Literature reflecting on Frederic Chopin’s visits to the spa towns of western Czechia

Abstract

The composer Frederic Chopin is connected with Czechia through a number of visits (in Carlsbad, Prague, Děčín, Teplice, and Marienbad) which he spent joyfully meeting his family, who lived in the Russian-occupied Poland. In Czechia, he met and fell deeply in love with Maria Wodzińska, who, unfortunately, did not reciprocate his feelings. In Prague, he became acquainted with Czech national revivalists (Václav Hanka, among others) and with famous composers of the time. In Vienna, the centre of the Habsburg monarchy, he met many Czech composers and befriended the violinist Josef Slavík. Chopin was invited to play in several Czech castles; he received a particularly warm welcome in Děčín. His music teachers in Warsaw were of Czech origin. Chopin’s numerous relationships with Czechia inspired the establishment of the Frederic Chopin Society, the international festival held in Mariánské Lázně (formerly Marienbad), and even musicological symposia. Many Czechs – poets, fiction writers, literary historians, musicians, and music scholars – emphasised how Chopin and his music influenced them. They were inspired by the many notable facts associated with Chopin’s visits and experiences in Czechia and in other locations throughout the Austrian Empire; by his romantic life, democratic thinking, personal qualities, and artistic skills. Various interesting literary works include poetry collections by Kamil Bednář, Jiří Karen, Josef Pávek, Oldřich Zemek, Karla Erbová, and a collection of three novellas by Vladislav Mareš. Apart from writing about Czech Chopin-related works and translating key Polish chopiniana into Czech, the author of this study focuses mainly on the interpretation of the relations between literature and music in the works of the these Polish writers: Jarosław Iwaszkiewicz, Tadeusz Łopalewski, Janina Siwkowska, Maria Kuncewiczowa, Juliusz Kaden-Bandrowski, Jerzy Broszkiewicz, Mira Jaworczakowa and more.