The Frederic Chopin Academy of Music

The Academy of Music in Warsaw is the oldest and largest school of music in Poland and one of the oldest in Europe. It has inherited a nearly two hundred-year old tradition of public music teaching in Warsaw. Historically, the Academy’s most memorable date is the year 1810, when Frederic Chopin, patron of the Academy, was born. It was the same year that the School of Drama meant for actors and singers of the National Theatre was founded. The school was transformed into a college of music under Jozef Elsner – a well-known composer, conductor and teacher.

Between the years 1826 and 1829 Frederic Chopin studied at the Main School of Music as it was called then.

The school underwent numerous inevitable changes closely linked with the history of the country and the city. In 1962 the school was granted full academic status and the right to confer M.A. diplomas in all disciplines of music. In 1979 the school took on the name of its patron becoming the Frederic Chopin Academy of Music.

The school is proud of its outstanding alumni. Among them are Frederic Chopin, Mikalojus Chiurlionis, Wanda Landowska, Witold Lutoslawski, Zygmunt Noskowski, Ignacy Jan Paderewski and many others.

In 1927 Professor Jerzy Zurawlew initiated International Chopin Competitions. There are more international music competitions in the Academy today. The Academy is a member of the European Association of Conservatories, Academies and High Schools of Music (AECAM) and since 1992 it has been a member of the European League of Institutions of Arts (ELIA). 

The Chopin Academy of Music has six departments in Warsaw and one department at the Bialystok Branch: Composition and Theory of Music, Conducting, Instrumental Studies, Vocal Studies, Music Education and Sound Engineering. Currently about 600 students are studying there.