PADEREWSKI

by Charlotte Kellogg ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 1, 1956

A substantial and heartfelt biography of the artist-statesman, internationalist and Polish patriot pays tribute to the roles he played both as a musician and a far sighted politician. It is a well researched volume, one that gives insight both to the qualities of greatness and to the particular characteristics of a great man. We see him first as a promising boy being taken to study music at the conservatory in Warsaw in Russian-dominated Poland, and follow him through the early difficulties of his career-difficulties that sprang both from money problems and the actual techniques of piano playing which Paderewski had to struggle to master. Though his first marriage ended when his wife died shortly after the birth of their son, Paderewski's life as a concert artist and composer began then to take its successful turns with appearances all over Europe and eventually the world. This might well have been enough to put him down in history but well before 1914 he heard the guns of World War I, and asked himself the basic question of what they would mean for Poland. ""Rebirth"" was his answer and he acted upon it, entering the political world to become prime minister of Poland and to gain the aid and friendship of the United States before he, living out the ideals of democracy, relinquished his position to those whom he considered to have more of the popular Polish vote, A sincere book, adult in presentation and fine preparation for the more lengthy biographies.

Pub Date: Sept. 1, 1956

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Viking

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 1956

Categories: NONFICTION