Visiting Polish Pianist Has Epicurean Interests

Press, Volume XCVII, Issue 28747, 19 November 1958, Page 5

Visiting Polish Pianist Has Epicurean Interests

“The refrigerator is the enemy of good food and although I have one at my home in Paris it is only used to provide ice for cocktails.” said the Polish-born pianist Mr Stanislas Niedzielski, who arrived in Christchurch yesterday. Mr Niedzielski is on a concert tour of New Zealand. I “With lots of food S’* rare and : expensive in Europe great care j is taken with its preparation. ' whereas in New Zealand where .food is very plentiful 1 sometimes think only a little care is taken,” he said. ; "In Paris, butchers assist in the I selection of meat.’’ he said. "They ask, ’When du you intend to cook ; it—now. this evening or to--1 morrow?’ and on receiving instructions choose accordingly.” i Mr Niedzielski said he found the meat in Australia and New Zealand too fresh. “1 would say I there are four countries in the i world where you can have a ■decent meal—in E .gland, France, Belgium an a Spain.” he said. “In i England to have a fine meal you must eat at a place where the waiter wears white tie and tails. In Spain, one eats where the public spits on the floor, and in France one can eat anywhere.” Restaurant Preference Mr Niedzielski said that in France he preferred to eat at a cafe where the proprietor cooked land his wile served the customers. In such an establishment "you ask the proprietor what to eat and if he judges you to be a discriminate cater h will advise; if he thinks otherwise he will tell you to eat anything.” Because of radio interviews m (Australia on the subject of hotel facilities Mr Niedzielski was advised by his manager at Perth that if he wished to avoid sleeping in his car he would have to refrain from making comments. A year ago he returned to his native Poland after an absence of 20 years and found individual liberty “in the poor little country behind the Iron Curtain” freer than it appeared in New Zealand, he said. In any state restaurant in Warsaw there were signs that said dinner was served from noon to 6 p.m. and supper from 7 p.m. to 1 a.m. After doing so for II years Mr Niedzielski was surprised that no other pianist carried his piano with him. He thought that those oldei

than himself and well established did not want the bother and trouble and that those younger could not afford to do so.

“It is a very expensive way to ruin your car, towing a piano around. It can be a tremendous bother moving the piano from its trailer on to the platform ana after the concert reversing the process.” He dons leather waistcoat and gloves and often braves the wind and rain to direct operations after every concert. Wine Tasting Mr Niedzielski is the second foreign musician to be a member of the exclusive Brotherhood of Tastevins in France. He said the brotherhood was concernea with the tasting and prevention of mediocrity in the production of Bourgoigne wines. Although no initial examination was held, members had to display some knowledge of wines, he said. At a banquet a member never mentioned to neighbours a preference for beer or water. “If he did he would be kicked out.” he said.

The present popularity of the piano could be attributed greatly to the genius of Chopin as the popularity of opera owed much to the influence of Wagner, he said. “Chopin's genius is not only limited to creating some lovely melodies which have later been adapted for songs, tangos and even the ‘Limelight’ theme from Charles Chaplin’s film.

“Chopin is responsible for inventing new harmonics fur Hie piano and also for creating Polish folklore rather than borrowing from it,” said Mr Niedzielski.

He cited Chopin’s mazurkas as the most typical example of his .genius in harmonics which 100 years ago was an unheard of method of writing them.

After playing in Dunedin and Invercargill, Mr Niedzielski will sail for England in December.