EU pays to restore composer's house
mainIt will be 75 years next spring since the death of Karol Szymanowski. His house in the mountain resort of Zakopane has fallen into disrepair and the museum authorities in Poland cannot afford the cost of restoration.
Along comes Brussels with a cheque for half a million Euros, two-thirds of the amount required.
I’m not sure that’s an appropriate use of public, community funds. Surely every nation should be responsible for its own heritage? I don’t see the custodians of the Elgar house in Worcester or the Ravel birthplace at Cibourre going abroad with a begging-bowl. This looks like Euro pork-barrel politics at its worst – a deal with Warsaw at a time when every cent ought to count.
Come ! come ! Mr. LeBrecht – you’re putting us on ! It costs All the inhabitants of a land with which you are quite familiar some 57+ millions of dollars a year not counting other rip offs to keep a certain family in happy
circumstances . . And here you would deny the
restoration of a home once belonging to a creative artist because the money comes from “across” the
european community – doesn’t the “community ” derive some pleasure from his creative work so why not
return the compliment with this sort of thank you , after all every time his works are played someone makes a buck , Szymanowski certainly doesn’t . It is not as if they got the money at gun point -there could have been
a polite “no” but fortunately for them they got a “yes “.Your indignation rings hollow .
I see enlightenment and not pork. What could be so wrong about supporting a prominent composer’s legacy? Half a million Euros can barely get a NATO plane off the ground. Methinks Szymanowski is a better investment. Elgar need only ask. Oh wait, England is a non-European tribe !