 @ChopinFryderyk
Icons of Europe started late 2011 to twit actively at @IconsEurope,
@ChopinFryderyk, @La_JennyLind @ReveChopin and @AvonSwan
(the latter about Shakespeare).
The objective is to expand communication with targeted
organizations and individuals at a global level. |
 Shakespeare
authorship
Was the successful theatrical
production manager
William Shakespeare, who
performed
for the royal court, "the true author" of the
Shakespearean works?
Icons of Europe has conducted an independent review of the
Shakespeare
authorship question.
>>.More |
|
  Liszt
200 years in 2011
Icons of Europe is working on several initiatives to
celebrate the bicentenary of Franz Liszt (1811-1886),
which coincides with Hungary assuming the rotating E.U. presidency during the first half of 2011.
>>.More |
|
 Nice, France, 17
November 2010
Chopin and Jenny Lind at the Riviera
At the invitation of
SWEA Rivieran, a chapter of the
global Swedish Women's Association, Cecilia Jorgensen
(standing),
Icons of Europe told a sold-out house the
story of
Chopin and Jenny Lind between the piano pieces played by
Vivian Rössner Wejke, Stockholm. |
|
 Frédéric
Chopin ŕ Paris
New initiatives by Icons of
Europe to explore
France / Paris as a
key source for Chopin's music and legacy:
his French father, his oeuvre 1831-1849,
74 Rue de Chaillot, 12 Place Vendôme, his funeral and tomb,
posthumous works, the
artworks created in
Paris, salons in
La Belle Époque.
As discovered by Icons of Europe, Jenny Lind - and later Princess Winnaretta de
Polignac through her Paris salon - took many initiatives to call attention
to Chopin's Polish roots.
Important Icons of Europe events in 2010:
- 24
February: At Hôtel Prince de Galles,
Paris, presentation to 17 Polish journalists about
the true location of 74, Rue de Chaillot, where
Jenny Lind visited Chopin in May-June 1849.
- 6
October: Under the auspices of the Société Chopin ŕ Paris,
a commemorative plaque for 74 Rue de Chaillot unveiled at Prince de Galles,
folllowed by a concert attended by the Ambassador of
Poland and representatives of cultural institutions
in Paris.
- 6
October: Presentation of the new Chopin
/ Jenny Lind book project to the concert audience at Prince de Galles.
- 15
October: Premiere of the new BBC Chopin
film.
|
Chopin recital at Prince de Galles, Paris (left: Cecilia
& Jens) |
|
 Chopin
1810-2010 celebration
Poland's Minister of Culture and National Heritage
invited Icons of Europe to attend the
Gala
Concert at Opera Narodowa in Warsaw on 1 March 2010.
Icons of Europe hosted a piano recital by
Daniel Blumenthal at Lasne near Brussels during
which Cecilia Jorgensen commented on Chopjn's music and
his romance with Jenny Lind:
- 1 March to mark Chopin's 200 years;
- 5 March for a
SWEA Belgium audience. |
|
 Chopin
2010 Congress
We submitted paper proposals to the
Congress at Warsaw.set for early March. On 12
May 2006, the Fryderyk Chopin Institute in Warsaw
invited the founders of Icons of Europe to be
honorary advisors to the Chopin 2010 programme. |
|
 February
2009
New research refutes an
'injurious'
allegation in the press on Mendelssohn's friendship with
Jenny Lind
>> See the conclusions
dismissing the allegation.
Image from the
Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy Stiftung. |
|
  The
City of Lodz
Icons
of Europe began in 2007 an exchange of ideas with the
City
of Lodz, Poland on its bid to become a
European
Capital of Culture in 2016.
>> MORE |
|
 Ongoing
Oscar Wilde / Boston / Napoleon
Research on the life and works of Irish poet-dramatist
Oscar Wilde is a priority. He wrote
in 1890: "After playing Chopin, I feel as if I had
been weeping over sins that I had never committed, and
mourning over tragedies that were not my own" (The
Critic As Artist).
Partly related, research is also being
conducted on the cultural exchanges of the distinguished
19th century BOSTON SATURDAY CLUB with Europe, and on
NAPOLEON's rise to power in France and Europe. |
|
 On
the occasion of World TB Day 2008
U.S. premiere at Opera Museum, New York
Our musical drama "Chopin and The
Nightingale" was performed at the Chopin
Festival of the
Marcella Sembrich Opera
Museum, Bolton Landing, Lake George, New York on 25 and 27 July
2008. >> MORE |
|
|
 Ongoing
Posthumous period of Chopin
New
research is being conducted on the 1849-1929
posthumous period of Chopin, and on Jenny Lind's use of symbolism for the
enshrinement of the legacies of Chopin and herself.
The enshrinement reached a climax in Paris during La Belle
Époque. |
|
 25 April 2008, on
the occasion of World TB Day
Canadian premiere
at ROM, Toronto
"Chopin and The Nightingale" performed
by The Glenn Gould School of the
Royal
Conservatory of Music at the
Royal Ontario Museum; co-produced
with Icons of Europe and with the
support of Toronto Public Health. |
|
 2 April 2005
Hans Christian Andersen
The 200-year anniversary of
Hans Christian Andersen's birthday was
celebrated in Toronto by the Nightingale
events on 4 March and 24 April
(see below and above).
>> More |
|
 4 March 2005, Toronto, concert
"Chopin masterpieces
and Nightingale songs"
In the context of World TB Day,
Chopin's Concerto in F-minor
and songs from "Chopin and
The Nightingale" performed by
The Glenn Gould School.
Hans Christian Andersen: 200 years! |
|
 11-12 January
2005, Edinburgh
Roundtable with British musicologists, University of
Edinburgh, on the Chopin / Jenny Lind research findings. |
|
 July - December, 2004, Lasne
Research initiatives
In preparation for future events and publications, research on new issues:
- Film project: Chopin / Jenny Lind
- Chopin key venues in Paris
- Trail of Mazurka in A-flat,
op. 24, n° 3
- Polish art treasures in
Canada
- "Lucrezia" | Niecks
| Stirling | Tellefsen |
|
   5 June
2004
"Dvorák and Brahms:
a.creative friendship"
A recital for cello and piano by Justus Grimm and Daniel
Blumenthal, to celebrate the New Europe and Dvorák's 100-year anniversary on 1 May 1904.
At Lasne near Brussels with patronage of the CZ, DE, US embassies. |
 |
|
 6
April 2004, Embassy
of Sweden, Warsaw
Chopin and The Nightingale
Musical drama for piano, two
sopranos and narrator - to celebrate the New Europe through Chopin, Jenny Lind and Hans
Christian Andersen with a specially invited VIP audience including
Chopin experts and sponsor guests. |
|
  1 March 2004, in Warsaw
Expert roundtable
Presentation and discussion of our new research
findings on Chopin and Jenny Lind at a roundtable (ref. minutes) with
Chopin experts and the media at Warsaw Philharmonic, in connection with the annual Chopin
birthday concert. |
|
11 October 2003, Lasne
Chopin and The Nightingale
Based on the new Chopin biography, musical drama for piano, two sopranos and narrator
- to celebrate Chopin, Jenny Lind and Hans Christian Andersen.
At Lasne near Brussels with patronage by six ambassadors. With thanks to our sponsors. |
|
 23
and 24 April 2003 at Lasne near Brussels
Music: a universal
language
LAN Cui, XUE Yingjia,
YANG Shanshan,
candidates of the
Queen
Elisabeth International Music Competition 2003 |
|
 17
November 2002 at Hôtel Astoria, Brussels
Chamber Music Concert,
Champagne
organized by Icons of
Europe to celebrate
the EU enlargement signed at Copenhagen a few weeks
later. |
|
| A tenue-de-ville dress
code and an indoor no-smoking policy apply to all events
at Icons of Europe in Lasne. |
