Book Description

'Adam Zamoyski's book on Paderewski.. is a shrewd and lively account, the first solidly informed and reliable one, of a life that almost constitutes the last gasp of 1848 and its Romantic revolution... Paderewski brought off the very difficult feat of starting as Wunderkind and ending as grand old man, and Adam Zamoyski's biography does definitive justice to both sides.'Norman Stone, The Times Literary Supplement Hailed as a genius and national hero, likened to Einstein and Gandhi, Paderewski rose from provincial obscurity to become the most famous pianist in history - the twentieth century's first superstar - as well as Prime Minister of Poland. For more than fifty years, until his death in 1941, he was a household name, and all over the world "Paddymania" was rife. Audiences swooned - at least a dozen ladies had to be "carried out in a fainting condition" when he performed in Edinburgh in 1894; he was mobbed in Paris, London and all over America, besieged with love letters and proposals of marriage. Critics eulogized - James Huneker found his playing "totally overwhelming", and even George Bernard Shaw admitted that Paderewski's musical "intelligence" permitted him to seize ten nuances in a composition for every one the average pianist picked out. Advertisers swore by him; the press explored minutest details of his life. Heads of state received him - he played for Queen Victoria at Windsor, and for Woodrow Wilson at the White House; he was admired by politicians from Lloyd George to Mussolini, by artists from Conrad to Burne-Jones and Saint-Saëns. Why then, after his death, did Paderewski come to be largely forgotten? Adam Zamoyski sets out not only to reassess Paderewski's achievements, but to revive, with the help of new research, the astonishing story of his life. It is a story with elements of both the fairy tale and the melodrama, in which - despite the trials of his early life, his chaotic musical education, his tragic first marriage, and the initial hostility of audiences and critics - Paderewski's fanatical ambition to "do something for Poland" drives him to unprecedented success. Drawing on a wide range of contemporary sources, Zamoyski unravels facts from the legends that grew up around the pianist-statesman. He clarifies Paderewski's extreme personality, his complex romantic life, his musical and political careers; and above all he attempts to solve the mystery of his undeniable, irresistible power. 'Zamoyski ... has written a very readable and well researched account of a man who, despite massive success and a private life with more than its share of tragedy, never lost his sense of humour. It is a romantic story and the author tells it well.' The Literary Review 'The portrait of the elderly Paderewski, after his resignation, living in Switzerland surrounded by a bevy of adoring women, is particularly convincing - and very sad.' The Financial Times 'Adam Zamoyski has unearthed from many sources the true story of this remarkable man's achievements. Paderewski lives again in his immaculate phrasing and his entire life is examined in meticulous and rewarding detail.' Eastern Daily Press 'This is an excellent book for the general reader, and full of valuable sign-posts for specialists who want to follow up the amazing story in greater detail.' The Sunday Telegraph