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 (premiered 1901), 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. During World War I, he largely suspended concert touring to focus on political advocacy and fundraising, working with organizations such as the Polish National Committee in Paris and relief initiatives in Britain and the United States. In the United States, he met President Woodrow Wilson and contributed to efforts that helped make an independent Poland part of the postwar settlement. In newly independent Poland, Józef Piłsudski appointed Paderewski prime minister and minister of foreign affairs (January–December 1919).