Piano Recital on the occasion of Poland’s 3 May Constitution Day
Monday, 28 April 2025
Consulate-General of the Republic of Poland, Woollarah
Her Excellency the Honourable Margaret Beazley AC KC, Governor of New South Wales
Thank you, Consul-General.[1]
Bujari gamarruwa
Diyn Babana Gamarada Gadigal Ngura
I greet you in the language of the Gadigal, Traditional Owners of the land on which we gather, and pay my respects to their Elders past, present, and emerging.
In 2021, it was my pleasure to celebrate here at the Consulate-General on the 230th Anniversary of the 3rd of May Constitution.
On that occasion, I talked in some detail about the significance of the enactment of the Constitution in 1791 - the first modern constitution of Europe, adopted democratically,[2] second only to the United States Constitution of 1789 in its date of enactment.
As a lawyer, it is with some delight I take note of the foreword to an English translation of the Constitution from 2018 which points out:
It is worth remembering that there was not one single lawyer among the authors of the Constitution, although all of them had, among their accomplishments, published or unpublished political considerations, and they were also all seasoned participants in political and propagandist struggles.
The US Constitutional Convention, among its 55 sitting members, included soldiers, farmers, physicians, educators, financiers, merchants and 33 lawyers [3]- however James Madison, sometimes referred to as the Father of the Constitution, was more of a philosopher and theologian – which points to the idea that a constitution may be the province of big picture thinkers.
Here in Australia, at the time these documents were being formed in Poland and America the colony of New South Wales was being established. It would be a long wait until the Commonwealth of Australia Constitution Act in 1900, although NSW, on the ending of convict transportation, would have its first Constitution Act passed through the British Parliament in 1842.[4]
Lawyers were involved.
In 1972, 130 years later, Australia and Poland established diplomatic ties. However, our connections predate this formal arrangement. In the Second World war our forces fought shoulder to shoulder in the siege of Tobruk, and Australian aircrew proudly fought in support of the Warsaw Uprising at the end of the war.[5]
Our musical connections came earlier.
I was intrigued to see the music of Ignacy Paderewski in this evening’s program. Ignacy was a huge hit in Sydney and Melbourne during his concert tour in 1904 – although he did make one small error – but more of that in a moment.
The trip to come here was long and arduous. On arriving in Adelaide, he was asked by his Australian manager “How did you manage to kill time on the voyage”
His reply? “I didn’t, it nearly killed me.”[6]
Responding to a suggestion that his Australian tour was to partake of something of the nature of a holiday trip, the pianist replied "Up to the present it has been the hardest work I have ever experienced, and I do not think that it is going to turn out a pleasure trip."
And yet the Adelaide Advertiser was rather taken with Paderewski – describing him thus:
Of little more than average height, somewhat strongly built, Paderewski at once impresses the beholder. His face clear cut in feature, with a complexion fair as a woman's and glowing with intellectuality, also attracts the eye, but what chiefly commands the attention is the rich and indescribable tint of the great pianist's hair, which frames his face in an aureole of gold.[7]
A rock star of his day - no pressure here Rafael …
And the small error – after his farewell concert in Sydney, the Sydney Morning Herald reported:
In Sydney one cannot call to mind any artist who has ever had such enthusiasm, and yet we learn that Paderewski considers Melbourne before this city in musical culture.[8]
My friends here in the diplomatic corps know that this is an area in which one should keep their opinions to themselves!
Another composer in this evening’s program reminds us of the friendship of Poland and Australia, strengthened through music.
Here in Sydney, on Tuesday 27 January 1948 a newspaper headline read: Music’s Loss By Death of Ignaz Friedman.
The article explained that Professor Friedman, one of the world's most eminent musicians, had died in Sydney the previous day at St. Vincent's Hospital. It went on
After Hitler invaded Poland in 1939, Friedman was invited by the A.B.C. to make his third visit to Australia. He accepted and came to live with friends … at Rose Bay.[9]
Paderewski knew Friedman and described him as the most perfect performer of Chopin saying he was "the finest, most efficient Ambassador abroad of Polish culture.”
And so, he was. In Sydney, he was much loved, a generous teacher, and appreciated friend.
As we celebrate this important day of the anniversary of the 3rd of May Constitution, we celebrate with music, and we celebrate grateful for the friendship of Poland and Australia.
Congratulations, and thank you.
[1] Mr Piotr Rakowski
[2] Krótka prezentacja z osią czasu: The Constitution of 3 May - The First Modern Constitution of Europe , adopted democratically: http://www.postdiploma.pl/ConstENA5.pdf 2nd to the US (1787) and before France, 3 September 1791
[3] https://www.jstor.org/stable/25707309?seq=2
[4] https://www.parliament.nsw.gov.au/about/Pages/1822-to-1842-The-First-Legislature.aspx
[5] https://www.dfat.gov.au/geo/poland/poland-country-brief
[6] https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/4982657
[7] ibid