Barbara Skarga Dies at 90

Barbara Skarga Passes Away

Professor Barbara Skarga, the Polish philosopher and editor in chief of Etyka, died on the 18th September 2009, in Warsaw at the age of 90. During WWII she was a liaison officer for the Polish Home Army (AK). Barbara Skarga was born on October 25, 1919 in Warsaw into a gentry family. She studied philosophy at Vilnius University. During the Second World War, Skarga acted as a liaison officer. After her arrest in 1944, Skarga spent 10 years in a Soviet labour camp. She worked at the PAN Institute of Philosophy and Sociology. In 1980 she was elected chairperson of the Philosophical Sciences Committee of the Polish Academy of Sciences. Skarga became a Professor of humanities in 1988. Her primary source of interest was the human mind and rationality. In 1995 she was awarded the Order of the White Eagle.
Rzeczpospolita

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Too Many Arabs in Egypt

Arabs Go Home?

Too many Arabs in Egypt, plants in the swimming pool and too much sand in the desert are just some of the complaints of Polish holiday-goers. Egypt is apparently most complained about with the most ridiculous complaints after a trip to Egypt being grievances that there are too many Arabs there, and that in July and August it was too hot. There are also complaints concerning “wailing” from neighbouring mosques. There was one customer who after returning from Egypt complained about the fact that there was too much sand and dust in the desert. Some tourists also grumble about algae and dead fish swimming in the sea.  After travelling to Arabic countries, many people complain about stomach problems, vomiting and fever.

One woman said that she went for her holidays to Egypt to meet her soul mate, but she spent the entire time on her own because there were no other Poles in the hotel. As a result, she demanded that the travel agency gives her compensation for a “ruined holiday”. There were also complaints about foreigners, for example, Poles do not want to live in the same hotel with English or German people. Customers also complain that there were too many people of a given nationality, for example Russians. What is more, some Polish tourists do not even want to stay in hotels with other Poles. The ridiculousness of some of the complaints is so unbelievable that it is hard to believe that these situations actually happened. For example, a doctor who went for a trip to China complained that there was too much mildew in the air of the room in which he stayed. As proof he brought back a jar of air from China to show the travel agency employees. Representatives of the travel agency in question assure us that this is true.
Wirtualna Polska

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Jazzy Warsaw

Warsaw Jazz

Warsaw Summer Jazz Days (from 30 June to 8 July 2009) began with the performances of the legendary Art Ensemble Of Chicago, the Wadady Leo Smith Quartet and the World Saxophone Quartet. There is  more to come. We will have the chance to listen to exquisite singers such as Dianne Reeves, Angelique Kidjo, Lizz Wright and Liza Celeste Stroud singing Nina Simone’s compositions. This year, Mariusz Adamiak’s Concert Agency have organised three big events in the Congress Hall in Warsaw. After Wednesday evening with  African-American stage veterans from Chicago, jazz fans will have the opportunity to take part in a gala concert on Thursday and on Friday John Zorna, the New York saxophonist, will perform with Anthony Braxton and Bill Laswell. Some smaller concerts will also take place in Powiększenie and Królikarnia. On July 8, Tymon Tymański and the trumpet player Dave Douglas will give a concert. Randy Brecker and the Symphony Orchestra of the Opera and Philharmonic Orchestra in Białystok are to perform Włodek Pawlik’s jazz suite. As Mariusz Adamiak said on Wednesday about the Afro-American performance, “the concert was not a commercial success but it was most certainly a musical one”.
Dziennik

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Doda Next Maryla Rodowicz

Like Maryla?

Polish music’s first lady, Maryla Rodowicz, often says that she thinks that Dorota Rabczewska may eventually become her successor. Not only does Doda have her own unique style but also great vocal potential. So who better to sing Maryla Rodowicz’s famous Małgośka song if not Doda? In an interview for Imperium TV Maryla Rodowicz explained why she thinks Doda could be her successor. “Doda knows how to give a great show. She has brilliant ideas, she is young and I am sure that she will continue to surprise many people. Like me, she has her very own image. Many years ago I choose an Indian style, which, at that time, was original and caught people’s attention,” explains Maryla. Rodowicz displayed her great dissatisfaction with the decision taken by the organisers of the Opole festival not to let Doda sing with her. “It is a real pity that we were not able to sing together because I think we might have given a great show. Not only do I like her but I also see huge similarities between us. We both love fast cars and Porsches.” Doda must feel honoured to be so appreciated by the Polish Tina Turner.
Dziennik

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Drunk Maleńczuk Handcuffed

In Trouble

Yesterday the Polish rock star, Maciej Maleńczuk, got drunk in order to celebrate his victory at the festival in Opole. On his way back from the party he abused police officers, who in return handcuffed him and took him into custody for the night. The musician has already paid PLN 3,000 in bail but he may be sentenced to a year’s imprisonment. The festival in Opole finished around midnight. About 2 o’clock police officers were informed that an unconscious man was found on Piastowska Street near the amphitheatre. When they tried to rouse the man, Maleńczuk, who wanted to defend the sleeping man, abused them. “He used very vulgar words which I cannot even repeat,” said Jarosław Bryszcz, from Opole Police Department, in an interview for Dziennik. “At first police officers admonished the artist but it did not bring any results,” he added. Mirosław, Maleńczuk’s real first name, was taken to the police station. He had a BAC of 1.5 per cent.
Dziennik

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20 Years of Freedom

Remembering Solidarity

In order to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the first post-war (partially) free elections in Poland, a concert will take place in Warsaw at Teatralny Square on 4 June at 8 p.m. The whole event will be transmitted by Polsat. A lot of other attractions connected with the 20th anniversary of the elections will take place. On 4 June Teatralny Square will also host such music giants as: T.love, Kayah, Perfect, Lady Pank, Sztywny Pal Azji, Dżem, Kobranocka and Republika. Some of the bands will reform especially for this event. The choice of bands is not accidental. This group of artists was writing lyrics for songs 20 years ago, which, as it turns out, are still big hits and still very relevant today. Marek Niedźwiedzki, the well-known radio DJ, will be the host of the concert. Audiences will have the chance to see several short films about the past 20 years. For those who do not make it to Teatralny Square, the concert will be televised on Polsat.
Dziennik

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Balladyna on Facebook

Balladyna on Facebook

On September Balladyna, directed by Dariusz Zawiślak, will be released. The director has decided to make a modern version of this drama, which explains why the gloomy heroine from Słowacki’s book has a profile on Facebook. You can take the quiz: “Which character from Balladyna are you?” and on behalf of the heroine you can send your friends a poisoned cookie, old honey or toxic flowers. All of this is connected with the promotion of the new film adaptation of the famous Romantic drama which premieres on the 200th anniversary of Juliusz Slowacki’s death. Balladyna is set in a big city. In the film, the noble prince Kirkor is a millionaire and the country boozer Grabiec is a homeless person. The cast of the film include: Sonia Bohosiewicz (as Balladyna and Alina), Mirosław Baka (as Krikor), Stefan Friedmann (as Grabiec), Rafał Cieszyński (as Fon Kostryn), and Faye Dunaway, the Oscar-winning actress, famous for such movies as Network, Chinatown, and Bonnie and Clyde. She will play Pustelnik. However, this is not the end of Balladyna’s surprises. The director and Chris Ratael, the musical director, want Mick Hucknall, the lead singer of Simply Red, to sing one of the songs for the film soundtrack.
Dziennik

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Britney Spears in Poland

In Poland, at Last!

Another pop giant will be visiting Poland in the summer. In August, Madonna, the queen of pop, will perform on the Polish stage and in July, Britney Spears, the ‘princess of pop’, will arrive in Poland together with her circus group. Britney’s official website Britneyspears.com explains that her European tour has been expanded and according to the website (see below) Britney will visit twelve European cities, one of which is Warsaw. The Polish capital will host Britney’s “Circus” on the 24th July at the Służewiec arena. Dziennik will keep Poles updated with details of the show and the price of tickets. Polish fans can already start preparing for the big show. Tour dates:
• June 3, 4, 6, 7, 10, 11, 13, 14 – O2 Arena – London, UK
• June 17 – M.E.N. Arena – Manchester, UK
• June 19, 20 – O2 Arena – Dublin, Ireland
• July 5, 6 – Bercy – Paris, France
• July 9 – Sportpalais – Antwerp, Belgium
• July 11 – Parken – Copenhagen, Denmark
• July 13 – Globen – Stockholm, Sweden
• July 16 – Hartwell Arena – Helsinki, Finland
• July 19 – SKK – St. Petersburg, Russia
• July 21 – Olympic – Moscow, Russia
• July 24 – Służewiec – Warsaw, Poland
• July 26 – O2 World – Berlin, Germany
Dziennik

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Accompanists of the 20th Century

Cinematic Sounds

They have composed music for a classic Soviet movie from the 1920s and for a Disney natural science movie. The Cinematic Orchestra will give a concert  today in Palladium. The Cinematic Orchestra was founded by Jason Swinscoe, a British composer and DJ of a pirate radio station in London. Inspired by  jazz music and soundtracks as well as contemporary electronic music, he decided to combine those elements in a band.  He got together with some fresh jazz musicians and DJ Patric Carpenter, known from the DJ Food project. Their first album, Move, appeared in 1999, and was deservedly appreciated by critics all around the world. “Every now and again there’s an album that forces you to rewrite your outlook on music. Suddenly you realize how inscrutable and endless the borders of music are. This is just such an album,” writes Stanton Swihart of Allmusic.com.

Ten years have passed since their début. “It’s very hard to point out key points in our history,” says Swincoe in an interview with Gazeta, “but for sure the beginning was extremely important, the concert in Porto and the recording of All Things to All Men with Roots Manuva, ‘the greatest hip-hop and jazz fusion ever’, as Gilles Peterson said,” he adds. The above-mentioned Porto concert was organized by the city authorities. The Cinematic Orchestra was asked to become accompanists to Dziga Vertov’s Man With the Movie Camera movie which was made in 1929. After the performance the band received standing ovations from over 3,000 people. The DVD of the event recently fetched PLN 700 on an internet auction. Luckily, the re-release of the album is available for a reasonable price, and is certainly worth buying. Another extraordinary Swinscoe project was the soundtrack for a movie about the flamingoes from Natron lake in Tanzania, Les Ailes Pourpes: Le Mysterie Des Flamants. “I was there twice. The first time I didn’t see any flamingoes at all, and the second time I saw them flying away,” laughs Swinscoe, but immediately adds, “Nevertheless it was a very inspiring experience”. Both the movie and its soundtrack, recorded with the London Metropolitan Orchestra, gained first prize in last year’s Festival International de Musique & Cinema in Auxerre.
Gazeta Stołeczna

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Book of the Righteous in Poland

Righteous Names

The Polish edition of The Book of the Righteous among the Nations has been published. Almost one-third of the 22,000 people mentioned in it are Poles. “It is a book full of good people,” said Anna Szymańska-Klich, president of the board of the Institute for Strategic Studies in Kraków, “It has already been published in many languages, but never in Polish”. The book contains over 5,000 biographical entries of Poles who, during the Second World War, helped Jews. Among them are Irena Sendler, Władysław Bartoszewski, the Ulma family (murdered for helping Jews), but also great figures of Polish culture: Jarosław Iwaszkiewicz, Czesław and Andrzej Miłosz, Mieczysław Fogg. Professor Władysław Bartoszewski, who wrote a foreword to the book, pointed out that it was in Jerusalem where the idea emerged not only to commemorate the victims of the Holocaust, but also to show gratitude towards those who risked their own lives to save others. “Once in Israel somebody asked me whether Polish people had done everything to save their fellow citizens. I said that they had not. Only those who lost their own lives to save others had. But even in Sodom, God said that he would save the city even if there were only ten righteous people,” said Bartoszewski. The Polish edition of The Book of the Righteous was translated from English. The initiator of publishing the book into Polish was Israel Gutman, a member of the Jewish Combat Organization (ŻOB).
Gazeta Wyborcza

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