Muzyka Chopina w międzywojennym Wiedniu
Chopin’s music in the interwar Vienna

Summary/Abstract: The aim of the article was to gather the most relevant information concerning the reception of Chopin’s music in the interwar Vienna. A glance back at Chopin’s matters in Vienna during the early 20th century and World War I led us to distinguish some dominant sections into which the reception of his works can be divided and which were continued between 1918–1939. These are: concert life, popular music, Chopin’s ‘intermedia’ (dance, theatre, film) and music literature – popular and professional. The sources cited in the paper have been interpreted with reference to the political and cultural background. The main conclusion that could be drawn from the sources review concerns the duality of Chopin’s reception in Vienna during the period in question: the music of the Polish composer was subject to functionalization that led to overexploitation, and consequently to trivialisation of a part of his output, and on the other hand it was the object of brilliant piano interpretations and thorough analyses by expert music critics. In order to avoid any overgeneralisations or simplifications, the author proposes a review of the interwar Vienna Cho-pinology and ‘chopinofania’ (a keen interest in Chopin’s person and work) works from a broader perspective referring to Chopin’s reception in German circles.

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