Small Talk

You can love Poland for one thing in itself,that it had Chopin- were the words by Leo Tolstoy that aptly describe the musical genius of pianist Fryderyk Chopin.

Written by EXPRESS FEATURES SERVICE
March 7, 2010 02:47 AM IST

2 min read

Re-discovering Chopin
You can love Poland for one thing in itself,that it had Chopin- were the words by Leo Tolstoy that aptly describe the musical genius of pianist Fryderyk Chopin. And as the world gets ready to celebrate the bicentennial birth anniversary of Chopin,The Embassy of the Republic of Poland along with Poona Music society and Consulate General of the Republic of Poland had organised a Piano recital by pianist Adolovni Acosta on Saturday. “Chopins work reflects both- an essence of the romantic period in music and the Polish influence. With patriotic themes and national dances being the source of inspiration,his mazurkas,polonaises,etudes,nocturnes,ballades,piano concertos resound in concert halls in all the continents. With such celebrations that will take place in a number of Indian cities,we plan not only to bring Chopin’s music to India but to bring Polish culture through his music,” said professor Piotr Klodkowski,Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary,Embassy of the Republic of Poland. “Despite belonging to the 19th century,his work finds contemporary interpretations and is popular in countries like Japan and China. With this experiment,we are eager to know how India responds to Chopin’s music,” he added. The programme took place at Mazda Hall at 7 pm. A number of other events have also been planned throughout the year.

Women in cinema
Women’s film festival- From Kamlabai Gokhale to Smita Patil was inaugurated at the hands of veteran filmmaker Sumitra Bhave at the National Film Archives of India (NFAI). With documentary on Kamlabai,The hunterwali story and Immortal Nargis as the inaugural films,the three-day festival has been conceptualised by Ashay Film club and NFAI to celebrate the Women’s day. Today,the festival will screen films like- Bharti Devi- a beautiful heart,based on the illustrious life and times of Bharti Devi at 11 am,Beyond borders,a depiction of the impact of partition on women in India at 12.30 pm followed by Bhumika the story of an actress who grew with the dream of making it big on the celluloid at 2 pm. Entry for the festival is on a first come first serve basis.