Karol Szymanowski’s Autographs Join the University of Warsaw Library – Official Handover Ceremony

The University of Warsaw Library warmly invites you to a special ceremony celebrating the addition of valuable manuscripts to its collection – musical autographs by Karol Szymanowski originating from the private archive of composer Adam Sołtys.

The event will take place on November 3, 2025, at 5:00 PM, offering guests a unique opportunity to view the newly acquired items alongside other rarely displayed Szymanowski manuscripts. The program will include a talk by Dr. Michał Piekarski (Institute for the History of Science, Polish Academy of Sciences), who will explore the fascinating and complex history of this collection, as well as a short concert of songs by Karol Szymanowski, thematically linked to the purchased manuscripts.

Admission is free!

The University of Warsaw Library is proud of its outstanding archive of Karol Szymanowski materials—musical manuscripts, writings, letters, documents, and photographs. Most of the collection was assembled during the dramatic years of World War II and the occupation by musicologist Stanisław Golachowski. Since then, additions have been few and far between.

Original documents from the composer’s legacy rarely appear on the antiquarian and auction market today. The Library was therefore delighted to accept the opportunity to acquire a set of valuable manuscripts held by the family of Adam Sołtys—a Polish composer, educator, and musical life organizer active in Lviv, who had personal ties with Szymanowski.

The acquisition primarily includes sketches of Szymanowski’s songs (Children’s Rhymes, Slopiewnie, Bunte Lieder), which not only shed light on his creative process but also, crucially, complete previously separated manuscript sets already held in the Library’s collection—likely divided by the composer himself.

The purchase was made possible thanks to a grant from the Universitatis Varsoviensis Foundation for Students and Alumni of the University of Warsaw. The event will also serve as an opportunity to express gratitude to the Foundation for supporting this valuable acquisition.

Karol Szymanowski’s songs will be performed by the distinguished artists
Anna Mikołajczyk-Niewiedział (soprano) and Mirosław Feldgebel (piano).

Admission is free, but the organizers kindly ask attendees to confirm their presence by October 31 via email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Press release

Additional information: https://www.buw.uw.edu.pl/