- photo by P. Frankowski
Ground floor and first floor of the Museum of Musical Instruments with brand new exhibition are open for our visitors from July 5th.
The exhibition has been based on a new plan of the museum arrangement which has to show different periods in the history of music in the context of musical instruments. Special attention has been devoted to Polish music with local, especially Poznan components included. New instruments that hasn’t been yet presented are shown on the exhibition that has just been opened at the beginning of July 2016.
- Museum of Musical Instruments today
- Fragment of the exhibition
- Fragment of the exhibition
The Museum of Musical Instruments was established in 1945 by Zdizsław Szulc. It is one of the few such museums in Europe, the only in Poland.
The collections prides itself on the stringed instruments, especially violins (16th-20th c.), including a violin by Marcin Groblicz and by Dankwart, as well as instruments by Italian masters (Amati, Testore, Guadagnini, Maggini). Among the keyboard instruments there is a pianoforte by A. Walter (Vienna, 1789) and among the aerophones a medieval bronze lituus (13th-15th c.).
The Chopin Salon exhibits the composer’s memorabilia realted to his stay in Wielkopolska, including the grand piano he used during concerts in Antonin (South Wielkopolska).
Numerous folk instruments from Poland (a set of bigpipes) and Europe make up a veritable geographic and cultural mosaic. The most valuable instruments from outside Europe come from Tibet (a damaru drum, telescopic trumpets), Nepal, India (zithers, lutes, drums), Australia and both Americas (including pre-Columbian instruments). The holdings comprise also mechanical instruments of the 19th-20th c. (music boxes, barrel organs, pianolas).