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.