Registration REQUIRED by 4pm on March 31, 2026 in order to attend this event.
Please join the East Central European Center and the Harriman Institute for a screening of “Pianoforte” (2023), with an introductory lecture by Tony H. Lin. The post-screening discussion will be moderated by Christopher Caes and Cindy Sang. The event is part of the East Central European Center’s Spring 2026 film screening and lecture series: After 2020: New Directions in Polish Cinema. This series explores how Polish artists, filmmakers, and cultural initiatives have responded to sociopolitical issues in Poland and beyond.
“Pianoforte” (2023) is an award-winning documentary about the International Fryderyk Chopin Piano Competition in Warsaw, one of the world’s most prestigious classical music events held every five years. Focusing on several contestants, the film offers a behind-the-scenes look at how young pianists prepare for—and cope with—the musical equivalent of the Olympics. In pursuit of musical glory, the performers undergo a process that is both inspiring and demoralizing, as only one competitor can ultimately win. Lin’s remarks explore the founding of the Chopin Competition in 1927 and its storied history of launching some of the most renowned pianists of our time. Drawing on his experience attending the competition on multiple occasions and speaking with contestants, he reflects on themes of discipline, pressure, and resilience as participants confront both triumph and disappointment.
Tony H. Lin is an Assistant Professor of the Practice and the Russian/Slavic Coordinator at Boston College. A Taiwanese-American, Lin has won numerous grants (such as Fulbright-Hays DDRA and FRA, IIE Fulbright Research Fellowship, DAAD, NEH, Critical Language Scholarship, Department of State Title VIII grant) to study and live in Poland, Russia, Germany, and France. He has published on Polish and Russian music and literature, ranging from Wyspiański’s “Wesele” and Chopin-inspired texts in The Chopin Review to a chapter on musical adaptations of Tolstoy’s works in Tolstoy in Context and an article on Iwaszkiewicz’s poems. Lin has taught Polish and Russian languages and literatures at Boston College, University of Pittsburgh, Connecticut College, and University of California, Berkeley, where he received his Ph.D. Lin is also an accomplished pianist, having graduated from Northwestern University’s School of Music with a degree in piano performance and given numerous recitals in the United States and Europe.
Please email disability@columbia.edu to request disability accommodations. Advance notice is necessary to arrange for some accessibility needs.
