Icons of Europe This fleur-de-lys represents the aims of Icons of Europe asbl. The fleur-de-lys figure has been used as an ornament or emblem by almost all civilisations of the old and new worlds.

Tributes to Poland's cultural heritage 

Home | Experts | Tłumaczenie
Kultura polska. Poland's culture and national heritage. Portrait of Fryderyk Chopin by Teofil Kwiatkowski; from Frederick Niecks' biography of Chopin.Poland's culture and national heritage
Polski kultura i dziedzictwo narodowe / Polish culture / Chopin

Since its inauguration under the auspices of the Secretary General
of the Council of Europe in 2002, the association Icons of Europe
has continuously taken initiatives to celebrate - at national,
European and global levels - Chopin's life and music as well as
the culture and national heritage of Poland.


Recognition of Icons of Europe's initiatives by:
Fryderyk Chopin National Institute (NIFC), Warsaw: 
NIFC | Prof. Dr Poniatowska | Prof. Dr hab. Tomaszewski | Prof. Ryszard Zimak, Director
Ambasador Iwo Byczewski (BE) | Ambassador Jan Tombiński (EU) | Ambassador Tomasz Orlowski (FR)
British High Commission, Canada | The Royal Conservatory of Music, Toronto | City of Lodz

« Many countries could learn from Poland's historical experience in using
language and culture to maintain a strong national identity in turbulent times. »
Icons of Europe's letter published in the International Herald Tribune (21 July 2006).
Year

Initiatives by Icons of Europe in tribute to Chopin and Poland
2002
2002
2002		 - EU chamber music concert, Brussels / Central European composers
- Icons of Poland:  online in fields of art, music, literature, science
- Chopin information at iconsofeurope.com website continuously updated

Celebrating the EU enlargement: chamber music concert organized by Icons of Europe on 22 November 2002 at Brussels. Music by Bartók, Chopin, Dvorák, Holmboe, Kodály, Paderewski.
Cecilia and Jens Jorgensen of Icons of Europe discussing their proposed Chopin biography with the Frederick Chopin Society, Warsaw in May 2003.
Cover page of the biography "CHOPIN and The Swedish Nightingale" (Icons of Europe, 2003) by Cecilia and Jens Jorgensen.

Szczerbiec, the bejewelled sword used since 1320 in the coronation ceremony of Polish kings. Photo by Janusz Podlecki for the Royal Wawel Castle, Krakow, Poland.  Oil painting of Jenny Lind (1820-1887).
Arthur Rubinstein (1887-1982) was born in Lódz, Poland. Icons of Europe has proposed to the City of Lodz that Rubinstein should be central to its bid for European Capital of Culture 2016.  The City of Lodz, Poland.
Fryderyk Chopin Instituite, Warsaw, Poland.  Nicolas Copernicus (1473-1543). Born in Torun, Poland, Copernicus studied mathematics, philosophy and astronomy in Krakow, liberal arts in Bologna, medicine in Padua, and law at the University of Ferrara. He discovered that the sun is the centre of our solar system ("De revolutionibus orbium coelestium"). "Copernicus stopped the sun and moved the earth".
More artworks

According to Icons of Europe, Waclaw Szymanowski's sculpture, at Lazienki Park, Warsaw, Poland, portrays Chopin siiting under an uprooted tree as Orpheus does in Ovid poem.
Teofil Kwiatkowski (1809-1891): "Le rêve de Chopin" / "Polonaise de Chopin, un bal à l’Hôtel Lambert", watercolour and gouache on paper marouflé on canvas (1849-1860), which Icons of Europe has researched.

BBC TV doc'tary
 « ... the Swedish opera star Jenny Lind, who so affected Chopin in the final years of his life ».


2003
2003
2003
2003
2003
2003
2003
2003
- Embassy of Poland to Belgium consulted on initial Chopin research
- Piano recital "Chopin: Three Countries" at Lasne, Belgium, PL amb.
- Bach Beethoven Chopin: two piano recitals with three Chinese virtuosi
- PL Ministry of Culture, Frederick Chopin Society consulted in Warsaw
- Zelazowa Wola / Chopin park visited by founders of Icons of Europe
- Publication of the biography Chopin and The Swedish Nightingale
- Wiener Chopin-Blätter Article on the Jenny Lind discovery of the book
- Brussels premiere of the musical drama Chopin and The Nightingale

2004
2004
2004
2004
2004
2004
2004
2004
- European Commission agrees to stop misusing Chopin's name
- Chopin in the World article on the new Chopin biography (2003)
- Chopin birthday concert at Filharmonia Narodowa attended by C&JJ
- NIFC roundtable / press conference on new Chopin / Lind research
- Warsaw premiere of the musical drama Chopin and The Nightingale
- Letter published in the International Herald Tribune / ref. Chopin
- Japanese Musica Nova article on the Chopin biography, Jane Stirling
- Hôtel Lambert and 74, Rue de Chaillot, Paris visited at NIFC request

2005
2005
2005
2005
2005
2005
2005
- Detailed research report on Chopin / Jenny Lind shared with NIFC+
- Edinburgh University scholars: roundtable on Chopin / Jenny Lind
- Chopin in the World Polish treasures in Canada WW2+ (Mazurka 24/3)
- Chopin birthday concert at Filharmonia Narodowa attended by C&JJ
- Toronto premiere Chopin and The Nightingale for World TB Day 2005
- RCM concert at Toronto: Chopin masterpieces and Nightingale songs¹
- NIFC reserved domain name chopin2010.pl at Icons of Europe's recom.

2006
2006
2006
2006
2006
- Chopin in the World competition: submission of essay Niecks / Chopin
- Chopin birthday concert at Filharmonia Narodowa attended by C&JJ
- Chopin 2010 Honorary Committee proposal at the request of NIFC
- Zelazowa Wola: proposal for joint research on patronage of 1894 park
- International Herald Tribune letter published / ref. Poland's culture

2007
2007
2007
- Lodz 2016: proposal to reinforce the bid for European Capital of Culture
- Research on Oscar Wilde's reminiscence of Chopin's "sins / tragedy"
- Online information on Chopin works, Chopin 2010, Poland's culture ...
2008
2008
2008		 - New York premiere of the musical drama Chopin and The Nightingale
- Polish soprano Marcella Sembrich 150-year anniversary at New York
- National museums of Poland invited to comment on Chopin artworks

2009
2009
2009
2009
2009
2009
2009
- Mendelssohn's good name defended with implications for Chopin
- Chopin 2010 Congress, Warsaw:  submission of four research abstracts
- Concept and material for a BBC TV documentary on Chopin/Jenny Lind
- Chopin presentation to Hôtel Prince de Galles general manager, Paris
- Three books on Chopin and Jenny Lind posted at Amazon.co.uk
- Drafting of new Chopin / Jenny Lind book based on research since 2002
- Online summaries of research findings on Chopin 1848-1849 and legacy

2010
2010
2010
2010
2010
2010
2010
2010
2010
2010
2010
2010
- Two piano recitals by Daniel Blumenthal at Lasne for Chopin 2010
- "Chopin belongs to us, says Poland" - Daily Telepgraph article online
- 74, Rue de Chaillot: discovery of exact location of Chopin's apartment
- Société Chopin à Paris: consultation on 74, Rue de Chaillot discovery
- 17 Polish journalists briefed on Chopin / RdC at Hôtel Prince de Galles
- Société Chopin à Paris: consultation on Chopin / Jenny Lind research
- Société Historique et Littéraire Polonaise: discussion of coop ideas
- 74, Rue de Chaillot: PL Ambassador at commemorative Chopin event
- Avant-premiere of the new Chopin / Jenny Lind book in Paris (6 Oct.)
- BBC TV documentary on Chopin, with Icons of Europe idea & support
- Paderewski's 150-year anniversary commemorated with online videos
- SWEA audience at Nice: the Chopin / Jenny Lind story with music

2011
2011
2011
2012
2012
2012
2012

2013
2013
2013
2013
2013
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017-
- Polonaise in A Flat, Op. 53 (Heroic): 1849 & 1937 symbolism resolved
- Liszt 200-year piano recital "Liebestraum" with reference to Chopin
- Tweeting at @IconsEurope: Chopin's life & music and Poland's culture
- PL's USA embassy contest "doyouknowpolska" won by J.A. Jorgensen
- Stanford University musicologist using Chopin drama for PhD/TB thesis
- Preparing additional peer reviews of new Chopin / Jenny Lind manuscript
- Chopin's Funeral March at commemoration, Great Malvern cemetery, UK

- Symbolism of important Chopin monuments decoded by Icons of Europe
- Cultural ties of Poland and Argentina illustrated by Chopin early 1900s.
- Chopin at Malvern-UK Gala Concert in church staged by Icons of Europe
- Chopin's Dream:  paperback with the complete Gala Concert script (& more)
- Chopin Teaching Singers: research paper at Bibliothèque Polonaise, Paris
- BEL CANTO: Chopin Teaching the Art of Singing - paperback on research
- Chopin's parentage and more: research on new book in progrees.
- New website with focus on Chopin and Poland;  extensive tweeting.
- @ChopinFryderyk tweeting supported by weekly « CHOPIN | in the news ».
- Continued advocacy on Chopin's music and life and on Poland's culture..


Explore Poland - ale jazda!²  Jens Anker Jorgensen's winning slogan (squared) in @PolishEmbassyUS contest
 Artworks in tribute to Chopin / Ideas interpretations influence / Idee interpretacje oddziaływania
 Icons of Europe's research offers an explanation to the provenance and meaning of well-known compositions
and Chopin artworks (some Orphic), which surprisingly long have been shrouded in mystery or myths.
Despite Paris being the source of these artworks, Jenny Lind emphasized Chopin's Polish roots in many ways.
See also Chopin in Jardin du Luxembourg (Paris), in Singapore and in ...
 

Teofil Kwiatkowski (1809-1891): "Le rêve de Chopin" / "Polonaise de Chopin, un bal à l’Hôtel Lambert", watercolour and gouache on paper marouflé on canvas (1849-1860), which Icons of Europe has researched. “La Mort de Chopin”; detail of lithograph based on an 1885 oil painting by Félix Barrias. Icons of Europe considers that the woman in white is Jenny Lind. Sculpture of Chopin by Jacques Froment-Meurice at Parc Monceau, Paris.

According to Icons of Europe, Waclaw Szymanowski's sculpture, at Lazienki Park, Warsaw, Poland, portrays Chopin siiting under an uprooted tree as Orpheus does in Ovid poem.
Delacroix Clésinger Kwiatkowski Scheffer Teofil Kwiatkowski Thomas Couture Félix Barrias Froment-Meurice Waclaw Szymanowski

Tributes to Chopin by sculptors, painters, composers, poets, biographers and museums have surpassed all his peers

The flag of the European Union and the Council of Europe. Icons of Europe was inaugurated under the auspices of the Secretary General of the Council of Europe, Mr Walter Schwimmer.« National icons and household names such as Da Vinci, Chopin and Shakespeare
provide strong bonds between many European countries.  This cultural diversity
represents a huge asset that all adds up to an essential part of Europe's identity
and values. » - Our letter published in the International Herald Tribune (2004).

¹ Recalls The Royal Conservatory of Music, Toronto about the concert Chopin masterpieces
and Nightingale songs: "We held the audience for 85 minutes without an intermission and
were overjoyed at the capacity audience of 600 people".  The concert was co-produced and
sponsored together with the musical drama by Icons of Europe for World TB Day 2005 at
the Royal Ontario Museum.  More

 NIFC =
Fryderyk Chopin National Institute,
Warsaw


Top

Polski kultura i dziedzictwo narodowe | Poland's culture and national heritage | Poland's cultural heritage | Chopin's legacy