Word: paderewskis
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...Pianist Paderewski travels in style. But on tour he does worse than live on the wrong side of the tracks : he invariably inhabits freight yards. His private car is outfitted with all the comforts of home, with a library and a piano to practice...
...seven men. Besides Secretary Strakacz, who plays bridge with him on long jumps, and Piano-tuner Joubert, who carries around an atlas and answers questions about the populations and industries of the towns they visit, the most indispensable member of this staff is his private chef. With romantic Paderewski, food is a romantic passion. He is partial to lamb, chicken and turkey, worships caviar, pheasant and sweet champagne. If he is about to visit a town famous for some particular dish, he always telegraphs ahead to have some of it specially prepared for him. On concert days he lunches...
...cooks have had long reigns. Greatest of them was the great Copper, who retired in 1927 after cooking Paderewski's meals for 25 years. After a midnight meal in his private car on some Midwestern siding, Paderewski once called the waiter to him. "Tell Mr. Copper," he beamed, "that the meat, the vegetables and the dessert were excellent." The waiter went out, then reappeared. "Mr. Copper said to tell you," he reported, "that the soup was excellent...
...Patriot. Like all Poles, Paderewski is a fervent patriot. For him only one thing has been more important than his music: his life-long dream of an independent Poland. When the World War broke, Paderewski saw his big chance to make that dream come true. For the duration of the War he toured England and the U. S., playing, speaking at dinners, lobbying with politicians, devoting all the proceeds of his concerts to Polish relief. At this tea-table politics he was a great success. In 1917, with the help of his close friend, Colonel House, he prevailed upon President...
Then Politician Paderewski's troubles began. "Piano playing," he once remarked, "is more difficult than statesmanship." But as a practical Premier, Paderewski was a first-rate pianist. He let correspondence pile up, let the telephone ring itself hoarse. In the rough & tumble of practical politics, he was a pushover for Poland's tough, military Marshal Pilsudski. In December 1919, Paderewski resigned, left Poland and politics to brood alone at his estate in Morges, Switzerland...