Henryk szpilman biography channel

Wladyslaw Szpilman was born on December 5th, 1911 in the city of Sosnowiec, which at the time was a part of the Russian Empire but is in modern-day Poland. He learned how to play the piano at the Chopin Academy of Music in Warsaw in the late 1920s.

In 1931, he studied at the Academy of Arts in Berlin. He left Berlin in 1933, just as Adolf Hitler was taking control of Germany as its Chancellor.

Upon returning to Warsaw, Wladyslaw, or Wladek, as most people called him, earned a living touring Poland as a pianist for a year before joining the Polish radio.

For years, he made a name for himself performing on the radio.

And that’s where the events depicted in the opening scene of the movie start.

Henryk Szpilman: Well, you know what's funny?

Wladek, who’s played by Adrian Brody in the film, opens the movie by playing the piano over the radio. It’s Frédéric Chopin’s Nocturne No. 20 in C# Minor.

As he plays, the station is bombed and everyone is forced to evacuate the building.

While