Chopin Concert in the Old Town Warsaw

Chopin and Warsaw

Fryderyk Chopin was born in 1810 in Żelazowa Wola, a village west of Warsaw, and moved to the capital as a baby. He grew up here, studied at the Warsaw Conservatory and gave his first public concerts in the city's salons before leaving for Vienna and Paris in 1830. He never returned, yet his music remained full of Polish dance rhythms and longing for his homeland.

Chopin died in Paris in 1849, but at his wish his heart was brought back to Warsaw by his sister and sealed in a pillar of the Holy Cross Church on Krakowskie Przedmieście. For many visitors, a Chopin concert in Warsaw is the most personal way to connect with the city, because this is where his music began.

The recital and the Pleyel piano

The concert takes place in a small historic salon, the kind of room Chopin himself preferred to large halls. The star of the evening is a Pleyel grand piano. Chopin called Pleyel instruments the perfection of the piano and performed on them in Paris, so hearing his pieces on this make brings you close to the sound he knew.

Each recital is played by a pianist with international competition experience, and the programme usually mixes famous works such as the Minute Waltz, nocturnes and the Heroic Polonaise with less familiar pieces. Seats are not numbered within each seating zone; the venue staff guide you to your row. There is no dress code, but many guests like to dress up a little for the evening.

Warsaw Old Town

The concert salon is in Warsaw's Old Town, a UNESCO World Heritage site since 1980. Almost completely destroyed in 1944, it was rebuilt after the war from old paintings, photographs and drawings, so carefully that UNESCO praised it as an exceptional example of reconstruction. The colourful Market Square with its Mermaid statue is the heart of the district.

Arriving early lets you walk from Castle Square with its Sigismund's Column past the Royal Castle to the Barbican walls. The Old Town is easy to reach on foot from the Royal Route or by bus and tram to Plac Zamkowy. The evening concert time makes it simple to combine sightseeing by day with music by night.

Following Chopin's footsteps in the city

If the concert leaves you wanting more, Warsaw offers plenty of Chopin sights. The Chopin Museum in the Ostrogski Palace holds manuscripts, letters and his last piano, and the Holy Cross Church keeps his heart. Along the Royal Route you will find black benches that play his music at the touch of a button.

In summer, free-to-enter open-air recitals take place on Sundays by the Chopin Monument in Łazienki Park. Still, the best way to hear his music is indoors, close to the instrument, which is exactly what this recital offers. Searching for things to do in Warsaw in the evening? Few plans are more fitting than an hour with Chopin.