Feb 27, 2 pm: Fred Kronacher Illuminates Chopin at Benaroya

Fred Kronacher

Mr. Kronacher, a distinguished musicologist and pianist, will perform and discuss works of Frederic Chopin in his own engaging and informative way!  Included in his performance will be the majestic Polonaise in C sharp Minor, the lovely Nocturne in F sharp Minor, the thrilling Scherzo in E, plus waltzes, mazurkas, and the beloved Ballade #3. This concert is presented by the Chopin Foundation together with Music Experiences.

Where: the Nordstrom Recital Hall at the Benaroya Symphony Hall, Seattle; tickets $20/15/10 at the door, Benaroya, CHF (206) 381-1416, ME (206) 386-9247 and Ticketmaster.

More: Seattle Symphony, Chopin Foundation NW

Feb 26, 8 pm: Comedy Sie kochamy at the Polish Home

Teatr Popularny / The Popular Theater from Vancouver comes to Seattle with their production in Polish Sie kochamy. This is a modern comedy based on the play Luv by Murray Schigal, transl. by Adam Tarn. Directed & staged by Jerzy Kopczewski & Wojciech Soczynski, cast: Bozena Rozworski, Wieslaw Muniak, Jerzy Kopczewski – Buleczka. Dinner is available from 6 pm and after the spectacle.

Where: at the Polish Home; in Polish; tickets $16 advanced, $18/$20 PHA members/others at the door

More: Polish Home, tickets Barbara Strutynski (425) 746-3037

This is another Polish Book Sale coming back by popular demand after a couple of years without it. It will again feature a wide range of subjects and titles with many books in English as well. All books are donated from private libraries, and you can donate books every Friday until February 18th, 2005 at the Polish Home library. Please come, browse to your heart pleasure and buy! Organized by the PHA Ladies' Auxiliary.

Where: at the Polish Home; admission free, dinner will be available in the dining room

More:  Martha Golubiec

F. Chopin

This concert features the prizewinners of the 3^rd Northwest Chopin Festival from the week earlier. Once the tension of the competition is gone, the young pianists are expected to show a lot of class as they demonstrate their winning performances. The concert will be followed by an award ceremony and a festive reception. Organized by the Chopin Foundation and supported by Sherman Clay with all proceeds going to the Foundation’s Scholarship Fund for young pianists.

Where: at the Polish Home upper hall; tickets $10 at the door

More: Chopin Foundation NW

Feb 19, 4 pm & 7 pm: Kate Pawluskiewicz paintings at Jerzy’s Coffee in Redmond

Kasia Pawluskiewicz is a local painter and sculptor who graduated from Cornish College of the Arts.  Her exhibition of eleven recent oil paintings, Women and Birds, explores different moods of the subjects. The opening reception features live music by Yaniv Assouline. Jerzy’s owners, Jerzy & Eva Radka, present the exhibition during month of February. The café has become an informal Polish gallery, a previous exhibit featured Jagoda Sondej’s photography. The time has changed to allow people to attend competing attractions, but the artist will be there as well at 7 pm as initially planned.

Where: Jerzy’s Coffee, 16727 Redmond Way & Cleveland St (behind Exxon gas station), Redmond; admission free and you can always buy some coffee! From 4 pm till 9 pm.

More: map to the café,  contact Kate at (206)295-8227, her website www.befriendyourartists.com/

The Friends Circle of John Paul II invites to the Eucharistic Year Celebration at the St. Margaret’s Parish. The program includes: a Polish dinner, presentation about the John Paul II Foundation, and then a religious movie, recitations and songs. This is a fundraiser for the Fundation.

Where: Parish Hall at St. Margaret’s, 3221 14th Avenue West (at Dravus), Seattle;$20 suggested donation

More: St Margaret of Scotland Parish

The book for the next discussion meeting is Z glowy by Janusz Glowacki, publ. Swiat Ksiazki, 2004. It’s an autobiography of the successful gadfly screenwriter, novelist and playwright. He has made his name in the US with his Broadway plays Hunting Cockroaches (1986) and especially with Antigone in New York (1992). The book can be bought over the Internet from Polish bookstores such as www.polonia.com or borrowed from other club members, see contacts below.

Where: meeting room #1, Redmond Library, 15990 NE 85th St, Redmond, Redmond Library;  admission free

More: Janusz Glowacki, Janusz Glowacki website , Polish Book Club for info about books Hanna Gil, 425-957-9029

Ivona Kaminska-Bowlby

Ivona Kaminska-Bowlby and Chris Bowlby are well known local pianists. They will play Solo and Duo Piano recital featuring: Famours Carnaval #9 by Robert Schumann, Lullaby for A by a contemporary composer Anna Ignatowicz, Fantasia on an Ostinato by John Corigliano, Tarantella by Liszt and Rashomon - a 4-hand piece written especially for Ivona and Chris by Seattleite Jeff Junkinsmith. Ivona and Chris are also invited to present the program in Mount Royal College, Canada and Honolulu Public Radio.

Where: Sherman Clay, downtown store at 1624 4th Avenue, Seattle; tickets $10/$8 at the door.

More:  the pianists,

Chris Bowlby

Trade Development Alliance of Greater Seattle invites to a seminar Business Opportunities with Central Europe: Where Eastern and Western Europe Meet. The seminar focuses on Poland, Czech Republic and Hungary. All three countries joined the European Union in 2004 and serve as gateways for trade with the EU and former Soviet Union countries. Presented by consuls for commercials affairs: Mr. Sylwester Kozak (PL), Mr. Odon Kiraly (H) and Mr. Michal Koricanek (Cz).

Where: Greater Seattle Chamber of Commerce, 1301 5^th Ave, S-te 2400, Seattle; admission $8/$10 Trade Alliance members/non-members; please note: RSVP required

More: Business opportunities with Central Europe seminar,  email Deric Gruen

Mr. Sylwester Kozak, Consul for commercial affairs from the Consulate General of Republic of Poland in Los Angeles, comes to Seattle for a Business Seminar. Polish Home organizes an open meeting with the Consul where everybody is welcome. The meeting is informal. Mr. Kozak will be happy to discuss issues and answer questions the audience might have.

Where: at the Polish Home; admission free
More: Polish Home, Polish Consulate in Los Angeles

F. Chopin

This year over 70 best young pianists from the state of Washington take part in the all day Northwest Chopin Festival. This celebration of Chopin’s music is also a competition; the earnest young pianists will do their best before two distinguished adjudicators, an audience of music teachers, their students, and the general public. This very successful Festival, organized by the Chopin Foundation doubled in size and venues from 2004. The prize winner concert is on Feb 19, 2005.

Where: at Sherman Clay, 1624 4th Avenue, across the street at the Green Banquet Room in the Mayflower Park Hotel in Seattle; admission free

More:  Chopin Foundation Northwest

This a return of a very successful event showing Polish wedding customs and traditions in form of a real wedding where everybody feels like a member of the extended family of the groom or bride. Be a guest, and you'll be a part of a traditional wedding in a Polish village enjoying a traditional Polish wedding meal, a show of Polish wedding customs and dances by the Sobotka folk dance group. You can also dance to the music by the Polonus band till 11 pm.

Where:  Polish Hall, 3934 N. Interstate Ave, Portland, OR; tickets individual $25/30 advanced/at the door, for couples $45/$55 advanced/at the door.

More: Polish Wedding Show, for more info & tickets call Renata 503-690-4324 or Malgosia 360-896-6189, a sample photo

Woman in a Blue Dress, painting by Olga Boznanska

Dr. Bozena Shallcross is an associate professor of Polish literature and the Chair of the Polish Studies at the University of Chicago. Her lecture Negotiating the Gaze: Olga Boznanska as A Portraitist discusses art of Olga Boznanska (1865-1940), the most successful female painter of Polish modernism, famous for her melancholic and impressionistic portraits. Also available at the lecture: a small exhibition featuring reproductions of Boznanska’s paintings, prepared by Krzysztof Poraj-Kuczewski. This lecture is organized and supported by the UW Polish Studies Committee.

In this lecture, 60 Years Later – Owning and Disowning Auschwitz, Dr. Robert van Pelt will discuss how the Holocoust and the Nazi death camp at Auschwitz are perceived today.

Where: Temple De Hirsch Sinai, 1441 16^th Ave, Seattle; open to the public

More: Auschwitz-Birkenau Museum Auschwitz Museum,  Prof. Van Pelt

Dr. Robert van Pelt is a Professor of Cultural History at the University of Waterloo, Canada. He has written several books on Holocaust, among them a fundamental book Auschwitz 1270 to Present co-authored with Deborah Dwork. He also chaired a team planning preservation of the Nazi camp at Auschwitz and testified for the historical truth in the infamous Irving case. His talk is titled Auschwitz: Inside the Nazi State.

Where: Shafer Auditorium, Lemieux Library at the Seattle University; admission free

More: Auschwitz-Birkenau Museum Auschwitz Museum, Seattle University,  Prof. Van Pelt

Jan 27, 2005 is the 60th anniversary of the Red Army liberation of Auschwitz, the notorious Nazi death camp near Oswiecim, Poland. To mark the occasion, KCTS is broadcasting a 6 hour BBC/PBS documentary Auschwitz: Inside the Nazi State. Auschwitz victims include at least 1,100,000 Jews, over 140,000 Poles, about 20,000 Gypsies, over 10,000 Soviet POWs, and over 10,000 other people. Estimates for total number of victims in this camp range from 1.1 to 1.5 million of people (source: the Auschwitz-Birkenau Museum).

Where: KCTS Seattle, channel 9, from 9 to 11 pm PST on Wednesdays Jan 19 – Feb 2, 2005.

More: PBS,  Auschwitz-Birkenau Museum