On June 11th took place a concert “Word – Sound – Dance” in Adam Mickiewicz Museum in Śmiełów. It celebrated the Year of Romanticism in Poland, a literary Epoque started by Mickiewicz in 1822.
The event started at 4 P.M. with a meeting with Tomasz Man, who explained Mickiewicz’s connections to Śmiełów. He also introduced his newly-written play about Maria Chełkowska, the last owner of the manor in Śmiełów. At the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th, it was the centre of Polish culture despite strong Germanization – Maria invited there many famous Polish figures such as Henryk Sienkiewicz, gen. Józef Haller and Ignacy Jan Paderewski. She also set the ground for making the manor a museum of Adam Mickiewicz.
After the introduction started the concert by ‘Amadeus’ Chamber Orchestra of Polish Radio. The orchestra is conducted by Agnieszka Duczmal. British journal “The Independent” listed it as one of the best chamber orchestras in the world. They give concerts in the majority of European countries as well as in the US, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Kuwait and Japan.
At the end of the show, guests danced to a polonaise, a traditional Polish dance that plays a big part in Adam Mickiewicz’s epic poem “Pan Tadeusz”. You can see the dance below.