Tajemnica szafiru cejlońskiego – 2 tanga Arnolda Lewaka (Aston-Fogg) – Lili Larys – 7 minut !

In English: The secret of the Ceylon sapphire – 2 tangos by Arnold Lewak – Lili Larys – 7 minutes! The story would seem quite ordinary: a musician fell in love with a dancer. But the people involved and the importance that such a relationship may have for the current recipient years later, may make this thing special. Today, almost everything that may concern the Polish interwar period and figures related to the culture and art of that time - tempts us ! Lili Larys-Maliszewska, the mother of the channel host, a dancer active in her profession in the years 1926-1933, had her own accompanists who accompanied her in her performances. “I literally travelled all over Poland then!“ – she used to say. She also mentioned the names of two musicians once and they remained in my memory: Zygmunt Karasiński and Arnold Lewak, among probably others. The latter accompanied her in Zakopane, Kraków, Katowice, Łódź and - for the longest time - in Poznań. It was there that he dared to give Lili his gift: a large ring with a Ceylon sapphire, in gold. And with an engraved inscription inside, two words: Arnold - Poznań. No date. This ring began to appear in the Lili’s photographs at the end of 1932. It is difficult to judge the connection here, but it is a fact that it was then that the song “Gwiazdeczka“ (A Little Star) was created in the musician’s thoughts, with the words of Igo Kranowski: “You are my little star, my sweet girl / You intoxicate me with your charm, I love you so much! … “ . My mother wore this ring, as I remember, very rarely and only on special occasions, its frame was already damaged (“It happened before the war - I caught on something in an unlit taxi while rushing to a ball...“). It was not long before Mom passed away that I had the courage to ask who Arnold was, the one from her sapphire ring. – Lewak ! He was in love with me, she replied and made a gesture as if it had no particular significance for her. The fact is that at the time of that donation, Lili Larys had already formed plans, both personal and professional. However, after a few years... although one cannot be sure of the reasons, but the coincidence can be noticed, Arnold Lewak writes a tango with the words of Stanisław Laudan: “You will one day come back to me, although you left without words / And our great happiness will return with you again... ...” Nothing like what the song describes happened. And although from 1945, both the former dancer and her accompanist will live in the same city, Katowice, each of them will already have their lives settled and they will not contact each other again. In the video, a series of photographs of the heroine of the story, most of them previously unpublished, two recordings of A. Lewak’s tangos, as above, and - a Ceylon sapphire from 1932 are presented ! I would like to thank my young colleague @ , for encouraging me to take up this topic and present it in this form. Jerzy Płaczkiewicz Katowice, Sept. 2023. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *