Romantic Interactions

On 5 April 2019, Anna Dębowska brought the music of Frédéric Chopin to life in a special narrated piano recital that concluded the international conference “Romantic Interactions” at the Polish Academy of Skills in Kraków.

The final session of the conference explored Romantic Europe: The Virtual Exhibition (RÊVE), a digital project mapping how Romanticism has been imagined and preserved across Europe. Presentations on such exhibits as “Shakespeare’s Chair and the Polish Princess”, “Kościuszko’s Mound” and “Chopin’s Piano” highlighted the power of objects, memory and place in the Romantic imagination.

Into this richly historical and cultural context stepped Chopin’s music. The closing recital, narrated by Marcin Jaroszek and performed by Anna Dębowska, followed a carefully chosen selection of Chopin’s works arranged around his relationship with his Scottish patron Jane Stirling. Through words and music, the programme traced the story of Stirling’s support, her role in organising Chopin’s British tour, and the human connections that shaped his late career.

In her review of the event, Prof. Charlotte May (University of Nottingham) emphasised how this performance illuminated the importance of social networks and patronage in the Romantic era, and how central women like Jane Stirling were to the development and circulation of Romantic culture. This theme resonated with many of the conference papers, which had drawn attention to the formative role of women in shaping Romanticism across Europe.

For the audience in Kraków, Anna’s playing offered not only a moving encounter with Chopin’s music, but also a living commentary on the relationships, travels and friendships that lay behind it – a fitting and deeply poetic conclusion to a conference dedicated to Romantic interactions in all their forms.