Polish pianist toasts human spirit in calamity's wake
Polish pianist toasts human spirit in calamity's wake
M. Taufiqurrahman, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Like the main character portrayed in Roman Polanski's award-
winning film The Pianist, who seeks solace in music while the
world crumbles around him, Polish piano player Janusz Olejniczak
performed on Wednesday to celebrate human perseverance in the
wake of the tsunami in northern Sumatra and to raise funds for
the survivors.
Through his interpretation of works by two revered Polish
composers Frederic Chopin and Karol Szymanowski in a recital
organized by the Embassy of Poland in Indonesia and Gran Melia
Hotel, Olejniczak gave a strong performance that visibly moved
most of those in attendance.
Sadness and tragedy overshadowed Olejniczak's performance, not
only because of the human suffering due to nature's wrath, but
also because of a more personal tragedy that struck the acclaimed
pianist three years ago.
"My son died three years ago. He was a medical student who
wished to join Medecines Sans Frontiere (Doctors Without Borders)
to help people in need. But he died before he could fulfill his
dream. Now, I consider my concert as part of an effort to help
people, something that he would certainly have done if he were
still alive," Olejniczak said before the concert.
The two tragedies were indeed the true colors of the evening
performance. And as if they were not enough, Olecnicjak also had
to grapple with health problems during the performance.
Barely recovered from jet lag, he had to leave the stage early
due to chronic back pain. He returned on stage after being asked
by host Jajang C. Noor to reappear saying that the audience
wanted him to play more.
Olecniczak did come back on stage and gave a memorable
performance, much to the appreciation of the audience at the
packed Gran Melia Mutiara ballroom.
In the opener, Chopin's Nocturne in C Minor Op. 48, Olejniczak
pounded the keys with fervor, as if trying to dispel the sorrows
that the composition evokes.
The last notes sounded so poignantly lyrical as if it was
taken from a dried fountain of sorrow.
In Scherzo in B minor, the most complicated of Chopin's pieces
performed that night and the most richly rendered composition,
Olejniczak seemed to be confronting the grief in himself and in
the Acehnese.
He opened with a nearly inaudible notes from his Petrof piano,
then delivered a thunderous interpretation midway through the
composition before giving way to a pristine coda.
When Olejniczak concluded, with his last work from
Szymanowski, the audience gave a lengthy and thunderous round of
applause in admiration of the piano player who would not have
likely staged a performance here if not for the natural disaster
on Dec. 26.
Olejniczak is one of the world's top-five pianists and has won
several awards for his distinguished interpretation of Chopin, a
composer known for the complexity of his works. His recordings
have also been enjoyed worldwide and won many awards.
His incomparable interpretation of Chopin prompted a Polish
director to cast him in the leading role of the composer in a
movie La Note Bleu. His music was also used for the soundtrack of
another film Chopin Desire for Love directed by Jerzy Antczak in
2001. He indeed did play all of Chopin's compositions for
Polanski's The Pianist, winner of Palm d'Or in 2002. The film won
three Oscars as well.
Critics have said that Olejniczak is an artist of rare
sensibility and magnificent competence, while his interpretations
are based on inspiration, free of cool calculation.