The Museum of Karol Szymanowski, one of the most famous Polish composers of the first half of the 20th century, is housed in the Villa Atma in Zakopane.
Karol Szymanowski (1882–1937), the creator of the opera “King Roger” and the Tatra highland ballet “Harnasie”, introduced the folk motives of the Polish Podhale region into music which was influenced by his frequent visits in Zakopane.
Precisely in the Villa Atma, the name of which in Sanskrit means “the peace of the soul”,
in the years from 1930 to 1936, the great composer lived, worked and took rest.
The mementos of Szymanowski are gathered in four rooms of the museum. The study in which he created his last works, among others: “Kurpie Songs”, “Violin Concerto No.2”, “Symphony No. 4 for Piano and Orchestra” was reconstructed. The visitors may see his concert attire, personal objects, decorations, letters and diplomas and the composer’s death mask. There are musician’s photographs hanging on the walls, from his childhood to the last moments of his life and the photographs of his friends and acquaintances. The attention is drawn to the portrait of Szymanowski by Stanisław Ignacy Witkiewicz and paintings by Maja Berezowska.
The unusual atmosphere of this place gives the impression that the place is haunted by the ghost of the greatest Polish composer after Frederic Chopin.
Small piano concerts entitled “Evenings at Atma” are organised here every month. And since 1977, the Days of the Music of Karol Szymanowski have been organised here in July.
www.muzeum.krakow.pl/Muzeum-Szymanowskiego.80.0.html /EN,DE/
