Timeline of Paderewski's Life and Works

1860

  • 6 November, in the village of Kuryłówka by the Boh River, in the District of Lityń within the  Podolia Governorate: Ignacy Jan Paderewski is born as the second child of Jan and Poliksena, née Nowicka. A few months later, Poliksena dies.

1863

  • Jan Paderewski is incarcerated in the tsarist prison in Lityń, having been arrested for helping  insurgents during the January Uprising. Ignacy and his older sister, Antonina, are left in the custody of their aunt in Nowosiółki, near Cudnów.

1865

  • Jan Paderewski moves with his family to Sudyłków, in the District of Zasław within the Volhynian Governorate, where he becomes the administrator of the Szaszkiewicz family estate.

1867

  • Jan Paderewski gets married for the second time – to Anna, née Tańkowska. Three children are born: Józef (1871–1958), Stanisław (1873–1914), and Maria (1876–1952).

1872

  • December: After several years of studying with private tutors (Filip Runowski, Piotr Sowiński, and Michał Babiański), Ignacy is admitted to the Warsaw Conservatory. He stays with the Kerntopf family, owners of the piano factory, on Krasiński Square.

1873

  • January: Ignacy begins his studies at the Warsaw Conservatory in Jan Śliwiński's piano class, moving in the second term to Juliusz Janotha's class; Karol Studziński teaches him the principles of music.  
  • 27 June, Warsaw (Sala Resursy Obywatelskiej): at an annual concert given by the students of the Warsaw Conservatory, Paderewski plays trombone in the Conservatory's orchestra.
  • 2 July, Warsaw (Sala Resursy Obywatelskiej): at the second annual concert given by the students of the Warsaw Conservatory, Paderewski and Antoni Rutkowski perform Friedrich Kalkbrenner's Duet on two grand pianos.
  • 22 November, Warsaw (Kościół św. Franciszka Serafickiego): Paderewski is listed among the members of the Warsaw Conservatory's orchestra and male choir.

1874

  • February: Paderewski continues his studies. He attends piano lessons with Henryk Koman, and lessons in literature, Polish and French with Klemensa Podwysocki (1832–1903). He also begins to learn German on his own.
  • June–July, Warsaw (Dolina Szwajcarska): during four charity concerts given by the Warsaw Conservatory, Paderewski plays trombone in the Conservatory's orchestra.
  • 25 October: As a consequence of a conflict with the Conservatory's authorities, Paderewski and two other students (Antoni Sygietyński and Henryk Pachulski) are expelled from the school.

1875

  • 29 September: Jan Paderewski sends a request to the authorities of the Warsaw Conservatory to re-enroll his son.
  • 29 October: The Conservatory decides to accept Ignacy for a trial period as a non-matriculated student.

1876

  • February: The young artist composes his first piece, Valse mignonne, dedicated to his teacher of harmony and counterpoint, Gustaw Roguski.
  • October: Paderewski's name once again disappears from the Conservatory's documentation. Ignacy and two older students (violinist Ignacy Cielewicz, and cellist Michał Biernacki) go on a ‘tournée' in the cities of Russia and northern lands of Poland.
  • November: Paderewski and Cielewicz continue their trip heading to Vitebsk.

1877

  • Paderewski spends some time in different places, e.g., the Vitebsk Governorate, Kashin in the Tver Governorate, and Saint Petersburg.

1878

  • January, Warsaw: with the consent of the Director of the Warsaw Conservatory, Paderewski passes an examination and becomes again a matriculated student.
  • February–June: Paderewski gives several performances during student concerts (as a soloist and accompanist).
  • June: Ignacy passes his final exams and attains Diploma No. 186 (with very high grades).
    • 29 June: Warsaw (Sala Aleksandryjska Ratusza): the first annual concert by students of the Warsaw Conservatory. The pieces performed include Antoni Rutkowski's Trio (co-performed by Ignacy Paderewski) and Teofil Lenartowicz's poem Rapture (recited by Antonina Korsakówna, Paderewski's future wife).
    • 30 June, Warsaw (Sala Aleksandryjska Ratusza): the second annual concert by students of the Warsaw Conservatory. The pieces performed include: the song Fate for mezzo-soprano and grand piano, with lyrics by Władysław Syrokomla and music by Ignacy Paderewski (sung by Helena Potapowiczówna), as well as Part I of Edward Grieg's Concerto in A minor, performed by Paderewski.
  • October: Ignacy, following on his father's wish, takes on the position of piano teacher at the Conservatory (he teaches a ‘lower' women's class).
  • December: Ignacy rents lodgings at the house of the Adamowsky family in Warsaw, at 12 Włodzimierska Street.

1879

  • January, Sudyłków: Ignacy composes Romance (one movement in his Suite in E-flat major) for piano during a stay at his father's house.
  • June–August: Ignacy accompanies violinist Władysław Górski for concerts in Warsaw and in various summer resorts (Busko, Solec, Ciechocinek, Druskininkai, Birštonas, and Kielce). His Impromptu in F major for piano is published (on 1 June 1879, as music score supplement No. 11 in the weekly magazine ‘Echo Muzyczne' – although a copy has not been found so far).
  • October: Jan Paderewski moves to the village of Chrolin in the District of Zasław.

1880

  • 7 January, Rudnia, in the Volhynian Governorate: Ignacy marries Antonina Korsakówka (a graduate of the Warsaw Conservatory). The married couple live in Warsaw, at 14 Włodzimierska Street, and later move to Mokotów district.
  • 9 October, Warsaw: Their son, Alfred, is born. Antonina dies several days later.

1881

  • January–June, Warsaw: Ignacy continues to work at the Warsaw Conservatory. He also composes Trois morceaux Op. 2, Elegy in B-flat minor Op. 4 (dedicated to the memory of Antonina), and Old Suite (for three voices) Op. 3.
  • July–August, Zakopane: Ignacy spends his holidays with friends, Helena and Władysław Górski.

1882

  • Ignacy leaves his son in the care of his maternal grandmother, Julia Korsakowa, and moves to Berlin.
  • January–June, Berlin: composition studies under Friedrich Kiel. The publishing house Bote & Bock publishes his first compositions: Elegy in B-flat minor Op. 4, Danses polonaises Op. 5 and Chants du voyageur Op. 8.
  • July: concerts in Nałęczów and Busko (both solo performance and also duet with Władysław Górski).
  • September: after a series of concerts at summer holiday resorts (Nałęczów and Busko), together with his friend Władysław Górski, Paderewski comes back to work as a piano teacher in Warsaw Conservatory.

1883

  • 12 January, Berlin (Hotel de Rome): Paderewski's first concert of his own works. In the following months, he performs in Kraków, Lublin, Kutno, Szczawnica, and Kiev.
  • August: Paderewski stays in Zakopane, where he composes the first pieces of his Tatra Album Op. 12.

1884

  • January–July, Berlin: composition studies under Heinrich Urban. Paderewski composes his first orchestral pieces (as instrumentation exercises): Overture in E-flat major, Suite in G major for string orchestra, and some miniatures for wind instruments.
  • August, Zakopane: Paderewski, Tytus Chałubiński, Jan Kleczyński, Bartek Obrochta and Kuba Gut hike around local villages ‘to collect new themes'.
  • 3 October, Kraków (Hotel Saski): a concert with Helena Modrzejewska becomes a great artistic and financial success.
  • November: Paderewski travels to Vienna to perfect his piano technique under Teodor Leszetycki.

1885

  • February–March: Concerts in Lwów and Kraków.
  • April, Warsaw (Sala Resursy Obywatelskiej): A concert of Paderewski's pieces is given, featuring Helena Weychertowa, Władysław Górski, and Antoni Rutkowski. The pieces performed include Four Songs Op. 7 to texts by Adam Asnyk, Variations and Fugue on an original theme in A minor for piano Op. 11, and Sonata for violin and piano Op. 13.
  • August: Paderewski stays in Paris (with Władysław Górski), where he meets, among others, Pablo de Sarasate and Édouard Lalo.
  • Autumn 1885 to July 1886: Paderewski conducts piano and harmony and counterpoint classes at the Strasbourg Conservatory (on Leszetycki's recommendation).

1886

  • August–September: Paderewski stays at his father's house in Chrolin.
  • November–December, Warsaw: Paderewski composes various pieces, e.g., themes for his Violin Concerto and Cracovienne fantastique in B major Op. 14 No. 6.

1887

  • January: another stay in Vienna, and further studies under Leszetycki. Annette Yesipova, Leszetycki's wife and a talented pianist, includes some of Paderewski's pieces in her repertoire (Minuet in G major Op. 14 No. 1, Album de Mai Op. 10, and Variations in A minor Op. 11). She also becomes Paderewski's mentor in his career as a pianist.
  • 22 October, Strasbourg (Foyer des Stadttheaters): a concert with violinist Florián Zajíc.
  • 9 December, Vienna (Musik-Verein concert hall): a concert with a singer Marie van Zandt.

1888

  • 3 March, Paris (Salle Erard): Paderewski's sensational debut in Paris (after several initial recitals in private aristocratic salons) which begins his world-wide career as a concert pianist.
  • March–April: concerts in Paris, Brussels, and Prague.
  • October: Paderewski finishes his Piano Concerto in A minor. Preparations for the premiere begin.
  • November–December: concerts in Brussels, Bad Ischl, and Liège.

1889

  • 20 January, Vienna (Musik-Verein concert hall): a sensational world premiere of Paderewski's Piano Concerto in A minor, performed by Annette Yesipova and conducted by Hans Richter.
  • February–December: Recitals in France, Belgium, Germany, Switzerland, Romania, and, in the autumn, Poland (in Kraków, Lwów, and Tarnów).

1890

  • January–April: further concerts in Paris, Nantes, Utrecht, The Hague, Arnhem, Berlin, Toruń, and Poznań.
  • 9 May, London (St. James's Hall): Paderewski's first recital in England.
  • May–June: concerts in Paris and London.
  • July–August: Paderewski stays in Vienna, where he composes, learns English, and relaxes.
  • October–November: concerts in Great Britain.

1891

  • January–June: concerts in Germany, France, Belgium, and Great Britain.
  • October: further recitals in Great Britain.
  • 11 November: Paderewski arrives in New York and stays at the Rip Van Dam Hotel.
  • 17 November, New York (Carnegie Hall): Paderewski's first concert in the USA.
  • November 1891– March 1892: an intense concert tour around the USA and Canada (109 concerts and recitals over the course of 130 days).

1893-1897

  • Paderewski is constantly on concert tours (for 4–8 months per year, several concerts per week), in countries ranging from Great Britain to Holland, Germany, France, and Italy, to the USA. Paderewski spends every summer composing, creating such pieces as Six Songs (based on texts by Adam Mickiewicz) and Polish Fantasy (which was first performed on 4 October 1893 at a festival in Norwich).
  • Summer 1896: The Paderewski Foundation for Young American Composers is established (Paderewski donated 50,000 French francs on leaving the country).
  • January 1897, Warsaw: official unveiling of Jan Styka's most famous panorama, Golgotha, commissioned by Paderewski.
  • Summer–autumn 1897, Morges: Paderewski's first holiday with his family in the Riond-Bosson villa (which he bought in 1898).
  • November 1897: Paderewski buys the Kąśna Dolna estate near Ciężkowice, which becomes his summer residence between 1897 and 1902 (today, the estate houses the Tarnów-Kąśna Dolna Paderewski Centre). Before the purchase, Paderewski tried to settle in the Biórków estate (near Proszowice) and in Rozprza (in the former Piotrków Province).

1898

  • Spring: concerts in Germany and Great Britain.
  • Summer: The winners of a musical competition for young Polish composers (founded by the pianist) are announced. These are Zygmunt Stojowski, Henryk Melcer, Emil Młynarski, Wojciech Gawroński, and Grzegorz Fitelberg. Also in summer of 1899 announced are the winners of a drama competition (Lucjan Rydel and Józefat Nowiński). The same year tenders are invited for the construction of a hotel (later known as the Bristol Hotel), with Paderewski being a significant shareholder.

1899

  • January–March: concerts in Warsaw, Łódź, Białystok, Vilnius, Russia, Great Britain and France.  
  • 31 May 1899, Warsaw (Church of the Holy Spirit): Paderewski marries Helena Maria Rosen (formerly Górska).
  • The married couple spends the summer in Kąśna Dolna, where Paderewski prepares for his next American tour, participates in the Harvest Festival, and frequently travels around the local area.
  • December 1899–May 1900: Paderewski's fourth tour around the USA (and his first tour with his wife).
  • June: concerts in Paris and London.

1901

  • January–April: concerts on the Italian Riviera, in Rome, and other Italian cities, followed by concerts in Great Britain and Spain.
  • 20 March: Alfred, Paderewski's only son, dies during the treatment in Göggingen.
  • April: Paderewski begins performing again, in Copenhagen and Stockholm.
  • 29 May, Dresden (Opernhaus): world premiere of the opera Manru, conducted by Ernst von Schuch.
  • 8 June, Lwów (Teatr Miejski): Polish premiere of Manru, conducted by Francesco Spetrino.
  • 5 November, Warsaw: Paderewski attends the opening concert of the Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra in the newly built Philharmonic Hall (the pianist was a shareholder in the construction company).
  • November–December: a series of concerts in Germany, Austria, and the  Czech Republic.

1902

  • 5 February: Paderewski's begins his fifth  tour around America, which lasts for three months.
  • May–June: performances in London, Madrid, and Lwów.
  • Autumn: a tour around Great Britain.
  • 29 December, Zakopane: a treatment centre for tuberculosis patients is opened, commissioned by Kazimierz Dłuski, with significant financial support from Paderewski.

1903

  • Paderewski sells his estate in Kąśna Dolna. He spends almost the entire year in Riond Bosson, where he composes his Piano Sonata in E flat minor, Douze Mélodies sur des Poésies de Catulle Mendès, and Variations et Fugue in E flat minor. He also begins working on his Symphony in B minor (finished in 1909).
  • December: concerts in Lausanne, Morges, and Kraków.
  • Paderewski spends his free time playing bridge and solitaire, travelling (around Lake Geneva on a tour boat), and passionately goes to the cinema.

1904

  • Concerts in Kraków, Warsaw, and Łódź, followed by a tour around Russia.
  • July–October: performances in Australia and New Zealand.

1904-1905

  • Several months spent on concert tours around the USA, giving  performances in many European cities.

1906

  • First recordings of selected compositions on Welte-Mignon pianola rolls.

1907-1908

  • Concert tours around the USA, Canada, Great Britain, and Switzerland.

1909

  • January: concerts in Scotland (with Emil Młynarski).
  • 30 January: Paderewski begins another tour around the USA.
  • 12 February, Boston: world premiere of Paderewski's Symphony in B minor Op. 24, conducted by Max Fiedler.
  • Autumn: concerts in Great Britain.

1910

  • January–March: concerts in Vienna, Budapest, Lausanne, Paris, and on the Italian Riviera.
  • 15–17 July, Kraków: official unveiling of the monument of  King Władysław II Jagiełło (known as the Grunwald Monument), created by Antoni Wiwulski and financed by the Paderewski Foundation. Paderewski deliveres a patriotic speech to the crowds who came from different parts of partitioned Poland, as well as from other parts of Europe and America. In the evening, a banquet dedicated to Paderewski is held in the ‘Wieliczka' Salt Mine.
  • 23 October, Lwów: celebrations of the 100th anniversary of Fryderyk Chopin's birth, and the First Convention of Polish Musicians. Paderewski gives a fervent speech about the importance of Chopin's works to Polish culture. Paderewski's Symphony in B minor is performed, conducted by Henryk Opieński.

1911

  • Several concerts in Europe, followed by a grand tour around South America.
  • 18 October, Paris: first recording session for His Master's Voice Gramophone Company.

1912

  • 13-14 February: further recordings for His Master's Voice Gramophone Company.
  • March: a tour around South Africa.
  • June, Lwów: The Jan Kazimierz University awards a degree honoris causa to Paderewski.

1913

  • March: concerts in Kraków, Lwów, and Warsaw.
  • October–December: another concert tour around the USA. 

1914

  • January–April: further concerts in the USA and Canada. Paderewski buys land in Paso Robles, California (Rancho San Ignacio and Rancho Santa Helena), where he undergoes mud bath treatment for arthritis.
  • When the First World War breaks out, Paderewski engages in social, patriotic, and independence-related work.

1915

  • Paderewski and Henryk Sienkiewicz lead the General Relief Committee for the Victims of the War in Poland (Comité Général des Secours aux Victimes de la Guerre en Pologne), headquartered in Vevey, Switzerland. Soon, branches of the Committee are established in Paris, London, and New York (under the name of the Polish Victims' Relief Fund).
  • 22 May, New York: Paderewski addresses the Polish community in America, asking them to aid the people of Poland in their homeland.
  • 30 May, Chicago: Poles gather by the monument of Tadeusz Kościuszko (funded by Paderewski). Paderewski gives the first of over 300 patriotic speeches in the USA. He appeals to the Polish community to donate a day's work for Poland on 15 July 1915, the anniversary of the Battle of Grunwald.
  • From May 1915 to May 1917: a continuous series of concerts (almost every other day), during which Paderewski appeals for aid to Poland. He gives the revenue from the concerts to the Polish Victims' Relief Fund.

1916

  • Paderewski meets Edward M. House (chief advisor to the American President, Thomas Woodrow Wilson). The pianist uses this opportunity to try to interest the American authorities in Polish affairs.
  • 22 February, Washington: a concert in the White House. This is attended by the President Wilson, and is one of Paderewski's most important performances of the year.
  • 6 November, New Jersey: Paderewski meets President Wilson again and talks about the Act of 5th November, as declared the day before – and according to which the Kingdom of Poland was to be established. Paderewski sends letters of protest against this Act to state leaders.
  • 27 November, Chicago: Paderewski gives a speech dedicated to the memory of the recently deceased Henryk Sienkiewicz.

1917

  • 11 January, New York: Paderewski sends the American President an open letter about Poland and the need to restore the country's independence.
  • April: Paderewski begins to give frequent public speeches to Poles in the USA, almost becoming the informal leader of Poland. He appeals for financial aid to be given to his compatriots, and for political pressure to create a Polish Army, paving the way for official recognition of Poland's independence.
  • 23 May, New York: Paderewski sends an open letter to the American authorities about the need to create a Polish Army to fight alongside the Allied Forces. To celebrate the nascent army, he composes the marching song Hey, White Eagle for male chorus (Paderewski's last piece, published in New York in 1918).
  • After 20 September: Paderewski sends a letter to President Wilson in which he appeals for official recognition of the Polish National Committee (created on 15 August in Lausanne, with Roman Dmowski as its president and Paderewski as its representative in the USA).  He also appeals for agreement to form the Polish Army in France (an act motivated by the arrival of Polish and French troops deployed to the USA).

1918

  • 8 January: In his speech on War Aims and Peace Terms (Point 13), President Wilson recognises Polish independence as one of the conditions for future peace in Europe.
  • June–July, Washington: Paderewski begins to work on founding the Polish White Cross, a civil institution with the aim of supporting the military (Helena Paderewski becomes the head of the organisation).
  • 26 August, Detroit: Paderewski gives a speech at the 1st Council of Polish Emigrants in America. Considered the spiritual leader of Poles abroad, he addresses the fight for an independent, united Poland, emphasizing the need to incorporate Gdańsk; he also gathers funds for the Polish Victims' Relief Fund.
  • 13 September: Paderewski and Dmowski appeal to President Wilson to recognise the Polish right to what was referred to as Kresy Wchodnie (‘the Eastern Borderlands') and also to Silesia, Greater Poland (Wielkopolska), and Pomerania (including Gdańsk).
  • 25 December: Paderewski arrives in Gdańsk on board HMS Concord. Then he travels to Poznań (a visit that sparked the Greater Poland Uprising).

1919

  • 1 January: Paderewski arrives in Warsaw.
  • 16 January: After long meetings and debates, Paderewski becomes Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs. Three days later, he presents a list of his cabinet ministers to the Chief of State, Józef Piłsudski.
  • 25 January: the first meeting of Paderewski's cabinet ministers.
  • 28 June, Paris: The Paris Peace Conference, Paderewski, Roman Dmowski, and the Polish delegation support Polish interests (e.g., the right to Gdańsk, Pomerania, Greater Poland, Upper Silesia, Teschen Silesia, Eastern Galicia, and the Vilnius region). Paderewski signs the Treaty of Versailles. 
  • 4 December: Paderewski's cabinet of ministers is dissolved, and attempts to create a new government are discontinued due to the lack of support (10 December).

1920

  • February: Paderewski and his wife travel to Riond-Bosson.
  • July: On account of reports about Piłsudski's Kiev campaign (disapproved  by Paderewski), and in a view of an impending war (in the face of an offensive by the Red Army), Paderewski informs Prime Minister Grabski that he wishes to commit himself to working with the government and to defending Polish interests. He becomes the delegate of the Polish government to the Conference of Ambassadors of the Entente and also Poland's delegate to the League of Nations.

1921

  • January: Paderewski resigns from the position of Polish delegate to the Conference of Ambassadors due to his disapproval of Józef Piłsudski's foreign policy with respect to Lithuania and Soviet Russia.
  • May: Paderewski resigns from the position of Polish delegate to the League of Nations.

1922

  • Paderewski's financial difficulties force him to begin performing again. The artist stays in Paso Robles, where he works on his new repertoire.
  • 9 November: Paderewski resumes his concert tours throughout the world. He performs in the USA and Canada.

1924

  • May–June: concerts in Europe (Brussels and Paris).
  • 20 October, Vevey: Paderewski leads a committee for transporting the remains of Henryk Sienkiewicz to Poland. He gives a speech during the official celebrations.
  • 21–29 October, Poznań: The University of Poznań awards a degree honoris causa to Paderewski. This is the artist's last visit to Poland.

1925-1926

  • Concert tours in Europe and the USA.

1927

  • At the end of January, Paderewski begins a six-month tour around Australia and New Zealand.

1928

  • January-May: concerts in the USA and Paris.

1929

  • January: concerts in Freiburg and many cities in France, Belgium and Switzerland (Paderewski donates the profit from the concerts to help widows and orphans of soldiers killed in the war).
  • Autumn: Paderewski cancels his American tour after an operation for appendicitis. In the presence of a notary from Morges, he writes his last will and testament; in this will he states that, after proper provision to guarantee a lifetime income for his wife and sister is made, his money should go to the Jagiellonian University. In 1930, Paderewski places his will in a deposit box at the Morgan Bank in Paris, paid with the money from his account; the will was discovered in 1949.

1930

  • Paderewski's 70th birthday. Official concerts are held in various cities, e.g., in Vilnius, Poznań, and Warsaw.
  • October–December: another tour around the USA.

1931

  • January–May: further concerts in the USA.
  • June, Riond Bosson: ‘master classes' for Polish pianists, attended by (among others) Henryk Sztompka, Stanisław Szpinalski (winner of the 2nd Prize at the 1st International Chopin Piano Competition), Aleksander Brachocki, Zygmunt Dygat, and Albert Tadlewski.
  • Autumn: concert tour around England and Scotland.

1932

  • January–May: concerts in the USA, Canada, and, in the autumn, also in Italy.
  • 8 February, New York (Madison Square Garden): Paderewski gives an extraordinary concert, attended by a record audience of 16,000 people. The profit from the concert goes to unemployed American musicians.

1933

  • Several concerts in England.
  • February–April: performances in the USA.
  • May–June: various performances in Paris, e.g., in the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées (at a charity concert for Jewish intellectuals).

1934

  • 16 January: Helena Paderewska dies. The artist abandons artistic life for a year.

1935

  • Many concerts and performances are organised to celebrate Paderewski's 75th birthday.

1936

  • February, Morges: at the urguing of Władysław Sikorski, Józef Haller and Wincenty Witos come to Riond-Bosson. They establish the Front Morges, a political alliance in opposition to the Sanation regime, building on Paderewski's moral authority, and aiming to restore national unity.
  • Summer, Denham, near London: Paderewski begins work on Moonlight Sonata, a film directed by Lothar Mendes and produced by Pall Mall Productions.
  • Autumn, Riond Bosson and Paris: Paderewski and an American journalist, Mary Lawton, work on Memoirs.

1937

  • Paderewski's health is deteriorating (due to hypertension, his smoking addiction, and an old age).
  • Spring: a few charity concerts (in Lausanne, Solothurn, Brussels, and Great Britain).
  • Summer, Morges: Paderewski works with delegates of the Fryderyk Chopin Society in Warsaw on editing Chopin's Complete Works (published only after the war).

1938

  • Autumn: concerts in Great Britain and Switzerland.

1939

  • 28 February: Paderewski's first radio recital in America, broadcast by Radio City.
  • March–May: recitals in the USA.
  • 5 May, New York: Paderewski's positive statement (broadcast by NBC) concerning Józef Beck's rejection of the German ultimatum.
  • 21 May, Rochester, New York: Paderewski's last public performance.
  • 31 May: Paderewski's address to the Polish community in America, printed in almost all Polish community newspapers.
  • 1 July: Paderewski boards SS Normandie and returns to Switzerland.
  • 1 September: After the outbreak of the Second World War, Paderewski renews his political and patriotic activities. He organises aid for war victims in Poland, sends open letters to politicians, and addresses the citizens of America, Great Britain, and France (as well as his compatriots in the USA and Poland) via radio.

1940

  • 23 January, Paris: Paderewski gives a speech during the first meeting of the National Council of Poland in exile (Paderewski was elected as President of the National Council of Poland).
  • May: Paderewski once again appeals via radio to the citizens of America, Great Britain, and France for aid for Polish war victims.
  • 23 September: Paderewski leaves Switzerland and travels to the USA, passing en route through Spain and Portugal. Before departing, he records a farewell radio broadcast to the people of Switzerland, in which he explains his decision to leave.
  • 6 November: Paderewski arrives in New York and stays in the Buckingham Hotel. He broadcasts in French, English, and Polish, gives speeches at political meetings, and publishes articles in the press.

1941

  • January: Paderewski records more speeches, in which he encourages his compatriots and appeals for aid to Poland.  He directs these appeals to, among others, the Council of the Polish Community in America, Polish sailors in the port of New York, and people of America.
  • February–April, Palm Beach: Paderewski takes a rest. He is visited by journalists, artists, and politicians (including Władysław Sikorski and Stanisław Mikołajczyk). Sylwin Strakacz, Paderewski's secretary, supports the artist's activities in America, and frequently works as Paderewski's representative.
  • 22 June, Oak Ridge (New Jersey): Paderewski participates in a meeting of the Polish Army Veterans' Association in America, where he gives his last speech. 
  • 29 June, New York (Buckingham Hotel): Paderewski dies.
  • 3 July, New York: a requiem mass at St. Patrick's Cathedral (celebrated by the Archbishop of New York, Francis Spellmann). Paderewski's coffin is covered with the Polish flag. Great numbers of people in the city streets and in the Buckingham Hotel watch the funeral procession. The coffin, resting on a carriage pulled by eight horses, travels via Pennsylvania Station to the Polish Embassy in Washington.
  • 5 July, Washington: Paderewski's funeral is accompanied with all military honours at Arlington Cemetery (with the artist being buried in the USS Maine Mast Memorial vault), thanks to a special Act by President Delano Roosevelt, approved by the Senate and the House of Representatives. 
  • Antonina Wilkońska, Paderewski's sister presents the artist's heart to the Polish community abroad (in 1986 Paderewski's heart was moved to the National Shrine of Our Lady of Czestochowa in Doylestown, Pennsylvania (where it rests to this day).

* * *

1963

  • 9 May, Arlington Cemetery: American President John F. Kennedy unveils a plaque at Arlington Cemetery stating that the remains of the Polish statesman and musician are rested at the site temporarily.

1992

  • 29 June: Since Paderewski wanted his ashes to rest in free Poland, his remains are repatriated to Poland, and placed in the crypt of St. John's Archcathedral