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Poland’s music festival starts
2/21/2010 2:14:00 PM
As Poland celebrates the bi-centenary of the famous composer Fryderyk Chopin, Warsaw is gearing up for a marathon birthday party with a week-long concert.
The non-stop musical event will get underway on 22 February in the Polish capital and run until 1 March, covering the period between the composer’s two disputed birthdays. With the music set to play 24 hours a day, there’ll be 170 hours of non-stop Chopin to delight fans, Varsovians and tourists alike.
Held at the Dom Polonii, where Chopin performed in his lifetime when it was known as the Zamoyski Palace, the concert will be free with guests able to drop in to enjoy the polonaise, mazurka and other compositions at any time of day or night.
Performers will include famous names and amateur musicians who will play Chopin’s music in a range of styles and interpretations, from classical to jazz. Janusz Olejniczak, Kazimierz Gierzod, Maria Pomianowska and Lena Ledoff are among the artists who’ll be performing over the seven days.
Acting Director of the Polish National Tourist Office Bogdan Becla said: “In Poland we love Chopin and this year we’re celebrating his 200th birthday with style.
“This non-stop concert means anyone can hear his music performed live by top-class musicians whenever they like between his two birthdays. I’d urge anyone visiting Warsaw to head to the Dom Polonii and join us as we say a week-long Happy Birthday to a great man.”
As well as the non-stop music the Dom Polonii will also host an exhibition of Polish poster art centred on Chopin. Famed for its poster artists, Poland is rightly proud of this artistic discipline and dozens of examples of Chopin-themed work will be on display alongside the non-stop concert.
The confusion over Chopin’s real birthday stems from the fact that a parish church document found in 1892 gives his birth date as 22 February 1810, but Chopin himself usually gave 1 March as his date of birth.
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