Michał Kleofas Ogiński

Born in Guzów, near Warsaw, on September 25, 1765, Michał Kleofas Ogiński was born into a family of nobility within the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. The Ogiński family belonged to the Princely Houses of Poland and Lithuania, particularly the Kingdom of Poland and Michał’s father, Andrzej Ignacy Ogiński, was Lithuanian sword-bearer. Michał Oginski was also a prominent figure in politics and diplomacy, having served as a senator to Tsar Alexander I, Treasure of Grand Lithuania (1793-1795), and a member of the Targowica and Grodno confederations. In 1794, Ogiński participated in the Kosciuszko Uprising, which sought to free the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth from Prussia and the Russian Empire and continued to be a conspirator for independence and an activist while in exile. 

As a member of the Szlachta, Ogiński received a gentlemen’s education as well as musical training. He studied violin, clavichord, music theory, and basso continuo with Józef (Osip) Kozłowski in Guzów. In 1782, Ogiński began violin lessons with Ivan Mane Jarnović in Warsaw. However, his diplomatic career began a few years later in 1786 and Ogiński soon began traveling around Europe. Throughout his lifetime, Ogiński continued to study violin periodically with such virtuosos as Giovanni Baptista Viotti and Pierre Baillot. Ogiński composed several works for piano as well as twenty polonaises, piano pieces, marches, romances, and waltzes. Perhaps his most remembered composition is Pożegnanie Ojczyzny (Farewell to the Fatherland), a polonaise for piano in A minor. He also composed a one-act opera, Zélis et Valcour ou Bonaparte au Caïre as well as romances for voice and piano. Of his seventeen songs, the majority were set to texts in Italian and French, but two were originally in Polish. His songs are mostly homophonic with a prelude and postlude and an overarching sentimental and nostalgic tone.  

Ogiński moved to Florence, Italy in 1823, where he remained until his death on October 15th, 1833. He is buried in the Santa Croce near Rossini, Galileo, Michelangelo, and Machiavelli.

Works included in our catalog include:

Title of Work	Poet	Title of Work	Poet	Title of Work	Poet
Czasem rzecz błaha	Unknown	Do Dafnisa	Giovanni Battista Perucchini	Jesienny dzień	Unknown
Lube siedisko cnotliwej pary	Unknown	Minęły błogie dni	Unknown	Niechaj miłość nas połączy	Unknown
Piękna pani	Unknown	Polonez I B-dur	Unknown	Polonez II B-dur	Unknown
Przebudzenie	Unknown	Przestań przede mną łzy ronić	Unknown	Przy boku twym	Unknown
Rodzinna wieś	Unknown	Wspomienia	Unknown	Wstało już słonka na niebie	Unknown
Zamilcz, ach zamilcz już	Unknown	Odi di un uom che muore	Giovanni Redaelli	Zwiędła róża	Unknown