Table of Contents

Frederic Chopin

Birth

Frederic was most likely born in elazowa Wola on March 1, 1810. According to some reports, he was born on February 22, 1810. 1)

Sisters

Ludwika, Izabela, and Emilia Chopin were Chopin's three sisters, all of whom died young. 2)

Moving To Warsaw

The Chopin family relocated to Warsaw in the fall of 1810. They first lived in a tenement home on Krakowskie Przedmiecie Street, which no longer exists, before relocating to Saski Palace, their official abode. Nicolas Chopin was a French teacher at the Warsaw Lyceum. 3)

Learning Piano

Chopin began studying the piano when he was in his fourth and fifth years. His mother instructed him. 4)

Wojciech Żywny

He began taking piano lessons at the age of six from Wojciech ywny, a Polish musician of Czech descent. Żywny was a Chopin teacher for six years. He introduced Frederic to works of baroque and classical music and discussed the structure of Bach, Haydn, Mozart, and Hummel's piano compositions. Chopin acquired a fondness for older composers as a result of his studies. Frederic dedicated the Polonaise in A flat major, penned in 1821, to him when he was eleven years old. Wojciech Żywny is buried in Warsaw's Powazki Cemetery. 5)

Wilhelm Waclaw Wurfel

Wilhelm Waclaw Wurfel, who was also from Czechoslovakia, was Chopin's second instructor. Frederic had already written numerous short compositions when he was seven years old. These were polonaises, which are a type of musical dance based on the polonaise dance. Chopin grew up in the midst of this music's ambience. 6)

Warsaw Elite

Frederic made several appearances in the salons of the Warsaw elite even as a toddler. Chopin became renowned in Warsaw thanks to ywny, who typed down his variations and dances according to Frederic's directions and displayed them in numerous Warsaw residences. 7)

Kazimierzowski Palace

When Frederic's father's lyceum was relocated from the Saski Palace to the Kazimierzowski Palace, the Chopins relocated to the palace's outbuilding, the so-called post-building. rector's Juliusz Krzysztof Kolberg and his sons, Samuel Bogumi Linde and Kazimierz Brodziski, were their immediate neighbors at the time. 8)

Polonaise

Frederic Chopin's first printed piece was published in 1817. It was in the key of G minor, and it was a polonaise. It was printed in the Church of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Warsaw's New Town's parish typographical enterprise. 9)

First Public Concert

In 1818, Chopin gave his first public concert in the Radziwil Palace (today the Presidential Palace).10)

Tsarina Maria Feodorovna

Chopin, at eight years old, performed in Warsaw for Tsarina Maria Feodorovna, whom he presented with two of his Polish dances. Chopin also performed for Tsar Alexander I, who was in Warsaw for a Parliament session. Frederic was playing the eolomelodikon, a newly created instrument at the time. 11)

Genius

Chopin's musical abilities were not the only thing he revealed. According to several biographers, he was a worldwide talent. He created caricatures of his professors, which received praise from everyone who saw them. He also performed impromptu stories for his loved ones, wrote poetry and comedy for pleasure, and demonstrated his painting and acting abilities. Chopin had an intimidatingly true knack for copying whomever he desired, according to Honore de Balzac. 12)

Joseph Elsner

Chopin began his studies in harmony and counterpoint with Joseph Elsner at the Warsaw School of Music. Joseph Elsner was a composer, educator, music culture activist, music theorist, and teacher from Poland of German ancestry.13)

Folk Music

Chopin was attracted by folk music throughout his college years, and it is evident in his work from this time period. 14)

First Trip Abroad

Chopin traveled to Berlin for the first time in 1826, which was his first travel abroad. 15)

Konstancja Gadkowska

His initial creative achievements occurred around the same time as his first love affair with Konstancja Gadkowska, whom he referred to as his “ideal” vocalist. 16)

Vienna

Frederic travelled to Vienna with his pals after finishing his studies in 1829. This excursion turned out to be a huge success. Chopin piqued the public's interest in the city, and following the release of his Variations Op. 2 by a Viennese publisher, he was praised by Schumann, who famously said, “Hats off, here's a genius”. He created two piano concertos shortly after that, both of which are regarded classics of the genre. 17)

Back In Poland

Chopin spent a week at Puturzyn, at the home of his friend Tytus Woyciechowski, after returning from Vienna, and then traveled to Kalisz, where he spent the last three days in his homeland. He bid farewell to Konstancja Gadkowska and handed her the ring before departing, which she retained for the rest of her life. 18)

Journey Again

Chopin finally left Poland on November 5, 1830. He set out on his trip to Paris and Stuttgart.19)

November Rising

When he learnt of the November Rising's defeat, he had a mental breakdown. The earliest sketches for the 'Revolutionary' Etude were most likely created around this period. 20)

New Contacts In Paris

Chopin made his debut in Paris at the salons of Pleyel, a member of the musical world's elite at the time, and was a huge hit. He soon rose to the top among the era's most renowned performers. Liszt, Berlioz, Hiller, Hein, Mickiewicz, Delacroix, and others became acquainted with him. 21)

Virtuoso

Between 1835 to 1846, he committed himself to the role of virtuoso, to which he preferred composing. He also kept in touch with Polish intellectuals (Adam Mickiewicz, Julian Ursyn Niemcewicz, Cyprian Kamil Norwid, Józef Bem) and welcomed Jan Matuszyski, his closest boyhood buddy. 22)

Maria Wodzińska

Frederic Chopin was betrothed to Maria Wodziska in 1836, but the wedding never took place. Maria's family refused to let her marry Frederic, arguing that he was too unwell to be a husband, and the engagement was called off. 23)

Sickness

Chopin did become very ill, most likely due to TB, however it has lately been suggested that it may be cystic fibrosis. 24)

George Sand

Chopin met the six-year-old French novelist Aurora Dudevant, also known as George Sand, in 1836. The pair only existed as a couple in rumour; George Sand claimed to be Chopin's second mother, and their nine-year acquaintance was cloistered celibacy. 25)

Recovery

The couple moved back to France after his health recovered. Chopin spent six summers in a row at George Sand's Nohant estate, and these were definitely his happiest times after leaving his birthplace. There, he wrote the Ballade in A flat major, Nocturnes Op. 48, Fantasy in F minor, Polonaise in A flat major, Scherzo in E major, and Berceuse in D flat major, among other works. Balzac, Liszt, vocalist Paulina Viardot, and Delacroix all paid Nohant a visit. 26)

Friendship with Sand

Chopin's friendship with George Sand lasted practically all of the composer's life, until his death in 1847. Chopin outlived his separation by a long time, and he did not produce any noteworthy pieces after leaving Nohant. 27)

In England After Paris Revolution

Chopin traveled to England and Scotland when the revolution in Paris erupted. He was already in terrible condition, and the travel just made things worse. 28)

Last Concert

Chopin's final public performance took place in London in 1848. Jane Stirling, a Scotswoman who adored Chopin and even proposed to him, arranged the performance. Frederic, on the other hand, declined since he was too sick and did not reciprocate sentiments. “Chopin's widow” was Jane Stirling's nickname. 29)

Napoleon Bonaporte

Shortly before Napoleon Bonaparte was elected President of the Second French Republic, the composer returned to Paris. 30)