Composers / Fryderyk Chopin / Places catalog

Jabłonowski Palace

Cultural life was flourishing in Warsaw, the capital of the Kingdom of Poland (Congress Poland), when Fryderyk Chopin was growing up there. Prominent Polish and foreign artists could be heard performing in as many as ten concert halls, and chamber music evenings were held in any number of salons. Celebrated virtuosos, especially pianists and violinists, gave concerts in Warsaw, and vocal music aficionados must have been delighted to hear the most famous singers in Europe, such as Henriette Sontag and Angelica Catalani.

In 1820, Warsaw music lovers were given many opportunities to hear Catalani, an Italian singer famed for her exceptional coloratura. As the Warsaw publication Rozmaitość [Variety] reported on 20 January that year: ‘The famous singer Signora Catalani treated Warsaw to several concerts […] her final concert was in aid of the poor. She was given many tokens of our esteem and accorded special respect, which she had earned by dint not only of her talent but also of her admirable attributes. As one brilliant individual has portrayed her, it is not enough to hear her voice to form a proper opinion of her; one must go to her home and see for oneself how modest she is, despite her fame and the accolades she has received all over Europe’.

Catalani gave four of those captivating concerts at the Town Hall, or Jabłonowski Palace. The young Chopin had the opportunity of meeting the artist personally, as he played for her in the salon of Augustyna Konstantowa Wolicka in early January 1820. Catalani was so moved by the young pianist’s talent that she gave him a gold watch with the following engraved dedication as a memento: Mme Catalani à Frédéric Chopin âgé de 10 Ans. A Varsovie le 3 Janvier 1820 [Mrs Catalani to Fryderyk Chopin, aged 10. Warsaw, 3 January 1820]. Chopin used this a decade later to determine that he was born in 1810. The watch is now on display at the Fryderyk Chopin Museum in Warsaw.

Catalani’s name appears, albeit facetiously, in Chopin’s correspondence four years later. The mischievous, teenage ‘Frycek’ [Fryderyk] wrote in his ‘Kurier Szafarski’ [Szafarnia courier] : ‘On the 29th of the m[onth] of the c[urrent] y[ear], His Lordship Pichon, while driving through Nieszawa, heard a Catalani sitting on a fence, singing something for all she was worth’

Place Category
Antoni Brzezina’s bookshop Publishers / Bookshops
Antonin Manors / Palaces / Castles
Apartment of Dominik Magnuszewski Flats
Apartment of Stefan Witwicki Flats
Apartment of the family of Alfons Brandt Flats
Augsburg Evangelical Church of the Holy Trinity Churches / Places of worship
Belvedere Appearances
Bielany, Camaldolese monastery Churches / Places of worship
Blue Palace Manors / Palaces / Castles
‘Botanika’ Other
Brochów Churches / Places of worship
Brühl Palace Appearances
Buchholtz’s instrument store Other
Casimir Palace Flats
Chopin Monument in Łazienki Park Other
Czapski (Krasiński) Palace Appearances, Manors / Palaces / Castles
Dal Trozzo bookshop Publishers / Bookshops
Duszniki Zdrój Hotels / Inns
Dziewanowski home Flats
Engraving studio of Fr Izydor Józef Cybulski and Antoni Płachecki Education
Franciszek Klukowski bookshop Publishers / Bookshops
Fryderyk Chopin Museum Other
Fryderyk Skarbek’s apartment Flats
Gdańsk Hotels / Inns
Gładkowskis' apartment Flats
Golub Other
Holy Cross Church Churches / Places of worship
Home of Jan Matuszyński Flats
‘Honoratka’ Coffeehouses
Jabłonowski Palace Manors / Palaces / Castles
Jan Böhm’s townhouse Flats
Kalisz Other
Kikół Manors / Palaces / Castles
Kolbergs' apartment Flats
Kowalewo Manors / Palaces / Castles
Kozłowo Manors / Palaces / Castles
Krakow Other
Ludwik Dmuszewski’s house Flats
Magnus's bookshop Publishers / Bookshops
Marceli Celiński’s apartment Flats
Maurycy Mochnacki’s home Flats
Miss Kicka's Salon in Lubomirski Palace Manors / Palaces / Castles
National Theatre Appearances
Obory Churches / Places of worship
Obrowo Manors / Palaces / Castles
Ojców Other
‘Old’ Merchants' Hall Appearances
Patisserie Lourse Coffeehouses
Pieskowa Skała Other
Płock Other
‘Pod Kopciuszkiem’ and ‘Dziurka’ Coffeehouses
Poturzyn Manors / Palaces / Castles
Powązki Cemeteries
Poznań Other
Presbytery of St Jadwiga (Hedwig) parish church in Milanówek Other
Pruszak Palace Manors / Palaces / Castles
Residence of Józef Reinschmidt’s parents Flats
Rościszewo Manors / Palaces / Castles
Sanniki Manors / Palaces / Castles
Saxon Palace Flats
Saxon Post Office Other
Skating rink Other
Sochaczew Other
Sokołowo Manors / Palaces / Castles
Staszic Palace Manors / Palaces / Castles
Strzyżew Manors / Palaces / Castles
Szafarnia Manors / Palaces / Castles
Toruń Other
Turzno Manors / Palaces / Castles
‘U Brzezińskiej’ Coffeehouses
Ugoszcz Manors / Palaces / Castles
Viceroy's Palace Appearances
Vilnius (Wileński) Hotel Hotels / Inns
Visitandine Church of St Joseph Churches / Places of worship
Waplewo Manors / Palaces / Castles
Warsaw Other
Warsaw Charitable Society Appearances
Warsaw Conservatory Appearances
‘Wiejska Kawa’ Coffeehouses
Wieliczka Other
Wojciech Żywny’s apartment Flats
Wola Tollhouse Other
Wrocław Appearances
Żelazowa Wola Flats
Żychlin Manors / Palaces / Castles