Twórczość artystyczna Ignacego Jana Paderewskiego a sprawa polska. Muzyka jako uniwersalny język w komunikacji

Ignacy Jan Paderewski was one of the most famous and recognizable Poles in the world. His face and silhouette have been captured in hundreds of photographs. Lush hairstyle, focused eyesight, dynamic gesture, a fascinating figure. That was how he was on the music scene and beyond, as evidenced by the numerous memories devoted to him. On the one hand, he bore the features of a romantic artist, and on the other – the most modern artist, who knew perfectly well the mechanisms of self-creation and self-promotion, the principles governing mass culture. In her paper, the author emphasizes the great importance of music as a form of social communication and puts forward the thesis about the great importance of Paderewski’s artistic creativity in political and social understanding and intercultural dialogue. As an artist, and more precisely as a pianist, a virtuoso, he was able to brave Chopin’s works with incredible power to reach a wide audience and use the universal ‘language of music’ in the fight for Polish matters.