Every Sunday until mid September, a young pianist plays for free at the palace

Since July 12, every Sunday, the White Hall of Wilanów Palace fills with Chopin. The recitals are performed by young pianists enrolled in the young talents promotion programme of the Fryderyk Chopin National Institute, which organizes the series together with the palace museum. Each concert is short, but there are three of them a day, at 12:30 pm, 1:30 pm and 2:30 pm, and admission is included in the regular palace ticket. Seats are not reserved. The chairs in the White Hall are unnumbered, so arriving early gets you closer to the piano.

Who plays on the next Sundays

The cycle runs through mid September and the full list of performers for every remaining Sunday is already set. The next recital, on August 23, will be given by Kamila Sacharzewska. A week later, on August 30, Kacper Kukliński takes the stage. September opens with Michał Oleszak, on September 6, and this year's edition closes with a concert by Zuzanna Krystian-Browalska, on September 13. Earlier, since mid July, the White Hall has already hosted Justyna Żołnacz, Eryk Parchański, Viet Trung Nguyen, Tomasz Białynicki-Birula, Piotr Sołtysik and Dominika Rak.

The NIFC's young talents promotion programme has run for years, giving young pianists, often only at the start of a concert career, a stage in a setting that is impressive in its own right. The White Hall is one of the palace's grand interiors, a former ballroom, so hearing Chopin there is a very different experience from a concert at an ordinary philharmonic hall.

For families in Wilanów this is a practical option for a Sunday afternoon. A palace ticket gets bought for a walk through the gardens anyway, and half an hour of music in the middle of the day fits well into that plan. Kids usually sit through a short recital without trouble too. It is worth building in some extra time, since the palace's opening hours change with the season, so check the current schedule on the museum's website before heading out.