Chopinowskie narracje z „dziecięcego pokoju”. Mistrz w czasopismach i publikacjach dla najmłodszych w XIX wieku – rekonesans

The article discusses the biographical accounts and stories about Frédéric Chopin published in the most representative children’s magazines of the turn of the twentieth century: Wieczory Rodzinne (Family evenings), Przyjaciel Dzieci (Children’s friend) and Moje Pisemko (My little magazine). A kind of complementary role to them is played by the analysis of Janina Sedlaczkówna’s 1891 book Dwaj mistrze: opowiadanie o życiu Artura Grottgera i Fryderyka Chopina (Two maestros: a story about the lives of Artur Grottger and Frédéric Chopin) and Teresa Jadwiga Papi’s stories from 1898 of the same title Dwaj mistrze (Two maestros) about Chopin and Moniuszko. The collected comments and conclusions are presented in relation to twentieth- century biographical texts about Chopin.

Ciało fortepianu – artykulacja doświadczenia cielesnego w korespondencji Fryderyka Chopina

The article focuses on the presentation and analysis of selected excerpts from Frédéric Chopin’s letters from the 1824-1849 period that illustrate their author’s attitude towards physical experiences. In contrast to the “disembodied” reception of the artist that reproduces the “soul of the piano” metaphor, the article describes a broad representation of the composer’s texts on physical appearance, the role of the body in the performance act, living through illness and the oncoming death. The cross-sectional and chronologically ordered study presented in the article shows the evolution of the subject’s attitude towards his own body along the progress of his illness. It is at the same time an illustration of the style and imagery used by the author of the letters while describing specific aspects of physical experience.

Frédéric Chopin, entre exacerbation romantique du modèle vocal et innovations percussives : une mixité dynamique

After some in-depth analysis, for instance, of the first Ballade in G minor (1836), Frédéric Chopin’s music reveals itself as a striking case of a musical equilibrium between two major musical tendencies. On the one hand, his music brings the reaching towards an idealised voice to a full and very convincing development. His musical themes sing most of the time while all the main characteristics of his writing explore continuous spaces, to the extent the piano can achieve. He uses many melodic chromaticisms and broad gestures, very voice-like phrasings ranging from the most delicate pianissimi to the extremely dramatic fortissimo, and other vocal features. On the other hand, his music is unavoidably written for a percussion instrument (the piano), makes much use of rhythms and often dances as well, while his accompaniments are thick with vertical features, accents and other percussive traits. In reality, Chopin’s music is in a striking state of equilibrium between the vocal and the percussive and constitutes a rich case of a mixed status between the two poles. Perhaps for one of the last times in Western music, Chopin is precisely at the point of equilibrium, before the rise of the percussive that gave birth to much of the twentieth century’s music. Chopin’s music will remain a true and much beloved monument of equilibrium.

Narodowy geniusz, czyli portret Fryderyka Chopina w Ostatnim koncercie Stanisławy Fleszarowej-Muskat

The drama Ostatni koncert (The Last Concert) (1960) by Stanisława Fleszarowa-Muskat, originally written as a radio play, sits on the border between popular and fictional literature. The text was intended for a wide audience. The plot focuses on a single event – Frédéric Chopin’s last concert in Warsaw, just before his departure to France, which took place on October 11, 1830. Youth, as it was understood by the romantics, turns out to be a time that shaped Chopin’s artistic personality. In this drama, the independence background is important as it highlights Chopin’s ties to the fate of his homeland, which gives his music a patriotic and revolutionary dimension. In sounds, Chopin’s brilliant music expresses the essence of the Polish soul: its nobility and love of freedom. Chopin’s concert took place at a turning point both for the composer and for the nation whose spirit he expressed through sounds. The drama about Chopin, the national genius, is at the same time a drama about a national community that acquires its identity by identifying with his music.

Fryderyk Chopin i Łesia Ukrainka. Per me

The key word of the essay is per me, as I present in it my own reminiscence from my childhood and youth, which was when I first came into contact with the works of two exceptional maestros: Frédéric Chopin and Lesya Ukrainka (the pen name of Larysa Kosach). Chopin created musical poetry, while Lesya – a rhythmic and melodic verbal poetry. The dialogue of the two authors sounds amazing, uncovering an optimistic apotheosis of survival and the trauma of loss – the states expressed in Chopin’s Marche funèbre and by Lesya Ukrainka in her poetry cycle devoted to this composition.The temporarily mature understanding of per me in both these creations also resulted from the trauma caused by the loss of close relatives (first, the grandad at a very young age) and hence became the drive for discovering the content of art and the means of expression characteristic to various branches of art.

„Odgadnąć i uzewnętrznić wielką tajemnicę […] Chopinowskiej muzyki” – Dusze niektórych melodii. Chopin Cezarego Jellenty

The article constitutes a detailed analysis and interpretation of one of the most important texts written at the turn of the twentieth century, which was devoted to the reception and interpretation of Frédéric Chopin’s compositions in the Young Poland period. In his work, Cezary Jellenta presents the nervous perception of the Polish composer’s music typical of the era and refers in his reflections to numerous works of painting and both Polish and world literature, which perfectly illustrates the fascination with the idea of the correspondence of arts. It is also a testimony to the foundations of the emerging music criticism and evidence of the undying adoration for Frédéric Chopin’s works.

Pieśń ku niebiosom. Echa chopinowskie w twórczości Artura Oppmana

This article presents a cycle of lyrical works entitled Z motywów Chopina (From Chopin’s themes) by Artur Oppman, published in 1893 in the volume Pieśni (Songs). The shape of this cycle had been modified over the years. In 1908, the poet changed its title and expanded it with new works. This change testifies to the evolution of the creative concept and the set of ideas about the function of the composer’s work. Contrary to the opinion rooted in the tradition of research about the conventional approach to the impact of Chopin’s work presented in Oppman’s lyrical poetry, the authors of the article demonstrate a far-reaching originality of the discussed work, focusing their attention both on issues related to understanding the narrowly-defined poetological knowledge and on the problem of translating musical means of expression into the language of a literary work.

Obchody rocznicy Chopina w roku 1910 a integracja narodowa. Chopin a kultura pamięci

The article presents the events of the celebration of Chopin’s 100th birthday in 1910. The article is based on the accounts published in the daily press of the time. The growth of Chopin’s cult in Polish lands culturally connected the nation divided both politically and administratively between three countries (Austria, Prussia and Russia). Despite disruptions by the police that inhibited the organisation of the celebrations in Poznan and Warsaw, the Polish people treated them as a nation-wide occasion and used that time to integrate. The key events were the 50th anniversary of Chopin’s death (1899) and the 100th anniversary of his birthday (1910). The year 1910 was also the 500th anniversary of the Battle of Grunwald which saw the Poles defeat the Germans. Chopin’s year had immense patriotic meaning and integrated the nation living under foreign rule.

XIX. Chopins Fortepiano

Translation of the poem Chopin's Piano by Cyprian Norwid.

Eseistyczna chopinologia Piotra Wierzbickiego

Piotr Wierzbicki’s deep interest in Chopin’s music has been revealed in his volumes of essays published since 1993. What appears to make his music writings exceptional in comparison with other Polish essays dealing with Chopin’s life and work is the prevailing concentration on particular pieces or even single performances chosen by famous pianists. Wierzbicki develops his project of extradisciplinary essayistic Chopinology that blends together the musicological knowledge, critical involvement, philosophical reflection and highly individual psychosomatic experience. Having stated a fundamental difficulty of ‘translating’ sounds into words, he tries to elaborate a ‘musical’ style and form for his writing, e.g. he includes ekphrases full of metaphors and synesthetic figures. This wide array of music-centred properties encourages readers to treat these essays as a starting point for coming up with the question of whether it is possible to differentiate a type of ‘musical’ essay.