Warsaw, Poland, Celebrates Chopin’s Birth with Music Benches

[Viva Las Espuelas]

saw this on the news today but couldn't find a current article. either way this sounds pretty cool for the music/tech heads. maybe



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Warsaw, Poland, Celebrates Chopin’s Birth with Music Benches In the year 2010 Warsaw commemorates the two hundred year anniversary of the birth of famous Polish composer Fryderyk Chopin. For this occasion fifteen multimedia benches have been located across the city. The special benches provide information about the virtuoso pianist and even play his music.
Warsaw has a new attraction - fifteen benches made of cast iron and stone. Their uniqueness starts with their weight since each of them weights few hundred kilos. The reason of the enormous weight lies in their special function - they play Fryderyk Chopin’s melodies. In just few weeks, Poland will commemorate 200th anniversary of the composer’s birth (22 February 1810). The multimedia benches are just one of the things set to remember the world-known Polish pianist.
As Magda Lan from the Warsaw town hall points out, these are no ordinary benches. They are, above all, a source of information. Each bench informs the passers-by why it is situated there and after pushing a button you can listen to some of Fryderyka Chopin’s music, reported news server Rozhlas.cz.
“There are fifteen benches altogether and each of them plays a different Chopin’s melody for approximately thirty to forty seconds,” explains Waclaw Mnionsek the author of the benches. The electronics is hidden underneath and inside of the benches. There are two batteries that power an mp3 player. Those batteries need to be changed every month.
The benches are located at places somehow connected with Chopin; near houses where he lived and taught while in Warsaw. One of the benches is located right in the center of the Polish capital, at palace of Zamojski where Chopin’s sister lived. According to professor Jerzy Boremski, she kept his belongings here when he died. During the Russian Tzars’ rule, Chopin’s piano was thrown out from one of the palace windows.

[shelshor]

Nice of Warsaw to remember

[baseline bum]

Gotta love Chopin, especially when played by Vladimir Horowitz.

[z0sa]

That Horowitz video is amazing.