Concert from the Sound Politics series, entitled “Mickiewicz in a Musical Salon”

We invite you to another concert from the Sound Politics series, organized by the Faculty of Political Science and International Studies of the University of Warsaw and the Faculty of Culture and Arts of the University of Warsaw. The concert is entitled “Mickiewicz in a Musical Salon”

Łukasz Długosz – flute
Marek Toporowski – piano

The concert program focuses on works by Polish composers active in Paris during the Great Emigration, belonging to the rich heritage of salon music. In times when gramophones did not yet exist, the demand for such repertoire was enormous: paraphrases of arias from currently popular operas, dances, and various miniatures were composed, and salon concerts were not only the domain of young ladies from good families but also of famous virtuosos like Chopin and Liszt. A vast salon repertoire – including operatic paraphrases for piano and flute or violin – was left by Edward Wolf, Józef and Henryk Wieniawski’s uncle, who was active in Paris.

The program also includes 2 cycles – Mazurkas and Waltzes – recently discovered in the Bavarian State Library, authored by a certain A. Napoleon Mickiewicz. There are strong indications that this name conceals our national bard, who, as an admirer of Bonaparte, signed early letters and poems in this manner and was thus registered in the student register of Vilnius University. More on this topic will be shared by Barbara Świderska, who found the composition manuscripts in the BSB.

Admission to the event is free, but due to the limited number of places, registration is required via the form: https://forms.gle/o2r5FF4SMuocPS9b8