1.
Holy Cross Church, Warsaw
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The Church of the Holy Cross is a Roman Catholic house of worship in Warsaw, Poland. Located on Krakowskie Przedmieście opposite the main Warsaw University campus, it is one of the most notable Baroque churches in Polands capital, the Holy Cross Church is currently administered by the Missionary Friars of Vincent de Paul. As early as the 15th century, a wooden chapel of the Holy Cross had been erected here. In 1526 the chapel was demolished, and a church was erected. Refurbished and extended by Paweł Zembrzuski in 1615, the church was too small to fill the needs of the growing city. Initially located well outside the city limits, by the 17th century it had one of the main churches in the southern suburb of the city that had in 1596 become Polands capital. In 1653 Queen Marie Louise Gonzaga gave the church to the French order of Missionary Friars of Vincent de Paul, however, three years later Warsaw was captured by Swedish armies during the Deluge. Pillaged, the church was found to be damaged beyond repair, during the reign of King John III Sobieski the churchs remnants were demolished, and it was decided to erect a new shrine. In the 18th century this became the origin of the gorzkie żale tradition, the main building was constructed between 1679 and 1696. Its main designer was Józef Szymon Bellotti, the architect at the Royal Court of Poland. It was financed by abbot Kazimierz Szczuka and the Primate of Poland Michał Stefan Radziejowski, the façade was relatively modest and reminded of Renaissance facades of the nearby churches. The two towers surrounding the façade were initially square-cut, between 1725 and 1737 two late Baroque headpieces by Józef Fontana. The façade itself was refurbished by Fontanas son, Jakub and ornamented with sculptures by Jan Jerzy Plersch, from 1765 the church was one of the most attended by Polish King Stanisław II Augustus. It was also there that the King established the Order of St. Stanisław, on May 3,1792, the Polish Diet gathered there on the first anniversary of the May 3rd Constitution. During the Warsaw Uprising of 1794, the leading to the main entrance were destroyed and had to be replaced with new ones designed by Chrystian Piotr Aigner. On Christmas Day 1881, an outbreak of panic following an alarm of fire in the crowded church caused the stampede deaths of twenty-nine persons. Jews were blamed for starting the panic, and the Warsaw pogrom of 1881 ensued, in the late 19th century the church interior was slightly refurbished, and in 1882 an urn containing the heart of Frédéric Chopin was immured in a pillar. Some decades later, an urn was added with the heart of Władysław Reymont
2.
Warsaw
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Warsaw is the capital and largest city of Poland. It stands on the Vistula River in east-central Poland, roughly 260 kilometres from the Baltic Sea and 300 kilometres from the Carpathian Mountains. Its population is estimated at 1.750 million residents within a metropolitan area of 3.101 million residents. The city limits cover 516.9 square kilometres, while the area covers 6,100.43 square kilometres. Once described as Paris of the East, Warsaw was believed to be one of the most beautiful cities in the world until World War II. On 9 November 1939, the city was awarded Polands highest military decoration for heroism, Warsaw is one of Europe’s most dynamic metropolitan cities. In 2012 the Economist Intelligence Unit ranked Warsaw as the 32nd most liveable city in the world, in 2017 the city came 4th in the “Business-friendly” category and 8th in the “Human capital and life style”. It was also ranked as one of the most liveable cities in Central, Warsaw is considered an Alpha– global city, a major international tourist destination and a significant cultural, political and economic hub. The city is a significant centre of research and development, BPO, ITO, the Warsaw Stock Exchange is the largest and most important in Central and Eastern Europe. Frontex, the European Union agency for external security, has its headquarters in Warsaw. Together with Frankfurt, London and Paris, Warsaw is also one of the cities with the highest number of skyscrapers in the European Union, the city is the seat of the Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw National Philharmonic Orchestra and the University of Warsaw. The historic city-centre of Warsaw with its picturesque Old Town in 1980 was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, buildings represent examples of nearly every European architectural style and historical period. Warsaw provides many examples of architecture from the gothic, renaissance, baroque, neoclassical and modern periods, furthermore, the city is positioning itself as Europes chic cultural capital with thriving art and club scenes and renowned restaurants. Folk etymology attributes the city name to a fisherman, Wars, according to legend, Sawa was a mermaid living in the Vistula River with whom Wars fell in love. In actuality, Warsz was a 12th/13th-century nobleman who owned a village located at the site of Mariensztat neighbourhood. See also the Vršovci family which had escaped to Poland, the official city name in full is miasto stołeczne Warszawa. A native or resident of Warsaw is known as a Varsovian – in Polish warszawiak, warszawianin, warszawianka, warszawiacy, other names for Warsaw include Varsovia and Varsóvia, Varsovie, Varsavia, Warschau, װאַרשע /Varshe, Варшава /Varšava /Varshava, Varšuva, Varsó. The first fortified settlements on the site of todays Warsaw were located in Bródno, after Jazdów was raided by nearby clans and dukes, a new similar settlement was established on the site of a small fishing village called Warszowa
3.
Martha Argerich
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Martha Argerich is an Argentine virtuoso pianist, who is widely regarded as one of the greatest pianists of the second half of the 20th century. Argerich was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina and her paternal ancestors were Catalans based in Buenos Aires since the 18th century. The provenance of the name Argerich is Catalonia, Spain and she started playing the piano at age three. At the age of five, she moved to teacher Vincenzo Scaramuzza, Argerich gave her debut concert in 1949 at the age of eight. The family moved to Europe in 1955, where Argerich studied with Friedrich Gulda in Austria, juan Perón, then the president of Argentina, made their decision possible by appointing her parents to diplomatic posts in the Argentine Embassy in Vienna. She later studied with Stefan Askenase and Maria Curcio, Argerich also seized opportunities for brief periods of coaching with Madeleine Lipatti, Abbey Simon, and Nikita Magaloff. In 1957, at sixteen, she won both the Geneva International Music Competition and the Ferruccio Busoni International Competition, within three weeks of each other and her greatest influence was Gulda, with whom she studied for 18 months. Argerich gave her debut concert at the age of 8, playing a concerto by Mozart, Argerich rose to international prominence when she won the seventh International Chopin Piano Competition in Warsaw in 1965, at age 24. In that same year, she debuted in the United States in Lincoln Centers Great Performers Series. In 1960, she had made her first commercial recording, which included works by Chopin, Brahms, Ravel, Prokofiev, in 1967, she recorded Chopins Polonaise, Op.53. Argerich has often remarked in interviews of feeling lonely on stage during solo performances, since the 1980s, she has staged few solo performances, concentrating instead on concertos and, in particular, chamber music, and collaborating with instrumentalists in sonatas. She is noted especially for her recordings of 20th-century works by such as Rachmaninoff, Messiaen. One notable compilation pairs Rachmaninoffs Piano Concerto No.3 with Tchaikovskys Piano Concerto No.1, Argerich is also famous for her interpretation of Prokofievs Piano Concerto No. 3, Ravels Piano Concerto in G, and Bachs Partita No.2 in C minor, Argerich has also promoted younger pianists, both through her annual festival and through her appearances as a member of the jury at international competitions. She has supported artists including Gabriela Montero, Mauricio Vallina, Sergio Tiempo, Gabriele Baldocci, Christopher Falzone. Argerich is president of the International Piano Academy Lake Como and performs each year at the Lugano Festival and she also created and has been General Director of the Argerich Music Festival and Encounter in Beppu, Japan, since 1996. Her aversion to the press and publicity has resulted in her out of the limelight for most of her career. Nevertheless, she is recognized as one of the greatest pianists of her time
4.
Nadia Boulanger
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Juliette Nadia Boulanger was a French composer, conductor, and teacher. She is notable for having many of the leading composers. She also performed occasionally as a pianist and organist, in that capacity, she influenced generations of young composers, especially those from the United States and other English-speaking countries. Boulanger was the first woman to conduct major orchestras in America and Europe, including the BBC Symphony, Boston Symphony, Hallé, New York Philharmonic. She conducted several premieres, including works by Copland and Stravinsky. Nadia Boulanger was born in Paris on 16 September 1887, to French composer and pianist Ernest Boulanger and his wife Raissa Myshetskaya and they had a daughter who died as an infant before Nadia was born. Nadia was born on her fathers 72nd birthday, Ernest had studied at the Paris Conservatoire and, in 1835 at the age of 20, won the coveted Prix de Rome for composition. He wrote comic operas and incidental music for plays, but was most widely known for his choral music and he achieved distinction as a director of choral groups, teacher of voice, and a member of choral competition juries. After years of rejection, in 1872 he was appointed to the Paris Conservatoire as professor of singing, Raissa qualified as a home tutor in 1873. According to Ernest, he and Raissa met in Russia in 1873 and she joined his voice class at the Conservatoire in 1876, and they were married in Russia in 1877. Through Nadias early years, although both parents were very active musically, the girl would get upset by hearing music and hide until it stopped, when Boulanger was five, Raissa became pregnant again. During the pregnancy, Boulangers response to music changed drastically, one day I heard a fire bell. Instead of crying out and hiding, I rushed to the piano, after this, Boulanger paid great attention to the singing lessons her father gave, and began to study the rudiments of music. Her sister, named Marie-Juliette Olga but known as Lili, was born in 1893, when Ernest brought Nadia home from their friends house, before she was allowed to see her mother or Lili, he made her promise solemnly to be responsible for the new babys welfare. He urged her to part in her sisters care. From the age of seven, Nadia Boulanger studied hard in preparation for her Conservatoire entrance exams, sitting in on their classes, Lili often stayed in the room for these lessons, sitting quietly and listening. Boulanger entered the Conservatoire in 1896 at the age of nine and she came third in the 1897 solfège competition, and subsequently worked hard to win first prize in 1898. She took private lessons from Vierne and Guilmant, during this period, she also received religious instruction to become an observant Catholic, taking her First Communion on 4 May 1899
