Karol Lipiński

Karol Józef Lipiński was a Polish composer and virtuoso violinist active during the partitions of Poland. Born in Radzyń Podlaski, he was the son of Feliks Lipiński and had a younger brother also named Feliks. His career began in Lwów, where he became first violin in 1810 and conductor of the opera orchestra two years later.

Seeking to hear Niccolò Paganini, he traveled to Italy in 1817. The two met in Milan, played together daily, and performed two joint concerts in April 1818, which greatly enhanced Lipiński’s reputation. Paganini dedicated his Burlesque Variations on "La Carnaval de Venise" to him, and Lipiński later reciprocated by dedicating his Three Caprices for Violin to Paganini.

On his return to Poland in 1818, Lipiński stopped in Trieste for instruction from Dr. Mazzurana, a ninety-year-old former pupil of Giuseppe Tartini who could no longer play but critiqued Lipiński’s performance of a Tartini sonata. He also performed with pianist Maria Agata Szymanowska. In 1820 he traveled to Berlin, meeting Louis Spohr, and to Russia. In 1829 he played a series of concerts with Paganini in Warsaw, attended by the young Frédéric Chopin.

A rivalry developed, destroying their friendship; Paganini later remarked that while he did not know who the greatest violinist was, Lipiński was certainly the second greatest. In 1835–36 Lipiński met Robert Schumann in Leipzig, who was so impressed he dedicated his Carnaval, Op. 9 to him. He visited England in 1836, performing his Military Concerto with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. In 1839 he received a dual appointment in Dresden as concertmaster of the Royal Oratory and kapellmeister at the court chapel, ending his virtuoso touring to focus on chamber music, particularly Beethoven’s string quartets.

He gave a joint recital with Franz Liszt, performing Beethoven’s Kreutzer Sonata. Henryk Wieniawski dedicated his Polonaise de concert to Lipiński, as did Ignacy Feliks Dobrzyński his String Quartet No. 2. Lipiński retired with a pension in 1861 and died in the village of Virliv. He owned two violins, a 1715 Stradivari and a Giuseppe Guarneri del Gesù, both known as "ex-Lipinski." The Karol Lipiński Academy of Music in Wrocław is named after him.