author: IRENA FRACZEK 

 
2019 Polish Fest photos coming soon 

 

LIBERACE'S "BIRD-OF-PARADISE" PERFORMANCE JACKET 
on display in Madison through July 28, 2019

 "Liberace, the flamboyant pianist, may have made a name for himself in glitzy Las Vegas, but he grew up in West Allis, a suburb of blue-collar Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The Midwestern performer was especially famous for his outlandish costumes, one of which now resides at the Wisconsin Historical Museum. This off-white jacket, embroidered with beads and sequins, features birds of paradise and weighs a daunting 6 pounds 5.5 ounces."

So begins the historical essay on the Wisconsin Historical Society website about the flamboyant pianist known for his exuberant showmanship and glamorous lifestyle. The essay explores his Wisconsin roots, but Liberace's Polish connections are particularly noteworthy.

Władziu (known also as Wally or Walter) Valentino Liberace was born to Polish mother and Italian father in 1919. He started playing piano at four, and at seven, he began to study the technique of his idol, Ignacy Paderewski (1860-1941), a world-class pianist very well known in the United States, a statesmen and one of the architects of Polish Independence regained in 1918. They met in person for the first time when the eight years old Liberace went backstage to express his feverish reverence for Paderewski's virtuosity after his concert in Milwaukee (Paderewski later visited the family's home).

The rest was history... Although critics were often unsympathetic to his showmanship in their reviews, Liberace became a true star - loved by his huge adoring audiences and at the peak-of his career, enjoying the status of the highest-paid entertainer in the world. 

Liberace 1968 in one of his dazzling outfits (Photo by Alan Light, CC BY 2.0)