Frédéric Chopin spent 20 years of his short life in Warsaw (from 1810 to 1830). In each place he lived, learned, gave concerts, or entertained there are the traces of his life. We can visit the Chopin’s places riding a horse-drawn stagecoach. Similar stagecoach used to carry Chopin along the city streets, and drove him to Vienna where he became famous (November 2, 1830). That day he left Poland forever. We will come back to that moment.
We set off from pl. Zamkowy. Not far from it, at Mariensztat, where used to be a Bernardine nuns’ convent, in the Main Music School there was a conservatory where the art of playing instruments was taught. The convent comprised a church, – now St. Anna’s church, which was rebuilt into a concert hall in the first half of the 19th century. In that hall at pl. Zamkowy school performances took place, and Frédéric Chopin, a secondary school student then, participated in the shows. Also in that hall, in 1825, during a concert young Frédéric played impromptu music using a new instrument, an aelopantalon. Jan Długosz had patented the instrument a year before. In short, piano strings, tuners and pedals joined by common keyboard were built into the instrument. Young Chopin liked novelties, and the following year he played another invention: a choralion. The Polish Newspaper after the concert wrote: “The enchanted audience listened to the emotional and fascinating sounds and praised both the virtuoso and the perfect instrument.” During one of the performances, Chopin met his first love, Konstancja Gładkowska, a vocal class student.
There will be lots of music during the trip. When the stagecoach passes winding streets of the Old Town and reaches pl. Krasińskich, we will see there a monument commemorating heroic struggle of Warsaw Upraising soldiers and a modern building of a court. Few people know that the building of the National Theater was located here. It is also good to know that Wojciech Bogusławski, a father of Polish stage, used to work in this modest building. Chopin often visited the theater; once he witnessed a famous duel of two violin masters, Niccolo Paganini and Karol Lipiński. In spring 1830 (March 17) Chopin as a famous pianist performed in the National Theater and played the Piano Concerto in F minor with orchestra and the Fantasy A major, composed a year before. After the concert Maurycy Mochnacki wrote: “Indeed! He will become very famous who has such beginnings in his youth.” Frédéric frequently was unsatisfied of his performances in that theater. He complained to his teacher, Józef Elsner, that his compositions hadn’t been comprehensible for his audience, and the piano he had played hadn’t been adjusted to such a large hall. On October 11 he performed at the National Theater for the last time. As a farewell composition, he played the Piano Concerto in E minor and the Fantasy A major. A few days later he left Poland forever.
We leave pl. Krasińskich and head towards ul. Miodowa. We can still visit famous restaurant “Honoratka”, which was the most favorite place of meetings, political disputes and arguments expressed by patriotic youth in times of Chopin. The composer had also another favorite café. It was one of the oldest and the most popular café in the capital. “Pod Kopciuszkiem” was initially set at ul. Długa, then moved a few times, and finally located in the Pałac Teppera. Many booksellers, lithographers, and printers had their workshops in that part of the city. Chopin often visited them as well as a bookshop and music engraving store owned by Antoni Brzezina.
On our way back along Wierzbowa and ul. Moliera to the Zamkowy Square we will not see the place where Frédéric Chopin took leave of Poland. The place is a former Pałac Wesslów located at an intersection of Krakowskie Przedmieście and ul. Kozia. At present there is Appellate Public Prosecutor’s Office. Next to the Office one may drink coffee in “Telimena” which was also frequently visited by the composer. He departed in a stage-coach on November 2, 1830. Friends bade farewell to him at a tollhouse of the city and sang him a cantata composed by his maestro Elsner especially for that occasion. “Choć opuszczasz nasze kraje, lecz serce twoje wśród nas zostaje. Pamięć twego talentu istnieć u nas będzie. Życzymy ci serdecznie pomyślności wszędzie” (Though you are leaving our country, your heart remains among us. The memory of your talent will exist with us. We wish you happiness wherever you are).
There are more places related to Chopin and we encourage you to take a walk to visit them. Multimedia benches, which are located in the places related to the life and compositions of Frédéric Chopin, can guide further trip.
Remember that the tickets for the trip to Serock on “Zefir” are available in advance sale from Monday (April 26). The tickets are available in advance booking system in the ZTM Passenger Service Center at Centrum Metro station (from Monday to Thursday between 7.00 a.m. and 8.00 p.m., and on Friday between 7.00 a.m. and 5.00).
The tickets for the cruise on the water tram “Wars” are also available in advance sale from Thursday (April 29). The tickets are available in the office of Żegluga Stołeczna at ul. Świętokrzyska 36, room 1, from Monday to Friday between 12 at noon – 3 p.m.
Our info line 194-84 does not deal with ticket reservation or sale.
Published 29 April 2010
Last modified 3 June 2019
