Feel invited to the 65th season of Chopin Concerts in the Royal Łazienki, which will start on 19 May 2024. Recitals at the foot of the Monument to Chopin will be held every Sunday at 12.00 and 16.00. Hear pianists of worldwide renown, including outstanding musicians of the younger generation.
Summer recitals will take place in the Royal Łazienki until 29 September. Audiences will enjoy recitals by 40 finest pianists from Poland, France, Italy, Japan, China, South Korea, Vietnam and the United States. They won prizes in numerous competitions, including the International Chopin Piano Competition and are known for their great artistic achievements.
65th SEASON OF CHOPIN CONCERTS IN THE ROYAL ŁAZIENKI
19 May
12.00 - Krzysztof Jabłoński, Sinfonia Varsovia, 16.00 - Leonora Armellini (Italy), Sinfonia Varsovia
26 May
12.00 - Michelle Candotti (Italy), 16.00 - Miyuji Kaneko (Japan)
2 June
12.00 - Marek Drewnowski, 16.00 - Julia Łozowska
9 June
12.00 - Magdalena Lisak, 16.00 - Aleksandra Świgut
16 June
12.00 - Karolina Nadolska, 16.00 - Adam Goździewski
23 June
12.00 - Maria Gabryś-Heyke, 16.00 - Piotr Pawlak
30 June
12.00 - Andrzej Wierciński, 16.00 - Hyuk Lee (South Korea)
7 July
12.00 - Rafał Łuszczewski, 16.00 - Beata Bilińska
14 July
12.00 - Eryk Parchański, 16.00 - Ikuyo Nakamichi (Japan)
21 July
12.00 - Radosław Sobczak, 16.00 - Julia Kociuban
28 July
12.00 - Hao Rao (China), 16.00 - Adam Kałduński
4 August
12.00 - Trung viet Nguyen (Vietnam), 16.00 - Kamila Sacharzewska
11 August
12.00 - Joanna Ławrynowicz, 16.00 - Avery Gagliano (USA)
18 August
12.00 - Tokiko Kobayakawa (Japan), 16.00 - Toshiki Ishii (Japan)
25 August
12.00 - Jakub Kuszlik, 16.00 - Tomasz Marut
1 September
12.00 - Aleksandra Bobrowska, 16.00 - Zbigniew Raubo
8 September
12.00 - François Dumont (France), 16.00 - Jan Wachowski
15 September
12.00 - Mateusz Dubiel, 16.00 - Mateusz Tomica
22 September
12.00 - Jan Zieliński, 16.00 - Filip Wojciechowski
29 September
12.00 - Rinko Kobayashi (Japan/Poland), 16.00 - Karol Radziwonowicz
History of Chopin Concerts at the Royal Łazienki
The Chopin Concerts, which in collaboration with the Royal Łazienki have been organised by the Stołeczna Estrada cultural institution and the Fryderyk Chopin Society, are one of the oldest music events in the capital city and its cultural landmark.
For the first time the recitals by the Monument to Chopin were organized in 1959, shortly after the reconstruction of the monument devoted to the eminent Polish composer. The monument itself saw a turbulent history. The idea of its erection arose in 1889, on the 40th anniversary of death of Frederic Chopin. Nevertheless, at the time Poland was under the partitions and the Russian authorities effectively blocked the initiative. Only ten years later, Warsaw artistic circles managed to organise a competition for the design of the statue. The international jury considered as the most interesting the innovative work of Wacław Szymanowski, a prominent Polish sculptor. This verdict raised numerous objections and discussions. Despite that, it was possible to execute the awarded design and the monument was officially unveiled on 14 November 1926; it was a monumental vision of inspired Chopin sitting under a broken willow tree.
In 1939, when Warsaw came under Nazi occupation, the performance of Chopin music was banned and in the following year (1940) the monument was blown up. Only after the end of the war, in the ruins of the Wrocław rail car factory, the head of Chopin from the Łazienki sculpture was found and the work of Szymanowski was recreated on the basis a gypsum model. The monument to Frederic Chopin stood in its former place in 1958, and a year later visitors could enjoy the music of the Polish composer.
Over the years, the Łazienki concerts underwent various modifications. Eventually, the Museum adopted a formula of classical recitals taking place every Sunday from mid-May to the end of September. This choice was dictated by a huge popularity of the concerts at the Royal Łazienki. That popularity was also due to the selection of artists who treated a performance by the Monument to Chopin as an honour and ignored some inconveniences related to weather conditions for example. One of the performances which went down in history was that of Halina Czerny-Stefańska who completed her recital despite the fact that she was stung by a wasp.