Finding strength and peace – Frédéric Chopin’s stays in Nohant

Association des Médecins d’Origine Polonaise de France, in collaboration with the Polish Academy of Sciences Scientific Centre in Paris and the Société Historique et Littéraire Polonaise in Paris, is pleased to invite you to a lecture by Urszula Król entitled ‘Finding strength and peace: Frédéric Chopin’s stays in Nohant’.

George Sand’s house in Nohant played an essential role in Frédéric Chopin’s work and personal life. During his relationship with the French writer, from 1838 to 1847, he spent many summers there. At George Sand’s  place, Chopin found an alternative to the family home he missed so much in France. There, he was surrounded by tender care, his health was taken into account, and he was offered excellent conditions for creativity. During the lecture, while admiring works of art and memorabilia related to the composer, we will discover certain aspects of his work and life connected to this place.

The lecture will be followed by a recital of works by Chopin, performed by Cyprian Czaban (piano):

• Étude Op. 10, No. 3 in E major
• Berceuse in D flat major, Op. 57
• Barcarolle in F sharp major, Op. 60
• Preludes Op. 28:
  • No. 7 in A major
  • No. 17 in A flat major
  • No. 22 in G minor
  • Ballade in G minor Op. 23

Urszula Król is a graduate of the Institute of Art History at the University of Warsaw. She is a curator at the Fryderyk Chopin Museum of the Fryderyk Chopin Institute in Warsaw, where she is head of the team responsible for collecting and researching the museum’s collections. She is interested in 19th-century art, particularly the Romantic period and the ambiguous relationships between music, poetry and painting. She gained her professional experience at the National Museum in Warsaw, the Polish Library in Paris and the National Library of France, among others.

photo: Luca Mattia Vigilante

Cyprian Czaban was born in Warsaw and has been living in Paris since 2020 to pursue his musical training. He studies at PSL University, Sciences Po and the Sorbonne, while taking piano lessons at the Gabriel Fauré Conservatory in Evelina Borbeï’s class. Since 2023, he has been completing his training in fortepiano and accompaniment. In 2025, he obtained his Diploma in Musical Studies with honours and continued his studies with Alissa Zoubritski at the Conservatoire de Rueil-Malmaison. He regularly participates in masterclasses in Poland and abroad, under the guidance of renowned teachers such as Piotr Sałajczyk, Zbigniew Raubo, Karolina Nadolska, Fumiko Eguchi, Alexander Gadjiyev, Dionysis Mallouchos, Judy Chin, Tomasz Ritter, Szczepan Kończal, Piotr Paleczny, Joanna Ławrynowicz-Just, Piotr Banasik, Anna Górecka, Valentina Igoshina and Philippe Giusiano. He performs regularly in concert, notably at the Bibliothèque Sainte-Barbe, the Bibliothèque Polonaise in Paris, the Gabriel Fauré Conservatory as part of the ‘Young Virtuosos in Tribute to Chopin’ cycle, at the Uruguayan Embassy with the programme ‘L’amour au fil du temps’ with soprano Cecilia de Vargas, at the Boutmy Amphitheatre at Sciences Po, and at the Studio Piano Gobelins for the ‘Compositrices’ concert. Every year, he travels to Mézin to play at the church and theatre as part of the Académie de Jeunes Solistes. He is an accredited guide for the National Chopin Institute at Chopin’s birthplace in Żelazowa Wola. In 2025, he founded the Tempo Chopin association, dedicated to cultural mediation, the democratisation of classical music and the support of young talent.