The revamped museum was opened on the composer’s two hundredth birth anniversary. In new exhibition rooms in the baroque Ostrogski Palace in central Warsaw visitors are able to find out how Frederic Chopin lived and to listen to his works. The interiors were given a complete facelift, based on a design by Grzegory and Partnerzy architecture studio. An international competition for fitting out the museum was won by Migliore&Servetto of Milan. The exhibition bristles with state-of-the-art electronics, which gives an even more attractive result than Warsaw’s other pride, the Warsaw Rising museum.

The Chopin Museum collection numbers over 5,000 exhibits. Among them are autographs and first editions of the composer’s works, his letters, memorabilia and documents. Key editions of Chopin’s music, as well as of works by his contemporaries are also featured. There are also paintings, graphics and sculpture pieces.

The exhibition takes up four floors of the palace, starting from the restored cellars upward. On each floor visitors can find out more about different periods in the artist’s life: his childhood and early years in Poland, followed by the years he spent in self-imposed exile in Paris. Chopin’s personal life is given a lot of attention, including his inspirations, love interests, as well as the circumstances of his birth and death.

The organisers, the Fryderyk Chopin National Institute, have given the museum a multimedia dimension. The means of expression are closely linked to the scenario, which consists of several strands. One is an audio track, made up of works by Chopin, soundscapes and dramatised audio presentations. Audio-visual presentations allow visitors to discover in detail what particular objects on display represent. There are virtual books, interactive displays, children’s games and projections. The museum is structured in such a way that the visitor can take an individual path depending on their interests and preferences. Owing to RFID technology used in ticket production, visitors are able to pick the length and intensity of their path. On many occasions visitors will come across exhibits highlighted through the use of visual and sound effects. “We want the museum to be a universal, inspiring place that will respond to the invidual needs of visitors in a well thought-out way” curator Alicja Knast explains. The museum opens to the general public in April.

At the opening ceremony Polish culture minister Bogdan Zdrojewski expressed the hope that the museum will make Polish people more responsive to music and art. “We owed the great composer, who was so closely linked with Warsaw, a place like this” Zdrojewski said. Polish president Lech Kaczyński remarked that the Chopin museum is part of a policy whose aim is to show the world what Poland’s identity is all about. “Our identity is not just about independence struggle, but also about Polish culture” he stressed. “Chopin was a Varsovian. This is where he spent his youth, where he studied and where he lived much of his life. This is where he was shaped as a human being and as a composer” Warsaw mayor Hanna Gronkiewicz Waltz said at the opening ceremony at the museum.