During Russian occupation of Poland in 1901, the famous Polish opera singer Adela Bolska performed in front of Russian Tsar Nicholas II. The Tsar was so astonished with her talent that he asked her what would she would like to receive as a reward, expecting Adela to ask for high praise and money. Instead, on behalf of the Polish people, she asked the Tsar, the highest authority of  Imperial Russia  and the imposed Polish King, for permission to erect the Chopin Monument in Warsaw, the place of Chopin’s youth where he lived the first half of his live and where his heart is placed to rest. The Tsar agreed. Adela together with her husband formed a committee for the building of the monument and allocated revenue from concerts for this purpose.

The statue was designed by Waclaw Szymanowski in 1907 and lobbying for the statue to be built on the centenary of Chopin’s birth in 1910. The non-traditional design and expressive form drew significant controversy and nationwide discussion. The outbreak of World War I prevented the statue to be cast and it was not erected until November 14th, 1926 in an already free and independent Poland. The bronze statue depicts a Chopin sitting under a windblown willow tree that was meant to echo the pianist’s hand and fingers.