USC, as one of the few Polish institutions that are embedded within first-rate American universities. The PMC is a major archive, information and performance center and we have only one Polish institution like that on the West Coast. Here’s the link to donate: https://polishmusic.usc.edu/donate/

 See you soon!                                                                                

Maja Trochimczyk
President

Meeting with Dr Jan Iwanczyk on September 22, 2018

We are pleased to invite members of the Modjeska Club to a reception honoring Jan S. Iwanczyk, Ph.D., an eminent physicist and the winner of a recent award “Outstanding Pole 2018.” The interview and dinner reception will take place at a private residence on Saturday, 22 September 2018 at 6 p.m. Please RSVP to the President, prezes@modjeska.org, by September 15, 2018.

A long-term member of the Club, Dr Iwanczyk is an outstanding scientist, a member of the intellectual elite in California. He has served as a President and CEO of DxRay, Inc. since 2005.  In July 2017 DxRay, Inc. has been sold to Rapican Systems one of the three largest companies in the world that provide equipment for security in the airports. Also, he is involved as a board of directors’ member in several research companies.  Dr. Iwanczyk previously was affiliated with several start-up private and publicly traded companies and centered on bringing novel scientific and medical technologies to the market.  He was a co-founder of Radiant Detectors, Inc. and served as President and CEO of the Company from 1999 to 2005. In 2005 the company was sold to Seiko and subsequently to Hitachi High Tech Science, USA.

Dr. Iwanczyk was co-founder of Gamma Medica-Ideas, Inc. and served as President of the company from its inception in 1999 to 2002. He has served as President & CEO of Photon Imaging, Inc. since 1997.  He previously was affiliated with Advanced Detectors, Inc. (a publicly traded company, formerly Xsirius, Inc.) where served as Executive Vice President and Chief Scientist from 1995 to 1996 and as Vice President of Research and Development from 1990 to 1995. He was Vice President of Advanced Photonix, Inc. (traded at AMEX) from its formation in 1988 until 1990.

During the period from 1979 to 1989, Dr. Iwanczyk was Professor at the University of Southern California, School of Medicine.  He holds Master degree in Electronics and Ph.D. degree in Physics. His multi-faceted experience combines operations, organizational development with strong scientific research and technical project management qualifications. Dr. Iwanczyk’s technical expertise is in the field of x-ray and gamma ray imaging detectors and systems. In recent years he has been developing photon-counting, energy dispersive x-ray imaging detectors based on various semiconductor materials (CdTe, CZT and Si) for medical and security applications.

He is the author of over 250 scientific papers, one book, several book chapters and 20 patents.  He also lectures at major symposia worldwide as an invited speaker and is involved in organization of international scientific conferences. He has received numerous honors and awards including 2002 Merit Award, IEEE Nuclear and Plasma Sciences Society, the 2016 Scientist Award, IEEE – RTSD and the "Outstanding Pole 2018" Award. Over his whole stay in USA Dr. Iwanczyk has been maintaining collaborations with scientific centers in Poland such as IBJ (Institute of Nuclear Research) in Swierk and the Institute of Physics of the Polish Academy of Sciences in Warsaw.

Dr. Iwanczyk will be interviewed by Dr. Witold Sokolowski.

Hollywood Bowl on August 23 and Polish Theater on September 1, 2018

We are delighted to inform all members and guests of the Helena Modjeska Culture Club about the election of the new board (see the names of the new Board of Directors on the Board page - link above) and about our plans for the summer and autumn of 2018. The club will organize receptions with prominent guests, in the form of exclusive meetings held only for club members in private residences (at least four per year), and public events - concerts, film screenings or lectures, including Polish-themed performances or concerts of other organizations (up to eight times per year). For these concerts or performances, the Club will offer free or discounted tickets to its members.

We are starting our 2018-2019 season with two events shared with others - Chopin Piano Concerto at the Hollywood Bowl on August 23 and Polish Theater from Toronto on September 1. Deadlines for RSVP are coming up shortly.

AUGUST 23, 2018 at 8 p.m. CHOPIN CONCERT AT HOLLYWOOD BOWL

The selection of Chopin's Piano Concerto No. 1 (with Sergio Tiempo, piano solo) and Prokofiev's Symphony No. 5 makes up a lovely summer program. The long intermission of over 30 minutes gives time to talk and party - bring your own picnic basket and wine! Low-price tickets are available to groups, so the Club may make a reservation for at least 20 people to sit together in one section of the enormous auditorium and enjoy music under the stars (with the addition of helicopters and coyote howling at times).

Club reservations will be taken to August 1, email Maja Trochimczyk,
Maja.Trochimczyk@gmail.com. The concert is free to members who will RSVP in time,
by August 1, 2018.  https://www.hollywoodbowl.com/events/performances/407/

SEPTEMBER 1, 2018, 8 PM.  CLUB PAPA PRESENTS POLISH THEATER FROM TORONTO

"Tamara de Lempicka" based on a biography of a famous Polish painter. Modjeska Club members are encouraged to attend and meet-up at this event, sponsored by Club PAPA of Orange County.  Curtis Theater City of Brea,  1 Civic Center,  Brea, CA, tickets $35.   

Club members receive discount of $15 and pay $20 per ticket. RSVP to be on the discount list to Maja.Trochimczyk@gmail.com by August 15, 2018 AND make reservations for the actual tickets with Club PAPA at the same time - to Darek Swiatkowski at darek3@cox.net. We do not purchase tickets, only subsidize club members's tickets by making a one-time payment to Club PAPA for the pre-registered Modjeska Club members. 

Dormeuse by Tamara de Lempicka

22 SEPTEMBER, SATURDAY, 5 PM: FIRST MEETING 

Interview with Dr Jan Iwanczyk, physicist, winner of the 2018 Award "Eminent Pole/ Wybitny Polak" - in a private residence in Brentwood, for Club members only.

Modjeska Club's Patron - Helena Modrzejewska

Portrait of Helena Modrzejewska by Tadeusz Ajdukiewicz, 1880 (fragment).

Helena Modjeska (Modrzejewska) was a Shakespearean actress born in Krakow, Poland, on October 12, 1840 (as Jadwiga Benda); who emigrated to California in 1870s, settled on an estate in Orange County (that she called Arden) and died in Newport Beach, California, on April 8, 1909.  The following biographical entry is written by Krystyna Cap for The Polish American Encyclopedia, edited by James Pula and published by McFarland in 2011. Used by permission. For more information about the Encyclopedia visit McFarland Publishing website.

Helena Modjeska in her roles as  Barbara Radziwillowna (1867).

Vintage postcard published in Poland. Wikimedia Commons.

Although her paternity has been contested by claims that Modjeska was  illegitimately fathered by Prince Wladyslaw Sanguszko, Jadwiga Benda (later christened Helena Opid), was born into a family that traveled in artistic circles. Despite their relative poverty,  from a young age Modjeska was influenced by her adopted musician father, Michal, and his  literary and artistic friends. In 1861 Modjeska married Gustave Sinnmayer Modrzejewski, who  had supervised her early education and promoted her fledgling acting career. In the same year  she made her first onstage appearance in a one-act comedy named The White Camellia.

Modjeska as Juliet

 After her husband died in 1866, she continued her career in Poland, remarrying in 1868. Her second husband, Count Karol Bozenta Chlapowski, was a well-known Polish patriot and  journalist. Throughout the late 1860s and early 1870s, she continued to receive critical   acclaim for her various roles on the Warsaw stage. In the years prior to emigration, she and her husband briefly traveled to Krakow, where Chlapowski published a partisan journal and where Helena became active in Polish politics. Upon return to Warsaw, the radical nationalist position held by both Modrzejewska and Chlapowski resulted in increasing harassment by Russian authorities, and led the pair to leave Warsaw for America in 1876. Thus she migrated to California with her son from her first marriage, Ralph (later a well-respected civil engineer; Ralph Modjeski), her husband Count Chlapowski, and a handful of Polish friends and colleagues, including Julian Sypniewski and Henryk Sienkiewicz.

Modjeska's home "Arden" in Silverado Canyon, Orange County in 1910 (vintage postcard) 

Ewa Boryczko as Modjeska and Maja Trochimczyk in Arden (2011) The property is a Historic Home

owned by Orange County  and partly supported by the Helena Modjeska Foundation.

Modrzejewska and her husband purchased a twenty-acre farm near Anaheim, established a ranch there, and with their Polish friends, intended to found a utopian Polish farming colony. When plans  failed owing to a lack of agricultural knowledge (and lacking the funds to return home),  Modjeska traveled to San Francisco, where she began English language lessons with the intention   of returning to the stage. Not long after, with the assistance of several Poles resident in San Francisco, she approached Barton Hill and John McCullough of the California Theater for a role. It was McCullough who suggested that she shorten her name to Modjeska to make it easier for American audiences to pronounce. On August 20, 1877, Modjeska made her American debut in San Francisco in an Ernest Legouve and A. E. Scribe play, Adrienne Lecouvreur.  Achieving critical acclaim for her successive roles, including Ophelia and Juliet, she soon began touring American stages in a variety of roles, appearing in Boston, Buffalo, Kansas City, New Orleans, New York, and elsewhere.

 In 1878 Modjeska briefly toured theaters in Russian Poland and traveled to England in 1880. Upon her return to America in 1882, she produced and starred in a version of Henrik Ibsen's A Doll's House. In America, Modjeska became famous chiefly for her portrayal of several Shakespearean roles, including Juliet, Desdemona, Rosalind, Queen Anne, and Ophelia. In May 1893, she was invited to speak at an international conference at the Chicago World's Fair, where she delivered a stirring speech on the status of Polish women, uttering several highly patriotic remarks regarding the injustice of  Poland's eighteenth-century partitions. In Russia her speech met with the ire of Tsarist authorities, who issued an ukase prohibiting her from ever returning to Russian Poland.

Modjeska as Marie Antoinette.

After spending over 20 years on her beloved estate, Arden, in Silverado Canyon, Orange County, California (see the photographs above), Modjeska died in 1909 at her home on Bay Island in Newport Beach, California; however,  Chlapowski buried her remains in Krakow, Poland. One year later, her memoirs were published in  America and thereafter translated into Polish. Throughout her career, Modjeska played  in over 225 towns and cities throughout the United States and Canada.

Modjeska as Ophelia

In popular culture, Modjeska inspired Susan Sontag's novel, In America (1999), which was awarded the National Book Award. Sontag's novel was based on Modjeska's life after emigration and came under public scrutiny for allegedly having plagiarized passages from Modjeska's  own memoir and other biographical sources. A small collection of primary and secondary materials on Modjeska's career in Poland and the United States is housed in the Special Collections and Archives of the University of California, Irvine. 

Map of Arden - Home of Modjeska in Modjeska Canyon, OC.

NOTES

• This entry by Krystyna Cap is reprinted from The Polish American Encyclopedia, edited by  James Pula, McFarland Publishing, 2011. Used by Permission.  More information about the Encyclopedia  is here.

• Ellen K. Lee,  "The Catholic Modjeska," Polish American Studies, Vol. 31, no. 1 (1974), 20-27

• "Helena Modjeska," in Charles H. Shattuck, ed.,  Shakespeare on the American Stage: From Booth and Barrett to Sothern and Marlowe  (London: Associated University Presses, 1987), Vol. 2, 125-36  

• Arthur P. Coleman and Marion Moore Coleman, Wanderers Twain: Modjeska and      Sienkiewicz. A View of California (Cheshire: Cherry Hill Books, 1964) 

• Marion Moore Coleman, Fair Rosalind: The American Career of Helena  Modjeska  (Sheshire: Cherry Hill Books, 1969) 

• Antoni Gronowicz, Modjeska: Her Life and Loves (New York: Thomas Yoseloff,  1956)

• Helena Modjeska, Memories and Impressions of Helena Modjeska: An   Autobiography (New York: Benjamin Blom, 1969) 

• Beth Holmgren, "Virility and Gentility: How Sienkiewicz and Modjeska Redeemed   America," The Polish Review, Vol. 46, no. 3 (2001), 283-96

• Beth Holmgren, Starring Madame Modjeska: On Tour in Poland and America (Indiana University Press, 2011)

• Susan Sontag, In America (Faber and Faber, 2000)

  MODJESKA SITES AND LINKS

Helena Modjeska Art and Culture Club in Los Angeles

Helena Modjeska Foundation (Orange County)

Helena Modjeska Society (Orange County)

Arden - Modjeska Historic House (Orange County)

Modjeska Playhouse Theater in Orange County

Modjeska Woman Triumphant - Documentary

Portrait of Modjeska by Ajdukiewicz, 1880, Sukiennice Gallery, Krakow, Poland.

This Sunday! Anna Seniuk at Magicopolis at 5:30 p.m.

On December 2, at 5:30 p.m., at Magicopolis Theater (1418 4th St, Santa Monica, CA 90401), the Modjeska Club will present Anna Seniuk in a play by Stanislaw Balinski, "Wieczor w Teatrze Wielkim," with live music by Magdalena Malecka. Reception to follow by Moonrise Press and Friends. 

PLEASE NOTE THE CHANGE OF THE HOUR! We will have access to the theater only at 4:30 p.m. and have to set up the stage and reception areas.

PROGRAM NOTES

Anna Seniuk (born November 17, 1942 in Stanislaviv) is a Polish TV and theatre actress. After World War II, together with other Poles from Stanisławów, she was forced by the Soviet government to leave her hometown, settling in the town of Zator, near Oświęcim. In 1964 Seniuk graduated from Państwowa Wyższa Szkoła Teatralna (Academy for the Dramatic Arts) in Kraków and debuted in the renowned Helena Modrzejewska Theater (Old Theatre). In the early 1970s, she moved to Warsaw, where played in several theatres.

Since 2003, she has been working in Warsaw at the National Theatre. Seniuk is known to Polish viewers mainly for her role of Magda Karwowska in the immensely popular 1970s Polish TV series Czterdziestolatek (The Forty-Year-Old). She has cooperated with Polish Radio and has been featured in more than 40 radio shows. Among her most famous film roles, there are appearances in such productions as Europa Europa, Potop and The Maids of Wilko.

Stanislaw Balinski was a poet, essayist and diplomat, born on August 2, 1898 in Warsaw. He also studied Law and Musical Theory and Composition at the University of Warsaw. He was a member of the famed and notorious poetic society, "Skamander" that remained active during the Second World War in spite of the dangers under Nazi occupation. After the war, Balinski chose to make London his home; he died there on November 12, 1984.

Stanislaw Balinski's 'Evening at the Grand Theatre' is a comic and sentimental homage to the artist's and musician's of his time - that of prewar Warsaw. The Romantic Poet tells of a time when Theatre was likened to Religion and the tremendous importance and reverence the Theatre had in society. Anna Seniuk masterfully engages her audience in this comic and endearing spectacle that illuminates a remarkable epoch in Polish Theatre. Polish community will undoubtedly recognize this performance as the season's finest; it is highly entertaining and touches on very relevant themes about art and society in Poland. This is a subject of great interest to the Polish community, on that will no doubt be very much appreciated.

_____________________________

Program Notes by Ars Longa Foundation of Vancouver, Canada, the organizer of Seniuk's tour.

_____________________________

A MESSAGE FROM CRITICAL MASS ABOUT AMERYKA 

Cześć!  My name is Valerie Spencer, and I’m a member of Critical Mass Performance Group.  I’m reaching out to members of the Southern California Polish community to spread the word about our latest theatre piece, AMERYKA. 

 It’s a kaleidoscopic look at the centuries-long relationship between the United States and Poland with an emphasis on the Revolutionary War period, the Cold War period, the 1980s/Solidarnosc era, and post 9/11.  The piece has been in development since 2010, and we’re about ¾ of the way there.  Occasionally we invite members of the public to take a peek at the work while it’s still under construction, and I’d like to let you know about some upcoming showings:

December 6-9

South Coast Rep

Studio SCR series

http://www.scr.org/calendar/view.aspx?id=5655

DISCOUNT CODE: 7565

ARDEN ON NOVEMBER 24 & ANNA SENIUK ON DECEMBER 2, 2012

MODJESKA'S HOME IN ORANGE COUNTY, NOVEMBER 24, 10:00 AM 

On behalf of the Board of Directors of the Modjeska Club I’m pleased to invite you to join us for a trip to Modjeska Historic Site – the home of Helena Modjeska that she called “Arden” – located in Santiago Canyon, Orange County. This site is a National Historic Landmark. During the guided tour of the museum we will see precious documents, portraits, and furniture owned by Modjeska and her husband, Count Chłapowski. The gardens were designed by the famous California gardener, Theodore Payne. ww.ocparks.com/modjeskahouse

We made this reservation (limited to 40) in July, selecting the first available date. We will meet at 10 am on Saturday 24 November 2012. Parking is limited to 20 cars, so carpooling is highly recommended. RSVP: Danuta Żuchowski (626 577 1258); for carpooling call Elżbieta Kańska (323 462 6428). After the tour of Arden we hope to meet everyone at a picnic in the Modjeska Park across the street. The admission is free (paid by the club) but please bring your own picnic baskets!

ANNA SENIUK  - WIECZOR W TEATRZE WIELKIM, DECEMBER 2, 2012, 5:00 PM

On December 2, at 5 p.m., at Magicopolis Theater (1418 4th St, Santa Monica, CA 90401), the Modjeska Club will present Anna Seniuk in a play by Stanislaw Balinski, "Wieczor w Teatrze Wielkim," with live music by Magdalena Malecka.

PROGRAM NOTES

Anna Seniuk (born November 17, 1942 in Stanislaviv) is a Polish TV and theatre actress. After World War II, together with other Poles from Stanisławów, she was forced by the Soviet government to leave her hometown, settling in the town of Zator, near Oświęcim. In 1964 Seniuk graduated from Państwowa Wyższa Szkoła Teatralna (Academy for the Dramatic Arts) in Kraków and debuted in the renowned Helena Modrzejewska Theater (Old Theatre). In the early 1970s, she moved to Warsaw, where played in several theatres.

Since 2003, she has been working in Warsaw at the National Theatre. Seniuk is known to Polish viewers mainly for her role of Magda Karwowska in the immensely popular 1970s Polish TV series Czterdziestolatek (The Forty-Year-Old). She has cooperated with Polish Radio and has been featured in more than 40 radio shows. Among her most famous film roles, there are appearances in such productions as Europa Europa, Potop and The Maids of Wilko.

Stanislaw Balinski was a poet, essayist and diplomat, born on August 2, 1898 in Warsaw. He also studied Law and Musical Theory and Composition at the University of Warsaw. He was a member of the famed and notorious poetic society, "Skamander" that remained active during the Second World War in spite of the dangers under Nazi occupation. After the war, Balinski chose to make London his home; he died there on November 12, 1984.

Stanislaw Balinski's 'Evening at the Grand Theatre' is a comic and sentimental homage to the artist's and musician's of his time - that of prewar Warsaw. The Romantic Poet tells of a time when Theatre was likened to Religion and the tremendous importance and reverence the Theatre had in society. Anna Seniuk masterfully engages her audience in this comic and endearing spectacle that illuminates a remarkable epoch in Polish Theatre. Polish community will undoubtedly recognize this performance as the season's finest; it is highly entertaining and touches on very relevant themes about art and society in Poland. This is a subject of great interest to the Polish community, on that will no doubt be very much appreciated.

_____________________________

Program Notes by Ars Longa Foundation of Vancouver, Canada, the organizer of Seniuk's tour.

MARCIN FRYBES TALKS TO LESZEK JAŻDŻEWSKI, 10/27/2012 & MORE ON KRAFFTOWNA

Leszek Jażdżewski, a noted Polish journalist and editor in chief of Liberté!, will visit the Modjeska Club to discuss – in English – about “The Change of Generations in Poland – Challenges and Opportunities.”  The event will be directed at our young-at-heart membership with political interests, especially those who will bring English-speaking guests.  Our meeting will take place in the afternoon of Saturday, October  27, 2012 at 4:30 p.m. at Hellada Gallery (117 Linden Avenue  Long Beach, CA 90802, tel. 562. 435. 5232).  We will start early, to leave time for Halloween parties in the evening, including one at Hellada.  The interview with our distinguished guest will be conducted by Marcin Frybes, a distinguished historian and journalist. 

Leszek Jażdżewski is the founder and editor-in-chief of LIBERTÉ!, Polish liberal journal (English version of LIBERTÉ! portal is at www.liberteworld.com). He is a publicist, NGO activist (Non-Governmental Organizations), and coauthor of books Liberal reflections on life chances and social mobility in Europe, and  Democracy in Europe Of the People, by the People, for the People? He is also the coauthor of Central European Dictionary of Political Concepts. 
 
Jażdżewski publishes in various Polish newspapers and journals (Wprost, Newsweek, and Gazeta Wyborcza among others). He is also a frequent commentator on TV and radio. Leszek is an active member of the NGO community. He is a member of LYMEC – uniting young European liberals and the secretary of Transport Integration Society supporting modernization of Polish transport. He is also a member of European Convention on Liberal Democracy (ECLD).  The seating is limited to 50 guests.  The event is free, open to guests, and in English.  

Krafftowna's Visit and Modjeska Prize - Aftermath

The visit of Barbara Krafftowna - Polish Film Festival and 2012 Modjeska Prize was very successful and enjoyable for everyone involved.  Many photos were taken and an album is in preparation.  

The delightfully witty and charming actress "stole the show" at the Opening Gala of the Polish Film Festival  on October 9, 2012 and at the Modjeska Club Party on October 13, 2012.  

TV Polonia broadcast a report by Matylda Liro about the festival including a segment about the award:

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=r4i5GfAfga0

Barbara Krafftowna received her 2012 Modjeska Prize at the Opening of the Polish Film Festival in Los Angeles, at the Egyptian Theater, on October 9, 2012. Our award was the first to be given, just before the opening speeches and award ceremonies of the Festival itself. The actress, in black evening dress, complete with twenties-style jet-hat, feather boa, and fishnet stockings read a short thank you note in Polish, translated by the Emcee of the evening, Mr. Banas. It was quite a moment for us all!

On Saturday, October 13, 2012, we met again, at the hospitable home of Elzbieta and Jan Iwanczyk, in Brentwood Hills near the Getty. Our reception and interview with the 84-year old legendary actress was attended by over 100 club members and festival guests. Ms. Krafftowna showed off her prize, talked about her career, in an interview prepared with Andrzej Maleski, a long-time friend. She prepared three short "surprises" - two comic sketches first published in 1895, and a one-minute reflection on the word "Jeszcze" (still) by Professor Jan Bralczyk, also a former guest of the club.

Pictures from Barbara Krafftowna's visit to California are in our Picasa Web Album: 

https://picasaweb.google.com/100602334921816625334/ModjeskaPrize2012ForBarbaraKrafftowna

The Club’s events for the fall of 2012: 

⦾November 24 – visit to Arden

⦾December 2 – Anna Seniuk at Magicopolis  

⦾December 15 – Christmas party 

Please note that there will be no New Year’s Eve Party, since half of the Board will not be here, and there are no volunteers to organize it. For those interested, the Polish Scouts will have their “Sylwester” at the Polish Parish on Adams.