EN
The article presents a portrait of Jan Karlowicz (1836-1903), the father of Mieczyslaw. The author refers to Jan Karlowicz's work as a historian and linguist, which is generally known, but concentrates on his activities as a musician, composer and musicographer, an aspect of his persona which has been little known so far. The issues discussed here present a picture of the home environment in which Mieczyslaw Karlowicz grew up. On the basis of extant documents the authoress reconstructs, among other things: the musical education of Jan Karlowicz as a cellist and pianist and his activities as a virtuoso cellist. She also discusses his work as a translator of works on the theory of music, a teacher of a class of ensemble music at Warsaw Music Conservatory, an author of a proposal for new musical notation, a participant of cultural events of nineteenth-century Europe and America, a member and activist of Warsaw musical societies, and an initiator of research into the works of Polish composers. A separate area of interest presented in the article is Jan Karlowicz's work as a composer, known from extant scores and the works of his first biographers.