The Fryderyk Chopin Institute

🌴 The three-month trip to Mallorca, which was intended to bring relief to Chopin’s ailments, ended up requiring three months of convalescence – a period the composer and George Sand spent in Marseille. The writer, who had devotedly nursed her companion through his illness, probably sensed that even after such a long course of treatment, he still needed rest. This time, the place closest to her heart was to serve as a refuge – the family estate in Nohant.

On 1 June 1839, after a week-long journey, the pair and Sand’s two children finally arrived in the countryside. While still in Marseille, the writer had ordered a piano from Pleyel, which was to await Chopin at home as a surprise.

✒️ ‘I am now at home, happy’, she wrote to Charlotte Marliani upon her arrival. ‘after six months of wandering by land and sea. … Chopin … is doing well, though he is thinner, more delicate and more nervous …. I have high hopes for the months he will spend in Nohant, and he wishes to stay here as long as possible’.

Under her roof, Chopin quickly regained his vitality and creative energy. That summer in Nohant, he would compose the Nocturne in G major, Op. 37 No. 2, three Mazurkas from Op. 41, and work on completing the Ballade in F major, Op. 38, the Scherzo in C sharp minor, Op. 39, and the Sonata in B flat minor, Op. 35.

The writer’s house would also become his refuge for the next seven years – it was here that his most important works and happiest memories would be created, close to the ideal of family life for which he had always longed.

🎥 You can watch a short guided tour of the George Sand House, which we filmed to mark the start of the official collaboration between Nohant and the Birthplace of Fryderyk Chopin in Żelazowa Wola in 2023:
https://youtu.be/vgQghsQRuOo

✒️ ‘You’ve missed five of Miss Sonntag’s concerts! – But don’t worry, you’ll get plenty more chances to hear her if it’s true that you’re coming on the 13th. … You won’t believe how much pleasure I had in getting to know her more closely – that is, on the sofa in the room, for you know we don’t go any further – this divine messenger, as some of the local enthusiasts have rightly called her’ – Chopin, like the people of Warsaw in general, spent June of 1830 by enthusiastically following concerts by the European opera star – Henrietta Sontag.

The composer attended as many as 8 of her 11 concerts. He also met her in person. He was introduced to Miss Sontag by Father Radziwiłł, whom he had helped to arrange ‘variations on a Ukrainian dumka’ for her to sing. He remained captivated by her singing and her person. In a letter to Tytus Woyciechowski, he rhapsodised about her performances, the consultations she gave to students at the Warsaw Conservatoire, her refined manners, beauty, and singing technique, whilst demonstrating his knowledge of vocal art:

✒️ ‘Miss Sontag is not beautiful, but extremely charming. She charms everyone with her voice, which is not particularly powerful – as we usually hear it – but is exceptionally well-trained; her diminuendos are the very best, her portamentos lovely, and her scales, especially the chromatic ones, absolutely delightful when ascending’.

Read more about the singer’s visit to Warsaw in the article ‘Henriette Sontag made it to Fischbach’ – an excerpt from Henryk Nowaczyk’s book ‘Chopin’s Travels. Glosses to a Biography’ (translated into English by John Comber) on the NIFC blog 👇
https://blog.nifc.pl/en/artykul/43-henriette-sontag-made-it-to-fischbach

🖼 : Henrietta Sontag as Donna Anna in ‘Don Giovanni by Mozart, Paul Delaroche, oil on canvas, 1831.

You can now visit the exhibition ‘Art Arises out of Everyday Life. George Sand and Fryderyk Chopin on Mallorca’ in Palma! 🖼️🌴

The exhibition is open from 21 May to 27 October at the Gothic Castell de Bellver, one of the most popular tourist attractions in the capital of Mallorca.

The exhibition combines the story of a brilliant musician and an outstanding writer, their creative work and everyday life, with a presentation of the historical context and an in-depth exploration of Fryderyk Chopin’s Preludes, a musical masterpiece composed during Chopin’s stay in Mallorca.

Fryderyk Chopin and George Sand spent three months in Mallorca in late 1838 and early 1839. Initially, they lived in Palma, but later had to leave due to legal constraints, as well as the hostility of some local residents and the authorities towards the composer, who was suffering from tuberculosis. Chopin and Sand then took up residence in an abandoned Carthusian monastery in Valldemossa. Today, the cell they occupied houses a small museum containing numerous priceless mementoes, including several of Chopin’s musical manuscripts. The exhibition in Palma will serve as a counterpoint and commentary to the display in Valldemossa, a destination so popular with tourists.

📌 More information about the exhibition: https://muzeum.nifc.pl/pl/muzeum/wystawy-czasowe/116_sztuka-wyrasta-z-codziennosci-george-sand-i-fryderyk-chopin-na-majorce/3

🤝 The exhibition is the latest exhibition and research project organised by the Fryderyk Chopin Museum as part of a cooperation agreement on the promotion of Chopin’s heritage, concluded between The Fryderyk Chopin Institute and the Palma City Council.
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Curator of the Fryderyk Chopin Museum: Dr Seweryn Kuter
Directora General de Patrimoni i Interpretació de la Ciutat: Pilar Ribal Simó
Exhibition curators:
– Urszula Król, Dr Seweryn Kuter / Fryderyk Chopin Museum (NIFC)
– Dr Artur Szklener / music curator (NIFC)
Content collaboration: Konrad Tołłoczko, Mariola Wojtkiewicz
Organizational collaboration: Maribel Molina Cano, Mariola Wojtkiewicz, Konrad Tołłoczko, Jędrzej Mróz, Marek Kostawski, Diana Długosz-Jasińska, Marta Zaborowska, Agnieszka Rzeszotek

Ajuntament de Palma

Today is Kate Liu’s birthday. We wish her all the very best! 🎂

The American pianist won over audiences at the 17th Chopin Competition in Warsaw in 2015, where she won third prize and the Polish Radio Prize for the best performance of mazurkas.

Mazurkas, Op. 56, Ballade in F minor, Andante Spianato and Grand Polonaise in E flat major, and Sonata, Op. 58 have been released on Kate Liu’s album from the NIFC’s Blue Series, which presents interpretations by participants in past editions of the Chopin Competition. The album is available to stream – we invite you to have a listen! You can also find the CD in our online shop.

🎧 Listen: https://e-muzyka.link/ChopinMazurkiOp56BalladaFMinorSonataBMinorOp58
💿 Buy: https://sklep.nifc.pl/pl/produkt/76747-chopin-mazurki-op-56-ballada-f-moll-sonata-op-58

🖼 : 19th Chopin and His Europe Festival, 26 August 2023, symphonic concert: Kate Liu, Eric Lu, Dang Thai Son, London Mozart Players, Marek Moś. Photo: Wojciech Grzędziński / NIFC.

Would you like to discover the secrets of playing period pianos? The International Masterclass for Young Pianists in Radziejowice (16–23 August 2026) offers an opportunity to explore period instruments under the guidance of leading experts.

👥 Course participants who apply for the ‘mixed’ profile will be able to take masterclasses on both period and modern pianos. This year, the lecturer on historical piano will be Ronald Brautigam – one of the leading Dutch pianists, renowned for his consummate mastery of both modern and period instruments.

The opportunity to hone one’s skills on pianos from Chopin’s era sets the Radziejowice course apart from other events in Poland and abroad. It also forms part of the Institute’s ongoing initiative to restore the authentic sound of the works of Chopin and his contemporaries, a key element of which is the International Chopin Competition on Period Instruments, organised in Warsaw since 2018.

📌 Visit our website for detailed information about this year’s course: https://muzyka.nifc.pl/pl/kursy-mistrzowskie/artykul/2

📨 The deadline for applications is 21 June 2026.

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📷 12th International Masterclass for Young Pianists in Radziejowice. Photos by K. Mozolewski / NIFC.

🎥🎹 Live stream of David Khrikuli’s Sunday recital in Żelazowa Wola
On Sunday 24 May, we invite you to a musical encounter with a finalist of the 19th Chopin Competition. David Khrikuli will perform at the Birthplace of Fryderyk Chopin at noon and 3 p.m. CEST. The noon recital will be streamed on The Fryderyk Chopin Institute’s page and on YouTube: https://youtu.be/csg5TzATuZY.

Recital programme:
🎶 Polonaise in F sharp minor, Op. 44
🎶 Impromptu in G flat major, Op. 51 No. 3
🎶 Waltz in A-flat major, Op. 42
🎶 Mazurka in A minor, Op. 59 No. 1
🎶 Scherzo in B flat minor, Op. 31 No. 2
🎶 Nocturne in B major, Op. 62 No. 1
🎶 Scherzo in E major, Op. 54 No. 4
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See you at the broadcast 🐸🎹!

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✨👥 Recitals at the Birthplace of Fryderyk Chopin in Żelazowa Wola take place every Saturday and Sunday at 12:00 p.m. and 3:00 p.m. CEST until the end of September. Detailed information about the artists and the programmes of upcoming concerts is available at: https://muzyka.nifc.pl/pl/koncerty/kategorie.
🎟️ Admission to the concerts is included in the ticket entitling visitors to the Park in Żelazowa Wola. Buy the ticket at: https://bilety.nifc.pl/
We invite you to join us for these musical encounters with the works of Fryderyk Chopin, performed by the most outstanding young pianists!