It feels like summer in Warsaw lasts as long as the open air concerts in the Royal Łazienki Park. Every year, from May to September the area next to the Fryderyk Chopin Monument (the Polish spelling!) turns into an open air concert hall. It has been a city tradition since 1959. Worth experiencing even if you are not an enthusiast of classical music. Concerts are held every Sunday: at noon and at 4 o’clock PM. The 2018 season ended on the 30th of September and we we have to wait until May 2019!
Meanwile, here you have some of the concerts/garden trivia: the green surroundings you can see around the monument were designed especially as an open air concert hall. The rose garden is an actual theatre parterre for an audience and tall tress behind the monument are a natural, and very dramatic, backdrop.
During the summer Chopin concerts, both the performing artist and the piano are covered by a shade designed especially for Łazienki by Marek Krawczyński: architect, designer and pianist, who was born in Warsaw and then emigrated to Australia. The shade’s shape was inspired by the Sydney Opera House roof shell.
If you miss the concert on Sunday or come to Warsaw before or after the festival, you can perform some Chopin on your own. At the entrance to the park, there is one of the Chopin playing musical benches. The benches were created for the composer’s 200 birthday anniversary in 2010 as part of the tourist itinerary called “Chopin in Warsaw”. The one in the park plays the Polonaise in A major, op. 40 no. 1; just press “PLAY” and enjoy. If you downloaded the app “Selfie with Chopin“, then check Internet accessibility in the park, as it is one of the areas where you can get your personal photo session with the very elegant gentleman and composer.
For more info on the Łazienki park and our guiding tours click sections: Warsaw and Łazienki: Royal Baths of Warsaw. More about the concerts and monument in my post called #selfiewithchopin and national pride
Tours and stories by Agnieszka Kuś 