Adam Han-Gorski's Extraordinary Concert at the Photographic Exhibition Opening on March 5th

Adam Han-Gorski violin concert and MPMS ART's exhibition

All photos: K. Litak

Approximately 120 guests joined us at the Landmark Center for the anniversary of Adam Han Gorski's 1st public violin concert and exhibition opening of An Interrupted Childhood- Polish WWII survivors in Minnesota photographic tribute opening. Adam debuted with an orchestra on March 21, 1948, in Katowice, Poland, almost 75 years ago.

Han-Gorski opened with Bruch's Kol Nidrei on viola (a newly acquired copy of the Balestreri viola from 1775) and violin. The violin was a replica of the Balestrieri,1767, that Adam played for over 50 years. It was followed by Gabriel Faure's Après un rêve, Jasha Heifetz's arrangement for strings of Alexander Glazunow's Adagio, Pablo de Sarasate's Romanca Andaluza and Leopold Godowsky's Alt Wien. The audience had the rare occasion to listen to Adam's effortless performance as he retired from public concerts after a long and illustrious career as a concertmaster and soloist. Adam also performed on the Wilemotte Stradivarius from 1734. Han-Gorski was accompanied on piano by Anton Melnichenko and Ekaterina Knyazeva.

The event was created as a joint venture of the Landmark Center, which hosted the concert and the exhibition; Schubert Club generously offered grand piano, and Ramsey County Historical Society facilitated webinars about the project. The East Side Freedom Library helped with community engagement and publicity.

Thank you to all our guests who joined @mnpolishmedicalsociety at the Minnesota State Capitol for opening the exhibit: An Interrupted Childhood - the Polish WWII Survivors in Minnesota. It was an honor to have guests featured in the exhibit join us. The photographs and stories of Adam, Anatol, Leonard, Magdalena, Maria, Walter, and Wiktor will be displayed at the Landmark Center through April 30, 2023.

Elizabeth Suszynski joined us with her book about Col