The exceptional atmosphere of the international "CHOPIN W BARWACH JESIENI" / "CHOPIN IN THE COLORS OF AUTUMN" Festival derives from the special venue where the event takes place: the Romantic era, wooden Hunting Palace of the Radziwill Princes in the town of Antonin, located near the city of Kalisz. It is here that the young Frederick Chopin spent the years 1827 and 1829. The festival has a twenty-two year old history and its status is confirmed by the fact that it plays host to the world's most outstanding contemporary piano performers.

The exceptional atmosphere of the international "CHOPIN W BARWACH JESIENI" / "CHOPIN IN THE COLORS OF AUTUMN" Festival derives from the special venue where the event takes place: the Romantic era, wooden Hunting Palace of the Radziwill Princes in the town of Antonin, located near the city of Kalisz. It is here that the young Frederick Chopin spent the years 1827 and 1829. The festival has a twenty-two year old history and its status is confirmed by the fact that it plays host to the world's most outstanding contemporary piano performers. This year's edition will feature appearances by pianists Viola Labanow, Gabriela Montero, Maurizio Baglini, Krzysztof Jablonski, and Andrzej Tatarski, as well as a number of other musicians, including violinist Krzysztof Jakowicz, cellist Tomasz Strahl, guitarist Anton Biroulia, and vocalists Joanna Kozlowska, Justyna Stepien, Joanna Wos, Zbigniew Macias, and Krzysztof Szmyt.

Frederick Chopin wrote about his sojourn in Antonin in 1829 in a letter to his friend Tytus Wojciechowski: "I was there for a week. You will not believe how good it was at his (Antoni Radziwill's) home. I took the last coach back, barely succeeding in my efforts to kindly refuse the opportunity to stay there longer. (...) Two young princesses named Ewa were present. They were exceptionally courteous and kind, both very musical and sensitive beings. The old, vigorous duchess knows that status at birth does not make the man and she is so bonding in her behavior that there is no way not to like her. You know how much he likes music. He showed me his Faust and I found so many things there that were so well thought out, even brilliant, that I could never have expected as much from the master of the house. (...) While there, I wrote Alla polacca with a cello section. Nothing but shiny trinkets, for salons, for the ladies." ("Alla polacca" is otherwise known as the "POLONEZ C-DUR OP. 3 NA FORTEPIAN I WIOLONCZELE / POLONAISE IN C MAJOR OP. 3 FOR PIANO AND CELLO", to which Frederick Chopin wrote an introduction the following year.)

The palace in Antonin includes a space known as the Frederick Chopin Music Salon which seems to exude the atmosphere of the Romantic era. It contains paintings and drawings of the composer, stylish period furniture, and a 19th century grand piano. Adjacent to this room is the Music Library, which holds a collection of various published editions of Chopin's works, duplicates of original autographs by the genius composer, and a variety of other music materials published in the 19th century. Near the palace, at the edge of a meadow, stands a sculpture of the composer's head by Marian Owczarski, which was unveiled in 1979. The memory of Chopin is cultivated at this venue not only in museum-like forms. His music can often be heard at the palace even when the venue is not playing host to the festival. Regular concerts are organized by the Ostrow Cultural Society and the Centre for Culture and Art in Kalisz. It is also worth mentioning that Chopin later dedicated his "TRIO NA FORTEPIAN, SKRZYPCE I WIOLONCZELE G-MOLL OP. 8 / TRIO FOR PIANO, VIOLIN AND CELLO IN G MINOR OP. 8" to his one time host, Antoni Radziwill.

Additional information: Centre for Culture and Art / Centrum Kultury i Sztuki
ul. Lazienna 6, Kalisz
tel. (+48 62) 764 58 93, 765 25 01
www.ckis.kalisz.pl

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