City composes fitting celebration of Chopin

City leaders have launched talks with Edinburgh's Polish community about holding a showcase of music and culture in the Capital.

A location for the event has not been confirmed although it is expected that council-owned venues like the Usher Hall will be in the running.

It is intended that the event would help to forge further links between Krakow and Edinburgh, with performers travelling from the Polish city to take part.

The event is expected to take place around 4 October – the date that Chopin performed in Edinburgh during a two-month stay in his later years in 1848.

Sylwia Spooner, cultural affairs expert at the Polish Consulate in Edinburgh, said: "Chopin was in a way one of the first travellers, with connections not only in Poland but other countries as well.

"There are interesting multi-cultural connections and it is important to bring this up when we have quite a large Polish community here in Edinburgh."

Members of the city's Polish community say any event to mark the 200th anniversary of the birth of "national hero" Chopin is likely to attract big crowds.

Karol Chojnowski, who runs emito.net, the Edinburgh-based website for Polish people in the UK, said: "I'm sure there would be a lot of Polish people that would be interested. People might not know the cultural side of Poland but it has tremendous culture and assets and this sounds like a great way to promote that."

Talks on the event are being led by Lord Provost George Grubb and the Polish Consul General in the Capital.

Edinburgh and Krakow have a partnership agreement in place and Councillor Grubb was in Krakow in October to discuss investment opportunities, biotechnology, tourism, heritage and education.

Today is the official 200th anniversary of Chopin's birth, according to a baptismal certificate. His 1848 appearance in Edinburgh was his penultimate performance, before dying within a year.

During his stay in the city, he spent two-and-a-half weeks as guest of Lord and Lady Torphichen at Calder House in West Lothian, as well as staying at 10 Warriston Crescent.

Cllr Grubb said: "Edinburgh has long enjoyed an abiding friendship with Poland and through our partnership agreement with Krakow in particular we are always exploring ways of celebrating our cultural links.

"At present we are working closely with the Polish Consulate to come up with a suitable celebration to mark the 200th anniversary of the birth of Frederic Chopin.

"Discussions are still at a very early stage but we are keen to hear from any members of the public who have ideas of how we could mark this important anniversary.

"I am confident that collectively we will come up with a fitting tribute to Chopin."