Between the Vistula and the Bug: Remarks on the History of the Musical Culture in the Polish Territory during the Period of the Partitions of Poland

Mieczysława DEMSKA-TRĘBACZ

Abstract

The musical culture of the Lublin region owes its richness and multilayeredness to social, ethnic, political and geographical factors. The study discusses musical life in selected manorial centers (Puławy, Radzyń, Gościeradów, and Opole) in the region in the first half of the 19th century, the period when the Polish state did not exist and the Polish lands were divided among the Austrian monarchy, the Kingdom of Prussia, and the Russian Empire. The promoters of music in the manor houses in question ensured that the musicians they hired and invited were excellent performers. Thus, it was primarily the aristocratic milieu of the region that fostered its musical culture. However, during the twilight years of magnates’ residences, Lublin became the leading center of the musical life in the region. The study scrutinizes the relevant parts of the biographies of three eminent musicians from Lublin: the singer Antonina Miklaszewicz-Campi, an outstanding prima donna of the Vienna Court Opera during the reign of Stanisław August Poniatowski and later, during the times of the Grand Duchy of Warsaw, as well as two violinists, Stanisław Serwaczyński and Henryk Wieniawski, virtuosos whose performances were widely appreciated throughout Europe. Serwaczyński was also a highly valued teacher of music, and Wieniawski, a composer active in the period between the November and the January Insurrections, was among his students. The study focuses, among others, on the style of Wieniawski’s compositions, among which were ones written “for himself,” as well as those intended for larger audiences.