It was an experiment: would there be a niche market for some highbrow, intellectual event like a literary afternoon? The answer was a clear yes. salon PL hadn’t only sold out – it actually oversold so that chairs had to be added as people kept lining up to buy tickets at the door.
salon PL was a mixed performance of sound and sight thought up, developed and organised by Margarete Kraemer. She was joined by two members of the Polish Community Trust, Eva Niedzielski and Halina Footner, as well as three other local Polish women, Anya Fischer, Monika Byrne and Joanna Lawson. The event was sponsored by the Polish Community Trust and Tauranga City Council.
During the three-hour afternoon programme, readings of Polish prose and poetry were complemented by live piano music. Guests also had an opportunity to listen to migrant stories told in English by people whose heritage was Polish, but not all of whom were Polish born, or whose journey to New Zealand had taken a few detours first. A floating art installation and other exhibits – two large steel sculptures and some fine ceramic items - by Polish born Anya Fischer were also on display.
Individuals with no stage training who plucked up the courage to perform in front of an audience read selected Polish prose and poetry in Polish and English. The musical items consisted of Chopin and other composers’ pieces played by retired concert pianist-cum-entertainer Lee Cameron.
As a special surprise a couple performed two Argentinian tangos, which turned out to be exactly what they were meant to be: the icing on the cake. The link to Poland was an old recording of Wladyslaw Lidauer’s tango Graj, skrzypku graj sung in Polish and Hebrew. Lidauer, a Polish Jew who was killed by the Nazis, was a composer and violinist himself. The tango Graj, skrzypku graj was very popular in Poland during the interwar period. To listen to the tango, please click here.
salon PL was a mixed performance of sound and sight thought up, developed and organised by Margarete Kraemer. She was joined by two members of the Polish Community Trust, Eva Niedzielski and Halina Footner, as well as three other local Polish women, Anya Fischer, Monika Byrne and Joanna Lawson. The event was sponsored by the Polish Community Trust and Tauranga City Council.
During the three-hour afternoon programme, readings of Polish prose and poetry were complemented by live piano music. Guests also had an opportunity to listen to migrant stories told in English by people whose heritage was Polish, but not all of whom were Polish born, or whose journey to New Zealand had taken a few detours first. A floating art installation and other exhibits – two large steel sculptures and some fine ceramic items - by Polish born Anya Fischer were also on display.
Individuals with no stage training who plucked up the courage to perform in front of an audience read selected Polish prose and poetry in Polish and English. The musical items consisted of Chopin and other composers’ pieces played by retired concert pianist-cum-entertainer Lee Cameron.
As a special surprise a couple performed two Argentinian tangos, which turned out to be exactly what they were meant to be: the icing on the cake. The link to Poland was an old recording of Wladyslaw Lidauer’s tango Graj, skrzypku graj sung in Polish and Hebrew. Lidauer, a Polish Jew who was killed by the Nazis, was a composer and violinist himself. The tango Graj, skrzypku graj was very popular in Poland during the interwar period. To listen to the tango, please click here.
