Konstancja Gładkowska
Konstancja Gładkowska (1810–1889) was a Polish soprano. While Frédéric Chopin was studying at the Warsaw School of Music (Fryderyk Chopin University of Music in Warsaw), he fell in love with her at the age of 19. She was one of the most gifted and beautiful students at the music school. Konstancja admired many of Chopin's early works. In the late 1830, Chopin moved to Paris when news of the revolt in Warsaw reached him.
Life and career
Konstancja was born June 2, 1810, in Warsaw (other dates given for her birth are June 4 and June 10). Her godmother was the illegitimate daughter of Stanisław August Poniatowski. She studied at the Warsaw Conservatory. In 1829, during a university soloist concert, she met Chopin, for whom she became an inspiration. In the autumn of 1830, Chopin left the country, and she sang at his farewell ceremony. Correspondence between the two was interrupted after one year. In 1832, she married Joseph Grabowski and lived on the estate of her husband, in Raduczu near Rawa Mazowiecka. The couple had five children. In 1845, Konstancja lost her sight, and despite attempts to treat it was never regained. In 1878, her husband Joseph died. In 1879, she moved to Skierniewice and died there in 1889.
Death
Konstancja Gladkowska died in 1889, forty years after the death of Chopin. She was buried at a grave 60 km from Warsaw in a cemetery for women.