02/05/2026
April 25, 2026 | Sfogato Stage Concert at the Mendelssohn-Gesellschaft in Berlin
The Sfogato Music & Arts Society was founded in the Chopin Year 2010 at the initiative of Marta Polanska - pianist. The founding concert, titled Chopin Soirée, took place on June 19, 2010. The inspiration for this event and the future activities of the Sfogato Society was Henryk Siemiradzki's (1843–1902) painting "Chopin in the Salon of Prince Antoni Radziwiłł in 1829." Known primarily as a painter of ancient and early Christian scenes, in 1887 Siemiradzki created a scene depicting Prince Antoni Radziwiłł's salon, commissioned by Karol Kozłowski (1833–1917), a teacher, writer, and publisher from Poznań. Prince Antoni Radziwiłł (1775–1833), composer, patron of the arts, and governor of the Grand Duchy of Poznań, led a vibrant social and artistic life on his estates in Berlin, Poznań, Antonin, and Klenica. His homes, particularly in Berlin and Poznań, functioned as renowned artistic salons, connecting the aristocracy with the intellectual and musical elite. A frequent guest at Prince Antoni Radziwiłł's salons in Berlin, Poznań, and Antonin was Fryderyk Chopin, who also gave piano lessons to the prince's daughter, Wanda.
Nearly four decades after Fryderyk Chopin's death, Henryk Siemiradzki created a painting inspired by an excerpt from the first biography of Fryderyk Chopin by Marceli Antoni Szulc (1818–1898). This text, however, is not Szulc's, but his Polish translation of a short story by German writer Elise Polko de domo Vogel (1823–1899). This fact, as well as the portrayal of figures associated with the German aristocracy and the circles of German artists, musicians (including Carl Friedrich Zelter) and intellectuals (Alexander von Humboldt), in an interior which decor is strikingly reminiscent of the interior of Prince Antoni Radziwiłł's Palace at Wilhelmstraße 77 (now near number 93), suggests that the fictional scene depicted by Siemiradzki in his 1887 painting is Prince Antoni Radziwiłł's salon in Berlin.
Berlin – the artistic capital of Europe, home to many outstanding musicians – also fascinated Fryderyk Chopin. During his stay in what is now Germany's capital in 1828, Chopin, in addition to his famous dinner with academics (headed by Alexander von Humboldt), visited to Prince Antoni Radziwiłł's salon and piano workshops, the zoological cabinet, attended a performance of the opera Hernán Cortés, or The Conquest of Mexico by Gaspare Spontini (1774–1851), who served as music director and first Kapellmeister of the Royal Opera (Königlische Hofoper) from 1820 to 1841. He was succeeded as director by Giacomo Meyerbeer (1791–1864), and as Kapellmeister by Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy (1809–1847).
Sfogato Stage Concert Berlin 2026
The Sfogato Stage project, conceived and organized by Marta Polanska and the Sfogato Music and Arts Society, premiered in 2021. It consists of two stages: the Sfogato Stage International Music Competition, held online as part of the Sfogato International Music and Arts Festival, and the Sfogato Stage Concert, organized in major European music centers, featuring performances by the Competition Prize Winners and artists from the Sfogato Music and Arts Society.
The Laureates of the 4th Sfogato Stage International Music Competition 2025 performed on April 25, 2026, at the Mendelssohn Gesellschaft in Berlin. The Society was founded in 1967 to preserve the intellectual and artistic heritage of the Mendelssohn family. Since December 2009, the distinguished pianist and conductor Daniel Barenboim has been the patron of the Mendelssohn Society in Berlin.
The concert was opened by Dr. Thomas Lackmann, deputy chairman of the board of the Mendelssohn-Gesellschaft e. V. (chairman of the board is Lea Zeidler). Dr. Thomas Lackmann's grandmother, Lea Horwitz, née du Bois-Reymond (1899–1988), was the great-granddaughter of F***y Hensel (1805–1847), sister of Felix Mendelssohn (1809–1847). Dr. Thomas Lackmann recalled the history of the Mendelssohn family (who owned as many as six buildings on Jägerstraße, developing the family business into the largest private banking house in Berlin) and the Mendelssohn artistic salon at Jägerstraße 51, which hosted guests including Clara Schumann (1819–1896), Robert Schumann (1810–1856), and Joseph Joachim (1831–1907).
The first part of the Concert at Jägerstraße 51 was led by artists from the Sfogato Music and Arts Society: Marek Polanski - violin and Marta Polanska - piano, performing a repertoire whose main theme was "song without words." The concert featured works by Polish composers: Fryderyk Chopin (1810 – 1849), Henryk Wieniawski (1835 – 1880), Ignacy Jan Paderewski (1860 – 1941), who studied in Berlin, as well as works by F***y Hensel, de domo Mendelssohn (1805–1847) and Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy (1809–1847), arranged for violin and piano by Marta Polanska and Marek Polański - violinist.
In the subsequent parts of the Concert, hosted by Anna Buczkowska - prezenterka, konferansjerka, aktorka, the Laureates of the 4th International Sfogato Stage Music Competition 2025 appeared on the Sfogato music stage. Performers:
JUNIOR STAGE
Alicja Jakubas – Piano (Professor: Marta Polanska), Ignacy Jastrzębiec-Bobrowski – Piano (Professor: Natalia Kusiak), Maria Kaczmarek – Violin (Professor, Piano accompaniment: Karolina Skrzypczyńska), Konstanty Stawowski – Piano (Professor: Anna Gierszewska), Magdalena Wieruszewska – Violin (Professor, Piano accompaniment: Karolina Skrzypczyńska), Maria Król* – Violin, Jan Gąska** – Piano (*Professor: Katarzyna Kostrzewa, **Professor: Beata Saran-Cetera), Zofia Mikoda – Piano (Professor: Danuta Nalewajka), Gabriela Miśkowiec – Violin (Professor: Patryk Citak), Wiktoria Szczurowska – Piano (Professor: Marta Polanska), Maja Chowaniak – Piano (Professor: Mariola Zubańska), Simona Ivanova – Piano (Professor: Elenа Shemaeva), Aleksander Kamiński – Violin (Professor: Piotr Przydworski), Kaja Pawłowska – Piano (Professor: Katarzyna Lubiewska), Sofija Połosenko – Piano (Professor: Marta Polanska), Marcel Forgiel – Piano (Professor: Izabela Dulińska-Bolsewicz), Zofia Gierszewska – Piano (Professor: Magdalena Boniecka), Róża Kurek – Piano (Professor: Elżbieta Bień), Michalina Rosińska – Piano (Professor: Ewa Wlazło)
YOUTH STAGE
Lena Fraska – Violin (Professor: Eliza Schubert), Eliza Jakubas – Piano (Professor: Agnieszka Riess), Magda Wędzicha – Piano (Professor: Elżbieta Hoffman), Bruno Karwacki – Viola (Professor: Bartosz Henrych), Artur Saran – Piano (Professor: Marcin Guzik), Anastasya Sudakova – Piano (Professor: Elena Shemaeva), Urszula Gałązka – Piano, Wojciech Gałązka – Piano (Professor: Marta Polanska), Emilia Denisiuk – Soprano (Professor: Katarzyna Gierla, Piano accompaniment: Martyna Włodarczyk), Eryk Foksberger – Piano (Professor: Aleksandra Pstrągowska), Klara Tryboń – Soprano (Professor: Katarzyna Gierla, Piano accompaniment: Martyna Włodarczyk), Matylda Pich – Soprano (Professor: Małgorzata Wieland, Piano accompaniment: Maciej Skowronek), Antonina Maria Waliszewska – Piano (Professor: Joanna Marcinkowska)
ACADEMIC STAGE
Naomi Hakim – Piano (Professor: Piotr Kowal), Martyna Skuza – Violin (Professor: Natan Dondalski, Piano accompaniment: Anna Paras), Karolina Chomicz – Soprano (Professor: Katarzyna Dondalska, Piano accompaniment: Maciej Skowronek), Bianca Tifrea – Soprano (Professor: Aura Twarowska, Piano accompaniment: Evelin Roman), Maciej Tokarz – Piano (Professor: Piotr Kowal), Alicja Kondzioła – Soprano (Professor: Katarzyna Dondalska, Piano accompaniment: Maciej Skowronek)
ARTIST STAGE
Wenxuan Li – Soprano (Professor: Katarzyna Dondalska, Piano Accompaniment: Maciej Skowronek)
The concert concluded with a lecture by Professor Helena Wrona-Polanska (psychologist) on the issue of stage fright, during which she mentioned Ignacy Jan Paderewski, whose doctor recommended walks through Berlin's Tiergarten during his studies in Berlin to relieve his stage fright.
Berlin in the Footsteps of Fryderyk Chopin and the Mendelssohn Family
Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy used to say that "life and art are not two different things" ("Leben und Kunst sind nicht zweierlei"). Inspired by this thought, members and friends of the Sfogato Music and Arts Society embarked on a walk through Berlin, following the footsteps of Fryderyk Chopin and the Mendelssohn Family. They visited the Wilhelmstraße site of Prince Antoni Radziwiłł's famous Berlin Palace. At the Staatsoper Unter den Linden (known as the Königlische Hofoper during Chopin's and Mendelssohn's time as its Kapellmeister), they saw a performance of Giacomo Puccini's (1858–1924) opera Madama Butterfly. They visited the Dreifaltigkeitsfriedhof I, where the tombs of F***y Hensel and Felix Mendelssohn, as well as other family members, are located. They spent some beautiful, sunny moments in Mendelssohn Park. They stopped at one of the most famous restaurants: Essenza Potsdamer Platz 1, Berlin, which hosts many outstanding artists performing, among others, at the Berlin Philharmonic, to enjoy an Italian dessert decorated with Felix Mendelssohn's favorite fruit – a strawberry. They visited the architecturally and acoustically unique Berlin Philharmonic building. On the evening of April 26, 2026, they listened to a wonderful concert held in the Philharmonie Berlin Great Concert Hall, during which the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin (DSO Berlin), conducted by Kazuki Yamada（山田和樹）, and the Korean superstar pianist Seong-Jin Cho, winner of the 17th International Fryderyk Chopin Piano Competition in Warsaw, who after a brilliant interpretation of the Piano Concerto No. 1 in C major, Op. 15 by Ludwig van Beethoven (1770–1827), he performed Soirée de Vienne, Op. 56, as an encore – a concert paraphrase based on the waltz motifs from the operetta “Die Fledermaus” (The Bat) by Johann Strauss II (1825–1899) / Alfred Grünfeld (1852–1924), allowing all to recall Vienna, where the previous Concert from the Sfogato Stage series took place in 2025.
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Mendelssohn-Remise
Photos: Fotografia Artystyczna Kamila Rosińska
The Sfogato Music and Arts Society would like to express its sincere gratitude to the photographer Mrs. Kamila Rosińska for making a photo reportage from the Sfogato Stage Berlin 2026 Concert.
