Maria Kalergis: Difference between revisions
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==Life== |
==Life== |
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She was the daughter of Fryderyk Karol Nesselrode (of German descent) and his wife |
She was the daughter of Fryderyk Karol Nesselrode (of German descent) and his wife Tekla Nałęcz-Górska (born in Poland), who separated a year after her birth - she was raised and carefully educated by her maternal uncle Charles Nesselrode, who was State Chancellor for nearly forty years. To distinguish her from relations and cousins with the same name, she became known as "Marie la Polonaise". She may have inherited her musical ability from her parents, and for a while took lessons from [[Chopin]], who praised her talent. She was taught Polish by her mother and also spoke French (then the language of Polish [[salon (gathering)|salon]]s), German, English, Italian and Russian. |
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In her childhood writings she was primarily in love with [[Cyprian Norwid]] - her meeting with him was just one of many episodes in an active social life. He referred to her as his adored princess and she provided him with much poetic inspiration. In letters to her close friend Marii Trembickiej (daughter of general Stanisława Trębickiego-po and later wife of Faleńskiej) she referred to themselves as "white sirens". She was encouraged by her guardians to pursue this love, but did not. Aged 17 she was married off to the much elder Jan Kalergis and though one daughter, [[Marie Kalergi (1840-1877)|Marie]], was born to them in 1840 in Saint Petersburg, nearly a year after the wedding they jointly decided to separate (though they never won a full formal divorce for the rest of their lives, merely living apart). |
In her childhood writings she was primarily in love with [[Cyprian Norwid]] - her meeting with him was just one of many episodes in an active social life. He referred to her as his adored princess and she provided him with much poetic inspiration. In letters to her close friend Marii Trembickiej (daughter of general Stanisława Trębickiego-po and later wife of Faleńskiej) she referred to themselves as "white sirens". She was encouraged by her guardians to pursue this love, but did not. Aged 17 she was married off to the much elder Jan Kalergis and though one daughter, [[Marie Kalergi (1840-1877)|Marie]], was born to them in 1840 in Saint Petersburg, nearly a year after the wedding they jointly decided to separate (though they never won a full formal divorce for the rest of their lives, merely living apart). |
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Revision as of 16:59, 20 May 2009
- For her daughter, see Marie Kalergi (1840-1877).
Maria Kalergis or Maria Kalergis-Muchanow (7 August 1822, Warsaw - 22 May 1874, Warsaw), born Maria Nałęcz-Górskiej, was a Polish pianist and patron of the arts.
Life
She was the daughter of Fryderyk Karol Nesselrode (of German descent) and his wife Tekla Nałęcz-Górska (born in Poland), who separated a year after her birth - she was raised and carefully educated by her maternal uncle Charles Nesselrode, who was State Chancellor for nearly forty years. To distinguish her from relations and cousins with the same name, she became known as "Marie la Polonaise". She may have inherited her musical ability from her parents, and for a while took lessons from Chopin, who praised her talent. She was taught Polish by her mother and also spoke French (then the language of Polish salons), German, English, Italian and Russian.
In her childhood writings she was primarily in love with Cyprian Norwid - her meeting with him was just one of many episodes in an active social life. He referred to her as his adored princess and she provided him with much poetic inspiration. In letters to her close friend Marii Trembickiej (daughter of general Stanisława Trębickiego-po and later wife of Faleńskiej) she referred to themselves as "white sirens". She was encouraged by her guardians to pursue this love, but did not. Aged 17 she was married off to the much elder Jan Kalergis and though one daughter, Marie, was born to them in 1840 in Saint Petersburg, nearly a year after the wedding they jointly decided to separate (though they never won a full formal divorce for the rest of their lives, merely living apart).
From 1847 she lived in Paris, then from 1857 in Warsaw. Guests at her salons included Liszt, Richard Wagner (who dedicated Tristan und Isolde to her), de Musset, Moniuszko, Gautier, Heine (dedicating his poem Biały słoń or White elephant to her) and Chopin. Also whilst in Paris, she was also one of the mistresses of Anatole Demidov, and back in Warsaw she became a patron to several artists and took part in several charity-fundraising concerts and theatrical performances, her resources always available to those in need. When Stanisław Moniuszko wanted to put on his opera Halka on in Warsaw, the director Siergiej Muchanow opposed him (Muchanow was also deputy chief of police in Warsaw and later became Maria's second husband), but Moniuszko managed to get it put on due to Maria's intervention. Three months after the premiere, in 1858, she organised a concert to raise money for Muchanow, then in financial difficulties. This raised 25,000 Polish zlotis which enabled him to meet his basic needs and embark on his dream foreign tour, thus receiving the support of the highest Russian dignitaries in Warsaw.
Maria Kalergis had a significant impact on the development of musical culture, contributing to the foundation of the Musical Institute in Warsaw (now the Conservatory) and (with Moniuszko) was one of the founders of the Warsaw Musical Society, now the Warsaw Philharmonic. Jan Kalergis guaranteed Maria a prosperous life. After their separation, the division of their assets was in dispute, though these assets did allow her to tour Europe, including Saint Petersburg, Warsaw, Paris and Baden Baden. She repeatedly appeared as a pianist from 1857 to 1871.
After her husband's death she remarried in 1863 to Siergiej Muchanow, 10 years her junior and the director of the Warsaw government theatres. He was with her during severe illness that then struck and during her final days. Feeling an end to her coming of age, Maria destroyed their correspondence, though letters from her to her daughter-in-law, son-in-law and friends survive, allowing us to reconstruct many facts of her biography and providing a valuable source for the history of the time. She was buried at the Powązki Cemetery (Aleja Katakumbowa, pillar 6). On her death, Liszt wrote his Elegy on Marie Kalergi[1].
Descendents
Jan Henryk Maria hr. Ms Kalergis Wnuk, Jan Henryk Maria hr. Coudenhove, was allowed by emperor Franz Joseph to change his name to Coudenhove-Calergi. Maria's grandson, Richard Coudenhove-Kalergi (son of Count Heinrich von Coudenhove-Kalergi and his Japanese wife Mitsuko), founded the International Paneuropean Union in 1923.
Notes
Bibliography
- Stanisław Szenic, Maria Kalergi, Państwowy Institute Wydawniczy, Warsaw 1963.
- Stanisław Szenic, Cmentarz Powązkowski 1851-1860, Warsaw 1982
External links
- Template:Pl icon Pierścień Wielkiej Damy Cyprian Kamil Norwid