Ignacy Jan Paderewski

Ignacy Jan Paderewski was a Polish pianist, composer, philanthropist, and statesman who became an international spokesman for Polish independence. Rising to prominence as a virtuoso in the late 1880s, he toured widely in Europe and the United States. As a composer, he wrote orchestral, instrumental, and vocal works and an opera, Manru, which remains the only opera by a Polish composer performed by the Metropolitan Opera. Paderewski's celebrity status allowed access to influential political and cultural circles in the West.