Paderewski’s Body Will Be Sent to Poland : Music: A judge rules the pianist, statesman may be buried in his native land. A fan had sued to block removal from Arlington National Cemetery.

The body of Ignace Jan Paderewski, the Polish pianist, composer and statesman, will be returned to his native land, a federal judge ruled Friday.

A Paderewski fan named Mark J. Seidenberg had filed a lawsuit attempting to enjoin the American and Polish governments from removing the pianist’s body from Arlington National Cemetery, where it has rested since his death in New York in 1941, and shipping it back to Poland.

Although “there is no doubt the plaintiff’s sentiments are heartfelt,” said U.S. District Judge Thomas Ellis, he agreed with the government, which had argued that Seidenberg had no standing in the case.

Seidenberg, a 45-year-old Los Angeles native who works as a shipping supervisor with the Department of Agriculture, said he filed the lawsuit because of his love for Paderewski’s music and because research into the pianist’s life had convinced him that Paderewski wanted to be buried in a family crypt outside Paris.

Paderewski died at the Hotel Buckingham in New York City on June 29, 1941. Because of the Nazi occupation of Europe, President Franklin D. Roosevelt allowed that his remains be laid to rest at the base of the memorial for the battleship Maine at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia.

Seidenberg said he opposed the move in part because Paderewski, who came to the aid of many Jewish artists fleeing the Nazi terror before and during World War II, is to be buried alongside two notorious anti-Semites: Marshall Joseph Pilsudski, who was dictator of Poland in the 1920s and 1930s, and Roman Dmowski, a far-right wing politician and nationalist leader. Pilsudski, a political rival, even banned Paderewski’s writings at one time.

“The Polish government plans to bury Paderewski between two people he despised in life,” said Seidenberg, who acted as his own attorney. “What could be more dishonorable than that? I always thought that where people get buried, what’s paramount are the wishes of the decedent--he chose to bury his wife and son in Montmorency, outside Paris.”

Seidenberg said he had been a fan of Paderewski’s music since he had been a piano student living in Hollywood.

Born in 1860, Paderewski emerged as one of the great romantic keyboard figures, concertizing extensively in the United States. His compositions include a symphony and other longer works, but he is remembered mainly for his piano music. A staunch Polish patriot, he devoted much of his considerable earnings to the fight for Polish independence.

In 1919, he was named Poland’s first premier and foreign minister, but he resigned nine months later to resume his musical career in Europe and America. He led the Paris-based Polish government in exile during the Nazi occupation.

According to Polish leaders, Paderewski said in his will he wanted to be returned to Poland when his native country was free.

Paderewski’s remains are due to leave Arlington on June 27, the 51st anniversary of his death. President Bush plans to return the body to Poland when he visits Warsaw on July 5th.

Seidenberg could not be reached following the decision, but a New York attorney who was advising him in the case said an appeal was being considered.

But not all of Paderewski will be making the trip overseas. In keeping with Polish tradition, the composer’s heart was removed from his body shortly after death. It sat in a jar in a New York mortuary for several years, then was placed in a mausoleum in Brooklyn. In 1968, it was moved to a large Polish-American shrine outside Doylestown, Pa., where it is now encased in a bronze relief of the pianist in performance. There are no plans to return it.

Beale, a special correspondent, reported from Alexandria and Beigel, a Times staff writer, reported from Los Angeles.