Paderewski was one of the architects of Poland's independence, which the country regained in 1918 after more than 120 years of foreign rule.
At the end of World War I, the Allied leaders known as the Big Four—US President Woodrow Wilson, French Prime Minister Georges Clemenceau, British Prime Minister David Lloyd George and Italian Prime Minister Vittorio Emanuele Orlando—praised Paderewski in a joint letter, writing: "No country could wish for a better advocate."
In 1919, in his role as Poland's prime minister and foreign minister, Paderewski co-chaired the country's delegation to the Paris Peace Conference and signed the Treaty of Versailles.
He died in New York on June 29, 1941, and was buried at Arlington National Cemetery following a decision by US President Franklin D. Roosevelt.
In 1992, his remains were brought to Poland and reburied at St. John's Cathedral in Warsaw.
His heart is interred in a bronze sculpture at the US National Shrine of Our Lady of Czestochowa near Doylestown, Pennsylvania.
Paderewski is remembered as one of the most influential figures in modern Polish history. Hailed by his contemporaries as the greatest pianist since Franz Liszt, he rose to international fame at the turn of the 20th century and became one of the world's most celebrated musicians.
Alongside his career as a pianist, Paderewski devoted considerable time to composing, often writing works for his own concert performances.
His Minuet in G major remains one of his best-known works and is widely seen as his signature piece.
His Sarabande and Krakowiak fantastique are also among his most notable compositions. His opera Manru remains the only Polish opera ever staged at New York's Metropolitan Opera.
His other major works include Variations in A major, the Polonia Symphony and a piano concerto.
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