At last, an avenue is named for a lost composer

When Andrzej Panufnik fled Warsaw in 1954 he became a non-person almost for the rest of his life.

Over the past quarter-century his music has been performed more and more, but there was still no public acknowledgement of his cultural importance.

That omission was aptly remedied today.

Lady Camilla Panufnki and her son Jem Panufnik after the naming of the Andrzej Panufnik avenue in the Mokotow district of Warsaw. The avenue of trees leads to Andrzej’s grandparents’ beautiful old house, Palaczyk Szuster, which is now a centre for young musicians. The President of Warsaw, Mrs. Hanna Gronkiewicz-Waltz,  presided over the event in front of a distinguished audience, and the 4-trumpet fanfare from Panufnik’s Sinfonia Sacra was performed by musicians of the Warsaw Philharmonic as the ribbon was cut.