“The Pianist” – a True Story

“If history repeats itself, and the unexpected always happens, how incapable must Man be of learning from experience.”
— George Bernard Shaw

It is often difficult to understand the present even if you know your history, but watching Polanski’s movie “The Pianist” can at least help us to understand the greatness of music as an artform and that humanism can be found even in the darkest places and situations. Inspirational, educating and deeply touching it is indeed reflecting very important topics from the saddest sides of humanity.

“The Pianist” is based on the autobiography of Polish pianist Wladyslaw Szpilman, who was playing Chopin’s Nocturne in C-sharp minor live on the air in a Warsaw radio station when the first German bombs fell.

In this article we present the movie and some relevant related historical material about Szpilman’s life story.
We also share free scores of all the pieces in the movie soundtrack for anyone who believes that the world could be a slightly better place if more people would play and listen to classical piano music, and Chopin in particular.

Who can truly grasp the essence, of the remarkable proof of the power of music, condensed in the scene were Szpilman plays Chopin’s G Minor Ballade for the German officer (2:03:20). Whow knows what was going on in his mind at that moment? Whatever, it apparently changed the destiny of life for both the preformer and the listener. It is a true story.

The Pianist – Full movie (2002)

The Pianist – How Polanski Depicts Survival (Film Analysis)

The Pianist is one of the most harrowing films about the Holocaust, particularly as it follows the story of a victim, as told by the real-life pianist Wladyslaw Szpilman and directed by Holocaust survivor Roman Polanski. This video essay explores the elements that enabled Polanski to depict the horror and brutality of the Holocaust, while also showing enormous restraint and showcasing the human will to survive through such bleak circumstances.

“The Pianist” hero – Wladyslaw Szpilman Interview

Roman Polanski’s hero Wladyslaw Szpilman in the interview with David Ensor of ABC TV on 17th January 1985 – featuring anchorman Peter Jennings

Wladyslaw Szpilman – Memories

– a documentary about the life of Wladyslaw Szpilman by Studio Filmowe Kalejdoskop (2004) broadcast by TVP Kultura.

Historic topic in Piano Forum from 2002:
https://www.pianostreet.com/smf/index.php?topic=340.0

The Pianist – Soundtrack (free piano sheet music)

Frédéric Chopin:
Nocturne in C-sharp Minor (1830)
Nocturne in E Minor, Op. 72, No. 1
Nocturne in C Minor, Op. 48, No. 1
Ballade No. 2 in F Major, Op. 38
Ballade No. 1 in G Minor, Op. 23
Waltz No. 3 in A Minor, Op. 34, No. 2
Prelude in E Minor, Op. 28, No. 4
Andante spianato in G Major
Grande Polonaise brillante in E-flat major
Mazurka in A Minor, Op. 17, No. 4

Wojciech Kilar (1932–2013):
Moving to the Ghetto Oct. 31, 1940

Ludwig van Beethoven:
Moonlight Sonata Movement 1, Opus 27 no.2

About Wladyslaw Szpilman

Born 1911 Sosnowiec – died 2000 Warsaw, Poland

Descended from a long line of Polish Jewish musicians, Wladyslaw Szpilman first trained as a pianist at the Chopin School of Music in Warsaw. In 1931 he moved to Germany to further his studies at the Academy of Arts in Berlin. After returning to Warsaw in 1933, he earned a growing reputation as a performer and composer of both classical and popular music. In 1935 he became house pianist for Polish State Radio in Warsaw. Germany invaded Poland on September 1, 1939, and when enemy bombardment forced the closing of Polish State Radio, Szpilman’s performance of Chopin’s C sharp minor Nocturne was the last live music broadcast. Szpilman continued to concertize and write new music after Warsaw’s Jews were resettled in the ghetto in October 1940. He eventually escaped the ghetto and spent the remainder of the war hiding out, under increasingly harrowing conditions, on the “Aryan” side of the city. Szpilman’s account of his survival, Death of a City, appeared in Polish in 1946. Retitled The Pianist, the book has been published in English and several other languages.

Further reading related to the current situation (March 2022):
Kyiv Is About to Fall and So Is Hard-Earned Peace!

What do you think?

Most of us never experience extreme circumstances of danger and deprivation — we can’t know what we might do. Below are some questions for contemplation.

What is the role of an artist in times of profound crisis?

Many characters in the film are morally ambiguous. Are acts of kindness less worthy when motivated even partially by self-interest? Is film an effective medium for communicating the ethical complexity of these acts?