The Fryderyk Chopin Society
Local Branch at Sanniki
THE SANNIKI COMMUNE CULTURE CENTRE
09-540 Sanniki, ul. Warszawska 119, tel. (024) 277 61 70
gcisanniki@op.pl Established: March 1981
Founder and long-time president: Jan Geisler
Current president: Aleksandra Głowacka
Vice-President: Maria Fudała
Membership: 69 coming from different places, including Warsaw (one is Włodzimierz Checko, former editor-in-chief of Gromada Rolnik Polski, co-initiator and co-founder of the Chopin Centre at Sanniki).
The Sanniki Branch’s activity focuses primarily on the dissemination and furtherance of knowledge about Fryderyk Chopin and on the promotion of his music, which is in line with the Society’s mission. In February 1986 the Chopin Society handed over Mateusz Gliński’s collection of music books to its Sanniki Branch. The library is located at the Palace in Sanniki and is available to all interested persons. In 1994 the Sanniki Branch received a medal, commemorating the 60th anniversary of the Fryderyk Chopin Society, for its efforts to preserve Chopin’s legacy, as well as many congratulatory letters, inter alia from Prof. Halina Czerny-Stefańska and First Lady Danuta Wałęsa. In 2005 the Concert Room at the Sanniki Palace was named after the famous pianist Halina Czerny-Stefańska. The unveiling of the plaque took place in July and was highlighted by a concert featuring Elżbieta Stefańska on harpsichord.
The greatest project so far are concerts combined with the recitations of romantic poetry, organised jointly with the Fryderyk Chopin Society of Warsaw and the local culture centre. Polish and foreign pianists and Warsaw theatre actors participate in the Sanniki concerts: Halina Czerny-Stefańska, Piotr Paleczny, Janusz Olejniczak, Andrzej Jasiński, Lidia Grychtołówna, Elżbieta Tarnawska; Gustaw Holoubek, Zbigniew Zapasiewicz, Anna Seniuk, Janusz Zakrzeński, Piotr Adamczyk.
Sanniki is frequently visited by music and poetry lovers who are driven by a desire to find out more about the region’s culture from which Chopin drew so much.
In October 2005 the Sanniki Branch celebrated the 25th anniversary of its establishment and of the concerts (the first was held on 9 February 1981 with Halina Czerny-Stefańska on piano and actor Wojciech Siemion reciting romantic poetry).
The concert season begins in February on the day of Chopin’s birth and ends in October on the day of his death. Concerts are held on the first Sunday of each month. Tickets are available at the Palace before each concert.