History

Ignacy Jan Paderewski Research Centre was established by Decree No. 33 of the Rector of the Jagiellonian University on June 30, 1973 as a sub-organizational unit in the Department of History and Theory of Music at the Jagiellonian University. Elżbieta Dziębowska, was appointed as the Head of the Centre.

The inauguration of the Centre was preceded by the efforts of Dziębowska to take care of the private book collection of I.J. Paderewski, which had been delivered to the Jagiellonian University as a result of inheritance proceedings after the artist's death. In February 1974, the collection of books and music prints, including approximately 8,000 volumes, was transported from the storage rooms of the Jagiellonian Library to the Department's seat, the Pusłowski Palace.

The official opening of the Centre took place on October 16, 1974 in the presence of the Rector of the Jagiellonian University, Professor Mieczysław Karaś. During the ceremony, Elżbieta Dziębowska presented the objectives and tasks of the Centre. Afterwards, Professor Danuta Michałowska from Ludwik Solski Academy for the Dramatic Arts in Krakow read excerpts from the diary of Helena Modrzejewska. And finally, Małgorzata Perkowska from the Department of History and Theory of Music at the Jagiellonian University introduced historical reviews of Paderewski's concerts. The official opening was accompanied by a concert by Danuta Michałowska (recitation) and Tadeusz Żmudziński (piano). The concert repertoire alluded to the program of the performance by I.J. Paderewski and H. Modrzejewska in Krakow on October 3, 1884.

In 1999, at the time of the transformation of the Department of History and Theory of Music into the Institute of Musicology at the Jagiellonian University, the scope of the Centre's activity was extended and its name was changed to the Centre for the Documentation of 19th-Century Polish Music, named after I.J. Paderewski (Decree No. 15 of the Rector of the Jagiellonian University on June 22, 1999).

In the years 2003-2010, the Head of the Centre was Małgorzata Perkowska-Waszek, a prominent expert on the life and work of I.J. Paderewski. Since September 1, 2014, the official name of the Centre has been the Centre for the Documentation of 19th- and 20th-Century Polish Music, named after I.J. Paderewski (Decree No. 84 of the Rector of the Jagiellonian University of August 7, 2014).