Last Sunday, that is, on September 27, 2026, a picnic devoted to the music of the great composer Adolf von Henselt was held in Gierałtów, Nowogrodziec municipality, Bolesławiec County. This musician and composer was associated for many years with the court of the Tsar of Russia, while he permanently resided in the palace in our Gierałtów. Details of his biography and information about his work can be found on the istotne.pl portal.
I do not want to repeat information about the creator’s life and his contemporaries, but rather draw attention to the approach of politicians and local authorities to this type of community initiative.
The picnic was prepared and held entirely as a community initiative to promote classical and folk music in the place where it was created, without divisions.
“Music Is Not Politics”—why this title?
Music, by its very nature, brings all people together and is for everyone. Art surrounds us, even when we fail to notice it, busy and absorbed in the prosaic matters of life. Music accompanies us every day. I do not know anyone who does not listen to music. Shakespeare wrote in one of his plays: “…the man that hath no music in himself is dark, let no such man be trusted…”.
Politics, in its dark nature, draws its power from social divisions. As we have come to see, the main “food” of politics includes scandals, slander, mutual accusations, lies and manipulation. This is probably why local authorities were so poorly represented at this event.
The format of this event did not provide for speeches by politicians, which is why I myself, as one of the event’s co-organizers and someone politically active in everyday life, did not use the microphone—also in order to give music and musicians priority.\
As an aside: the local authorities received invitations; I personally delivered them together with the materials (although some claimed they had not received invitations).
If the municipality’s community came without personal invitations, why did those who should have been there not come, given that they manage the municipality and should serve this community? An event with such enormous potential for promoting the region did not interest the local authorities? Then what, in their view, constitutes promotion?
People’s needs must not be toyed with; the attention of local authorities should be directed precisely toward initiatives such as this one in Gierałtów and similar projects. Promotion means showcasing places and people who have made a historical contribution, as well as people of culture. These are the factors that get tourism moving and make businesspeople want to invest. We should not shy away from this. If, within such an understanding of promotion, a local authority leader presents himself, that is his due, because he has put his work into the initiative. A local authority leader is not an armchair and an office, and a municipality, county or country is not a private fiefdom; local government is not the property of the “mayor”—it is the people, and he himself is there for them.
I would like to sincerely thank the Istotne.pl Editorial Office for its help and involvement in this project. I also care deeply about people who would like to become involved in promoting the culture that emerged from Gierałtów’s park. We are immensely satisfied that the music which had been trapped in the overgrowth and ruins of the former palace has entered the State Music School in Bolesławiec—that is the greatest reward for me. Thank you all.