[HANASHIR:13702] The Pianist

[Shirona <shirona...>]

After seeing Roman Polanski's "The Pianist" (a powerful and upsetting film) - I 
looked up Wladyslaw Szpilman, the late Jewish/Polish composer/pianist who's 
autobiographic account of surviving  WWII in Warsaw is the basis of this film . 
 He was a prolific classical composer, before and after the war (he stayed in 
Poland until his death in 2000) - but also wrote some 500 songs, 150 of which 
are considered the "evergreens" of Polish popular music...and 40 children's 
songs for which he received awards... Is anyone familiar with his music and 
songs? 

I couldn't help wondering though - how could he stay in Poland after the entire 
Jewish population was wiped out, and the Poles proved themselves to be just as 
savage and eager to get rid of the Jews as the Germans... Was he such a musical 
celebrity in Poland that being Jewish, in his case, didn't matter?

Shirona
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Singer, Songwriter and Teacher of Jewish Music
 Visit my website at    www.shirona.com
Listen to my music at www.mp3.com/shirona
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