Konstancja Gładkowska


Konstancja Gładkowska was a Polish soprano. While Frédéric Chopin was studying at the Warsaw School of Music, he fell in love with her at the age of 19. Konstancja admired many of Chopin's early works; but in 1830, Chopin moved to Paris.

Life and career

Konstancja was born June 2, 1810, in Warsaw. Her godmother was the illegitimate daughter of Stanisław August Poniatowski. She studied at the Warsaw Conservatory. In 1829, during a university soloist concert, she met Chopin, for whom she became an inspiration. In the autumn of 1830, Chopin left the country, and she sang at his farewell ceremony. Correspondence between the two was interrupted after one year. In 1832, she married Joseph Grabowski and lived on the estate of her husband, in Raduczu near Rawa Mazowiecka. The couple had five children. In 1845, Konstancja lost her sight, and despite attempts to treat it was never regained. In 1878, her husband Joseph died. In 1879, she moved to Skierniewice and died there in 1889.

Death

Konstancja Gladkowska died in 1889, forty years after the death of Chopin. She was buried in a cemetery in the town of Babsk 60 km from Warsaw.