Today marks the centenary of the birth of the late writer, journalist and music critic, Jerzy Waldorff.

A fervid promoter of classical music in the media, he organized the international Chopin in Autumn Hues festival held in Ostrów Wielkopolski and Antonin, central Poland, attended by many prominent pianists, including Grigori Sokolov and Adam Harasiewicz.

Warsaw residents primarily remember Jerzy Waldorff as the founder and head of a civic committee centered on the renovation of Warsaw’s historic Powązki cemetery. The collections initiated by Waldorff, now run by many Polish artists and journalists, help restore neglected graves and tombstones.

"Cemeteries are the roots of all societies. A nation that lets go of its memory, ceases to live. Warsaw's entire history is kept here at the Powązki Cemetery," he once said.

His other achievements include the establishment of the Karol Szymanowski Museum in the northern town of Zakopane and his contribution in the restoration of the Radziwiłł Palace in Antonin, central Poland. He died on 29 December 1999. (ab)