Library, phototeque and are closed until further notice.
address: Tamka 43, 00-355 Warszawa
tel. (+48 22) 44 16 180-186
Library
The biggest chopinological library in the world, it collects Polish and foreign publications related to Chopin and the period in which he lived and worked. In the collection of the library there are approximately 20 000 items kept at the Ostrogski Castle and the Mateusz Gliński book collection with 424 items (170 Chopin-related publications) kept in the palace in Sanniki. In the collection of the library there are books and journals from 19th and 20th century; sheet music from 19th and 20th century (including first editions of Chopin's works and compositions published during his lifetime); documents of social life (invitations, concert programmes and posters, cut-outs from the press (from concerts, festivals, ceremonies devoted to Chopin and the International Fryderyk Chopin Piano Competitions in Warsaw).
Phototeque
In the collection of the phototeque there are 9395 items - negatives, positives, diapositives, microfilms, photocopies of items from the Fryderyk Chopin Museum in Warsaw and other museums, libraries and private collections in Poland and abroad. The phototeque also keeps photographic documentation of the International Fryderyk Chopin Piano Competitions, Chopin festivals, artistic events and museum events organised by the Fryderyk Chopin Society in Warsaw and Chopin associations in Sanniki, Supraśl, Ostrów Wielkopolski, Gdańsk, Wrocław and Żychlin.
The collection is used for diverse purposes, e.g. by musicologists researching the life and oeuvre of Fryderyk Chopina, and also publishing houses preparing new editions of his works.
Phonoteque
In the phonoteque there are approximately 4 000 items, including archive recordings of exceptional value by famous pianist of the past, among others Ignacy Jan Paderewski, Aleksander Michałowski, Raul Koczalski, Serge Rachmaninoff and also sound documentation of the International Fryderyk Chopin Piano Competition. The Competition is systematically documented since 1960, when it was made a statutory obligation of the Fryderyk Chopin Society.
In the collection of the phonoteque there are analogue and compact records, tapes on reels, cassettes, digital tapes, videotapes and CD-ROMs.