Poland has been celebrating the 'Year Of Szymanowski'. We admit that it's not the easiest name to pronounce (Shiman-off-ski). But that tongue-twisting name is now regarded as one of the most hallowed in the history of music. Only Chopin stands between Mr S and the crown of greatest Polish composer of all time.
Curiously enough, Szymanowski used to live right here in Zakopane. He owned a villa called Koliba where he was visited by some of the most vivid characters in Poland's pre-war avant-garde. The composer looked to the mountains and their folklore for inspiration, and the Highlands loomed large in many of his works. That said, Szymanowski was already an ill man by the time he settled in Zakopane - the road that brought him here was a bumpy one.
The composer continued to write music, but after seven years his health finally gave in, and he passed away at a French sanatorium in 1937. He was 55. Szymanowski was buried at Cracow's Pantheon of Honour, where a Highland band played over his tomb.
The Karol Szymanowski Museum
Willa Koliba,
Ul. Kasprusie 19, Zakopane
Open: Tuesday - Sunday 10:00-15:30 (Closed Mondays)
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