New Chopin Museum a multimedia, innovative institution, a universal and inspiring place.
On the 1st of March 2010 in Warsaw a new Chopin Museum has been opened. The museum is based in the Ostrogski Palace, at Okólnik 1 street, that has been renovated since 2005. The renovation was created and overseen by Jarosław Grzegory and Partnerzy Architekci studio from Warsaw and it increased the usable area by 90%. The permanent exhibition design is done by the Italian firm Migliore+Servetto Architetti Associati studio. They have been selected from an international design competition with 32 studios submitting their projects.
One of the main aims of the Museum is to change the traditional way of experiencing museums as a monotonous educational institutions. It is a multimedia institution, with a variety of innovative ways of expressing the content. There are a series of divers soundscapes comprising music works from the Real Chopin series of recordings published by the Fryderyk Chopin Institute, sound landscapes and different elements of radio theatre. There is also a variety of audio-video information, which can provide a deeper knowledge of the objects displayed in the cases. There are e-books, interactive touchscreen programmes, virtual musical games for children, and a number of different innovative projections including a programmed stage setting.
The visitors’ needs are realised individually, so they can adapt each visit to the Museum to their particular circumstances. The experience upfolds on four floors, as the exhibition illustrates and celebrates various aspects of Chopin's life and works.
We have taken up the challenge set by the Chopin Institute to bring closer the classical music and the person of Frederic Chopin to as wide audience as possible using museum exhibits, audio-visual interactions and stage setting. The emotional music landscapes created in this way will be perfectly combined with architecture elements and the building structure, leading its visitors to discover an entirely individual perspective on the genius composer, notes Ico Migliore.
According to the concept of an open museum, one can get to know Fryderyk Chopin, for example, from the perspective of his works, his personal life or through the history of the women of his life, with no visiting route imposed on the visitor. Thanks to Radio Frequency Identification system (RFID) used in the ticket production process, visitors can choose how long and how intensive the given route should be. Moreover, the chosen profile of the visit will allow emphasising certain exhibits with lightning or sound effects, according to the visitor’s preferences.