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Never forget ...The extraordinary man Roman Żółtowski, foremost engraver of Wimbledon trophies, was also a musician.This is a beautifully and tenderly observed portrait following the death of his friend the pianist Fou Ts'Ong. Roman Żółtowski tragically left us on November 15th 2023 and so ceased his devotion to Wimbledon.

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This beautifully and tenderly observed portrait on the death of the Chinese pianist Fou Ts'ong is all the more moving in remembrance now, another Wimbledon anniversary. His friend, this prominent Polish trophy engraver, also my good friend,  tragically left us on  November 15th 2023. How he would have adored engraving the Venus Rosewater Dish (below) with the name of the first Polish women's champion in history, -  Iga Świątek. Life is just not fair .... but he would have got the accents correct!  Details of his Wimbledon engraving work and the remarkable effort of driving his rare, classic MGA  Coup é   every year from Poznań to Wimbledon (832 miles or 1338 kms one way) was covered by the  Financial Times  in an interview with him in 2014.  ‘I drive from Poland to engrave the Wimbledon trophies’ Roman Zoltowski, a 76-year-old craftsman, packs up his 52-year-old MG from home near Poznan to set up a work bench behind Centre Court. Roman Z...

81st Duszniki Zdrój International Chopin Festival , Poland. 7 - 15 August 2026. In addition, links to detailed reviews of fifteen past Duszniki Festival posts (2010 - 2025)

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Duszniki Zdrój formerly Bad Reinerz in Silesia Read and remember h ow fortunate we will be here in the beautiful, natural rural surroundings of  Duszniki Zdrój in Poland. In this Elysium  we will continue the intense enjoyment of this creative side of the coin of human nature   World-renowned musicians and pianists have been assembled to play    81st  Duszniki-Zdrój International Chopin Festival   7-15 August 2026   200th Anniversary  of Fryderyk Chopin sojourn  In the summer of 1826  Chopin travelled  for a 'cure'  to the spa village of  Duszniki Zdrój , then Bad Reinertz in Silesia.  Part of the way through his studies, Józef  Elsner, his teacher, had recommended that Chopin ‘take the waters’ or in modern parlance  'go into rehab' not far from where Elsner was born. Originally on the Prussian-Bohemian frontier, the village is now in the south-west of Poland on the border with the Czech...