EVENTS - 09.2008

Bronisław Geremek
Bronisław Geremek, a brilliant Polish politician, died tragically in a car accident recently. He was a great Pole and European, formerly Poland's minister of foreign affairs, a Polish European Parliament member, a historian, a great erudite, and a man of vast knowledge. To a great extent, he was behind the success of the Round Table meetings in 1989 - they led to the peaceful transfer of power from the ruling communists to a democratic society, which changed Poland's political system and later that of other so-called communist bloc countries. It was Bronisław Geremek who sought to gain Poland's membership in the European Union and NATO. The death of professor Geremek is a huge loss for Poland and Europe.

A great celebration for music lovers
The International Contemporary Music Festival 'Warsaw Autumn', which has over half a century of history, has taken on many different forms - it has reflected new trends, created them or else polemicized with them, always arousing great interest and excitement among audiences and critics. The same is true these days, even though access to new music recordings and concerts is incomparably greater than it was fifty years ago. There are also the criteria of 'novelty' and 'inventiveness', and many artists who had their debuts at the first festivals have been acknowledged as classics. Therefore, a particularly interesting feature of the festival is the chance to compare the newest works with those that had their premieres a few decades ago, such as the exploration of previously-unknown vocal and instrumental sounds of Uaxuctum by Giacinto Scelsi (1966, not performed until then in Poland), inspired by the legend of the secret Mayan city.
In the program of the inaugural concert (on the 19th of September), two works will be heard that received the prestigious recommendation of the International Tribune of Composers in 2006 - Õnguesu by a Mexican artist, which is a musical reminiscence of... a soccer match between Mexico and Brazil in 1999, and also a tonally enchanting work by Wojciech Widłak with the mysterious title Wzięmięwzięcie, about which the artist writes that it ought to be perceived 'as a colorful spot with rounded shapes, without any sharp outlines, in return seeming to have a glow.' Mauricio Sotelo is one of the most interesting contemporary Spanish artists, whose very tonally sophisticated compositions sublimate the tradition of his native music, particularly flamenco style. He is also present in the piercing work In Memoriam JosÈ ¡ngel Valente, devoted to the memory of this great Spanish poet, who died in 2000. More information in English is available at www.warszawska-jesien.art.pl

Jarre and Cohen in Warsaw
Good news for fans of electronic music and the climes of folk-rock! Internationally famous artists will be giving concerts in our city - none other than Jean Michel Jarre and Leonard Cohen (pictured). Jarre, the legendary French electronic music performer, is finally coming to Warsaw. The artist has been in Poland before, but has never performed in our city. He will give a concert on the 1st of December at Torwar, ending his European tour called 'Oxygene Tour'. The event was organized on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the release of his excellent album 'Oxygene'. As well, the Canadian bard Leonard Cohen will come to Poland for two concerts. He will sing in Wrocław on the 29th of September, and at Warsaw's Torwar on the 1st of October. These two concerts will be part of the first tour Cohen has had in 15 years.

Chopin's heart
Frederic Chopin died at the age of 39. Officially, he died of tuberculosis of the lungs and larynx. However, doctors and scholars have long felt that this diagnosis was incorrect. The symptoms described by contemporaries of the composer seem to be, in the opinions of today's scholars, more like those of another illness - cystic fibrosis, which ultimately leads to pancreatic failure and is one of the most common genetic diseases. Chopin's body was buried in Paris, where he died, but without his heart, which was removed and put into a jar of alcohol. It was brought to Warsaw and laid to rest in the Holy Cross Church on Krakowskie Przedmieście Street. Nearly 150 years after the composer's death, a few Polish scientists would like to run tests on Chopin's heart to find out the truth about the cause of his death. However, this idea has met the opposition of other academics, the Church, and the artist's family who think the entire matter is just a quest for cheap sensation.

The Copernicus Science Center is under construction
Construction works have begun on Centrum Nauki Kopernik (the Copernicus Science Center) on the Vistula. It will be a contemporary, very interestingly designed complex of buildings, set into the banks of the Vistula, with gardens on the roof. It will be the first interactive educational center in Poland. There will be modern conference and exposition halls, laboratories, offices and the main attraction - a planetarium and amphitheater which will be able to hold 170 people there. The copula of the planetarium will be made of rust-colored glass plates and will have a diameter of 16 meters. The realization of the entire project will cost more than 337 million zloty. If everything goes according to the plan, Centrum Nauki Kopernik will be opened on the 23rd of June, 2010.