Waldemar Dąbrowski
Waldemar Dąbrowski, Chairman of the Committee for the Chopin 2010 commemorative festivities, has been awarded the Gloria Artis Gold Medal for contributions to culture. He received the honour from the Minister of Culture and National Heritage Bogdan Zdrojewski at the closing ceremony for events related to the year-long initiative dedicated to the Polish composer
The President of Poland, Bronislaw Komorowski, and his wife were in attendance at the ceremony, which took place just before the
finale concert of events commemorating the 200th Anniversary of the birth of
Chopin.
Daniil Trifonov, who won the third prize at the 2010 Chopin International Piano Competition, performed the Piano Concerto in E minor, Op. 11, by the Sinfonia Varsovia orchestra. The second part of the evening was dedicated to
Krzysztof Penderecki 's latest work Powiało na mnie morze snów... - pieśni zadumy i nostalgii" / "A Sea of Dreams Rushed Over Me - Songs of Refelction and Nostalgia for soprano, mezzo-soprano, baritone, choir and orchestra. conducted by the composer himself.
Culture Minister Bogdan Zdrojewski handed out a Medal of Merit for the preservation of the legacy of Fryderyk Chopin to Professor Mieczyslaw Tomaszewski , a major musicologist known who contributed a great deal to the popularisation of the works of Chopin in Poland and abroad. The Professor's wife Wanda Tomaszewska accepted the honour for him. The Minister then awarded the Gloria Artis Gold Medal for contributions to culture to Waldemar Dabrowski, currently Director of the Grand Theatre - National Opera House, for his role in organising and promoting the Chopin Year programme around the world. The event comprised 2600 individual events in Poland and 3000 abroad over the whole of 2010.
Source: press release