Frédéric Chopin

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Frédéric Chopin
photo portrait by Louis-Auguste Bisson around 1849
Chopin's signature
Timetable
For the time of Chopin's works, see below: Works .
April 6, 1807 Birth of Ludowika, Chopin's older sister.
February 22 or March 1, 1810 Birth of Fryderyk Chopin in Żelazowa Wola around 6 p.m.
April 23, 1810 Baptism of Fryderyk in the Church Świętego Rocha i Jana Chrzciciela in Brochów.
September / October 1810 The Chopin family moves to Warsaw.
July 9, 1811 Birth of sister Izabela.
November 20, 1812 Birth of sister Emilia.
1813 Chopin's first attempts to play the piano.
1814 Death of the grandfather François Chopin.
1816 First piano lessons from sister Ludowika.
1817 First piano lessons with Wojciech Żywny. First printed work - Polonaise in G minor (B. 1, KK IIa / 1, Cho 161).
February 24, 1818 First public appearance at a charity concert in Radziwiłł Palace. Chopin plays the Piano Concerto in G minor by Adalbert Gyrowetz.
February 26, 1818 Chopin gives the mother of the Russian tsar two compositions (the polonaises in G minor and B flat major) during a visit to the Warsaw Lyceum.
1822 First composition lesson; To prepare for the conservatory, Józef Elsner takes on the lessons.
1823 Admission to the Warsaw Lyceum.
1825 Enter Chopin before Tsar Alexander I, who gives him a diamond ring.
July 1826 Chopin leaves the Warsaw Lyceum a year earlier without a school leaving examination.
July 28 - September 11, 1826 Travel to the Bad Reinertz spa (today Duszniki-Zdrój) as a companion to sister Emilia and mother. Benefit concert for orphans.
October 1826 - July 1829 Music studies at the conservatory.
April 10, 1827 Emilia, Chopin's 14-year-old youngest sister, dies.
July 31 - August 19, 1829 Trip to Vienna, Prague, Dresden.
August 11, 1829 1st concert in Vienna.
August 18, 1829 2nd concert in Vienna.
August 21-24, 1829 Visit to Prague after leaving Vienna.
August 26 - September 2, 1829 Visit to Dresden after leaving Prague.
1829/1830 Encounter with the romantic poets Stefan Witwicki, Bohdan Zaleski, Seweryn Goszczyński a. a.
March 17, 1830 First concert at Teatr Wielki in Warsaw.
October 11, 1830 Farewell concert at Teatr Wielki in Warsaw.
November 2, 1830 Departure from Warsaw towards Kalisz.
November 5, 1830 Departure from Kalisz, he leaves Poland.
November 6, 1830 Arrival in Breslau and appearance on November 8th (rondo from the piano concerto in E minor).
November 23, 1830 After 8 days in Dresden and a short stay in Prague, arrival in Vienna. Beginning of the November Uprising in Warsaw.
November 23, 1830 - July 20, 1831 Stay in Vienna.
June 11, 1831 Chopin's appearance in Vienna (concert by D. Mattis).
July 20, 1831 Chopin leaves Vienna and travels to Paris via Salzburg, Munich (appearance on August 28, 1831), Stuttgart and Strasbourg.
September 8, 1831 Surrender of Warsaw during Chopin's stay in Stuttgart.
October 5, 1831 Arrival in Paris.
December 7, 1831 Robert Schumann publishes an article about Chopin in the “Allgemeine Musikzeitung”.
February 25, 1832 First concert in Paris at the Salons Pleyel, 9 rue Cadet.
January 1833 Fryderyk becomes a member of the Polish Literary Society in Paris. Beginning of Chopin's friendship with Bellini and Berlioz.
May 16, 1834 Trip to Aachen for the Lower Rhine Music Festival. Visits to Cologne, Koblenz and Düsseldorf - meeting Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy.
Summer 1835 Journey to Karlsbad, here he meets his parents. Travel to Dresden and get to know Maria Wodzińska .
August 1, 1835 Chopin receives a French passport.
1836 Fryderyk secretly engaged to Maria Wodzińska. Return journey via Leipzig.
Meeting with Robert Schumann.
Fall 1837 First meeting with George Sand in Paris at a reception at the Hôtel de France.
1837 Fryderyk rejects the title of court pianist to the Russian tsar. Breaking off engagement with Maria Wodzińska.
July 7, 1837 Chopin as the companion of Camille Pleyel for two weeks in London. Meeting with the piano maker Broadwood.
March 12, 1838 Concert in Rouen. Chopin plays his Piano Concerto No. 1 in E minor, Op. 11.
April 1838 Beginning of love affair with George Sand.
October 18, 1838 George Sands leaves for Mallorca with her children (Chopin follows on October 27th).
December 15, 1838 Relocation to the Valldemossa Charterhouse on Mallorca.
February 13, 1839 Departure from Mallorca.
February 24 - May 22, 1839 Stay in Marseille.
June 1–10. October 1839 Chopin's 1st stay in Nohant.
1839, 1841-1846 Chopin spends seven summers in Nohant
April 26, 1841 Chopin's public concert in Paris after a six-year break. Concert review by Franz Liszt in the “Gazette Musicale”.
May 3, 1844 Death of the father Mikołaj Chopin.
Late May 1846 - November 11th 1846 Chopin's last stay in Nohant.
July 28, 1847 Last letter from George Sand to Chopin. End of relationship.
February 16, 1848 Last concert in Paris in the concert hall of the Salons Pleyel, 22 rue Rocheouart.
February 22, 1848 Outbreak of the February Revolution in Paris.
March 4, 1848 Last chance meeting of George Sand and Chopin in Paris.
April 19, 1848 Trips with Jane Stirling to England and Scotland.
November 23, 1848 Return to Paris.
September 29, 1849 The terminally ill Chopin moves into the apartment in Paris, Place Vendôme 12.
October 17, 1849 Fryderyk Chopin's death around two in the morning in Paris, Place Vendôme 12.
October 30, 1849 Funeral service in the La Madeleine church in Paris and burial in the Père-Lachaise cemetery.
October 17, 1850 In the Père-Lachaise cemetery, Jean-Baptiste Auguste Clésinger unveils the tomb he designed with Fryderyk Chopin's medallion.
March 1, 1879 Burial of Chopin's heart in the Church of the Holy Cross (Kościół Świętego Krzyża) in Warsaw.
1927 Establishment of the International Chopin Competition in Warsaw.
1949 Chopin's year on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of his death.
1960 Chopin's year on the occasion of his 150th birthday.
February 3, 2001 Chopin's Legacy Protection Act entered into force.
2010 Chopin's year on the occasion of his 200th birthday.

Fryderyk Franciszek Chopin (also Szopen , more rarely Szopę or Choppen ) or Frédéric François Chopin (born  February 22 or March 1, 1810 in Żelazowa Wola , in the then Duchy of Warsaw , Poland ; † October 17, 1849 in Paris ) was a Polish composer , Pianist and piano teacher . He had French citizenship from 1835.

Chopin's father was French, his mother Polish. He grew up in a loving, stimulating home atmosphere. His lifelong close ties to family and home were decisive for his personality. Chopin, who is considered a child prodigy , received his musical training in Warsaw , where he also composed his first pieces. He spent the first 20 years of his life in Poland, which he left on November 2, 1830 for professional and political reasons. From October 1831 until his death (1849) Chopin lived mainly in France . His life was marked by illness. In the end he was penniless and dependent on the help of friends. He died at the age of 39, most likely from pericarditis(Pericarditis) as a result of tuberculosis .

Chopin is like Robert Schumann , Franz Liszt , Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy and others. a. a representative of romanticism , which had its heyday in Chopin's adopted home France between 1815 and 1848. As a composer he almost exclusively created works for piano. Chopin's compositional style is influenced by Polish folk music , the classical tradition of Bach , Mozart , Weber , Hummel and Schubert , but especially by the bel canto style of contemporary Italian opera and its representative Vincenzo Bellini. The atmosphere of the Parisian salons, in which Chopin frequented, had a formative influence. Here he developed his skills in free improvisations on the piano, which often became the basis of his compositions. His innovations in all elements of the composition (melody, rhythm, harmony and forms) and the inclusion of the Polish musical tradition with its emphasis on the national character were important for the development of European music.

Even during his lifetime, Chopin was considered one of the leading musicians of his time. His piano playing and his work as a teacher were due to the expansion and utilization of the technical and tonal possibilities of the instrument, the sensitivity of the touch, the innovations in the use of the pedals and in fingeringregarded as exceptional. His ideas about piano playing (facilité "lightness", rejection of the percussive "knocking" stroke, model of singing, the so-called bel canto in agogic and articulation, rejection of mechanical practice without musical commitment, use and training of the fingers according to their natural physiological conditions instead equalizing finger drill) are still considered fundamental in piano pedagogy, or their importance is only being recognized today (e.g. in the prevention of playing damage).

family

Chopin's birthplace in Żelazowa Wola, now a museum
Latin entry Fridericus Franciscus Choppen in the church book about the baptism of Chopin on April 23, 1810

Frédéric Chopin's parents were the Lorraine language teacher Nicolas Chopin and Tekla Justyna Chopin, née Krzyżanowska, from Poland. At the time of Chopin's grandparents, Lorraine was ruled by King Stanisław Bogusław Leszczyński , who had received the duchy in 1737 as compensation for the loss of the Polish throne. Many of his Polish followers, including Chopin's grandfather, Fryderyk Choppen (later Chopin), had found a new home in Lorraine. Nicolas Chopin, Chopin's father, took on Polish citizenship and used the Polish form "Mikołaj" [ miˈkɔwaɪ̯ ] as his first name . He worked as an office worker and unskilled worker. After the fall of the Kingdom of PolandIn 1795 he earned his living as a tutor for French with the Polish nobility . Later he was a French teacher at the Liceum Warszawskie , initially as a collaborator and from 1814 until the school closed in 1833 as a high school professor .

Chopin's parents shared a passion for music: Nicolas played the violin and flute, Tekla Justyna played the piano and sang. The marriage took place on April 2, 1804. They had four children.

Birth and baptism

Chopin was born in Żelazowa Wola , a village in the Brochów commune , Warsaw department, in what was then the Duchy of Warsaw . He was baptized on April 23, 1810 (on an Easter Monday) in the church Świętego Rocha i Jana Chrzciciela (Polish " Saint Roch and John the Baptist ") of Brochów under the name Fryderyk Franciszek.

The two documents record February 22, 1810 as the date of birth, but both Chopin and his mother stated March 1, 1810 as their birthday. In the family, Chopin's birthday was always celebrated on March 1st. Since both dates fell on a Thursday, it is now assumed that the father, when he counted back when reporting the birth, counted a week too many and incorrectly entered February 22nd as his son's birthday.

Chopin in Poland (1810-1830)

Childhood, youth and first successes

Wojciech Żywny, Chopin's first piano teacher. Oil painting by Ambroży Mieroszewski
Tytus Woyciechowski , childhood friend and later lover

In the fall of 1810 the family moved to the Saxon Palace in Warsawwhere the Warsaw Lyceum was located and Nicholas was hired as a French teacher. Fryderyk and his three sisters received a thorough upbringing that was characterized by warmth and tolerance. At the request of his father, Chopin received home schooling until he was 13 years old. At the age of five, Fryderyk and his older sister Ludwika came into contact with the piano through their parents who played music. Under the guidance of his mother, the boy made rapid progress in playing the piano and showed great manual and musical talent. In 1816 the parents gave the child to the music teacher Wojciech Żywny for further education. It quickly developed into a child prodigy. Żywny laid the technical foundations guided the six-year-old to his first compositions and prepared him for his public appearances. His first compositions thatPolonaises in B flat major and G minor date from 1817. The press drew attention to the publication of the first work and the child's extraordinary talent. On February 24, 1818 Fryderyk performed in a concert on the theater stage of the Radziwiłł Palace with the Piano Concerto in G minor by Adalbert Gyrowetz . The child, who had become famous, was soon invited to the salons of the nobility in Warsaw and passed around as an attraction for his game and ability to improvise.

Józef Elsner around 1850, lithograph by Maksymilian Fajans (University Library of the Kazimierz Wielki University of Bydgoszcz )

In 1822 Żywny finished piano lessons because he felt that he could not give the gifted child any more impulses. Chopin's piano and organ teacher was followed by Wilhelm Würfel , an excellent pianist who familiarized the boys with the modern playing technique, as required by contemporary European piano music of the style . So Chopin learned the works of Johann Nepomuk Hummel , Carl Maria von Weber , Carl Czerny , Ignaz Moscheles , John Field and Ferdinand Riesknow. They had a lasting influence on his virtuoso playing and his own compositional style. From 1822 Chopin took private lessons in music theory and composition from the German Joseph Elsner (Polish: Józef Elsner) , who came from Silesia .

Pałac Czapskich, Warsaw . The Chopin family lived on the third floor of the building on the left.

Chopin attended the Royal Prussian Lyceum in Warsaw until 1826 . This was followed by studies at the music college that bears his name today (Uniwersytet Muzyczny Fryderyka Chopina), where he was further taught by Elsner in counterpoint , figured bass and composition . He composed eagerly and presented the results to Elsner, who stated that Chopin, with his unusual talent, avoided the well-trodden paths and common methods. Chopin's other interests varied widely during his music studies. In 1827 the Chopin family moved to the Czapski Palace (Warsaw) .

On February 24, 1823, Chopin appeared as part of a concert series for charitable purposes with a piano concerto by Ferdinand Ries and on March 3, 1823 again with the piano concerto No. 5 in C major by John Field. The reviews of both concerts recognized the young virtuoso's good pianistic and musical abilities.

Under Elsner's guidance he wrote the Rondo in C minor, Op. 1, in 1826 the Rondo à la Mazur in F major, Op. 5, and in 1828 the Rondo in C major, Op. 73 in the version for two pianos and the Krakowiak, Grand Rondeau de Concert F major op.14 for piano and orchestra.

Tytus Woyciechowski (1808–1879) was one of Chopin's closest childhood friends or lovers . He was a fellow student of Chopin at the Warsaw Lyceum and a frequent guest of the Chopin family. Friends of his youth such as Tytus Woyciechowski, Jan Białobłocki, Jan Matuszyński , Dominik Dziewanowski and Julian Fontana remained lifelong. Woyciechowski, whom Chopin referred to several times in his letters as "My dearest life", had like Chopin piano lessons with Vojtěch Živný and then studied law at the University of Warsaw. Chopin dedicated the Variations in B flat major op. 2 on the duet Là ci darem la mano (German: "Give me your hand, my life") from Mozart's opera Don Giovanni.

“As always, I now carry your letters with me. How happy I will be when I walk outside the walls of the city in May, thinking of my approaching departure, pulling out your letter and assuring myself that you truly love me - or at least just look at the hand and the writing of him I know how to love! "

- Frédéric Chopin : Letter to Titus Woyciechowski, Warsaw, March 27, 1830.

The thesis is widespread that Tytus was also the confidante during Chopin's alleged affair with the singer Konstancja Gładkowska (1810–1889), for which there is, however, no conclusive evidence. When Chopin left the country in autumn 1830, she sang as part of a mixed program at his last public concert on October 11, 1830 in Warsaw.

Even in his youth, Chopin had traveled a lot. Travel was part of his life until the end of his life. His interests were broad. He visited museums, exhibitions, concerts and operas, libraries, universities and admired buildings and their architecture. Chopin's listeners and sponsors included the richest Polish families, such as Radziwiłł , Komar, Potocki , Lubomirski , Plater , Czartoryski and others. a., some of which would later play a major role in Chopin's career as emigrants in Paris and as patrons of his art.

Journey to Berlin (September 1828)

Chopin, eager to get to know the musical life of other cities and well-known artists, had the opportunity in September 1828 to accompany a friend of his father's to a congress in Berlin organized by Alexander von Humboldt . His wish to get in touch with the greats of Berlin's musical life such as Carl Friedrich Zelter , Gasparo Spontini or Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy was not fulfilled, partly because he was too insecure to approach the famous musicians. Numerous visits to concerts and operas ( Carl Maria von Weber's Freischütz ), including the performance of Georg Friedrich Handel's Caecilienode in theThe Berlin Singakademie most impressed, made the two-week trip to Berlin an important event for Chopin's artistic development.

Without belonging to the high nobility himself, Chopin had dealings with aristocratic families since childhood because of his musical talent. In addition to his family socialization, this had an important influence on his personality development . Throughout his life it was important to him to be able to move appropriately in high circles, to be respected and respected.

In July 1829 Chopin finished his studies. Elsner's assessment reads: “Szopen Friderik. Special talent, musical genius ”( Polish “ Szopen Friderik. Szczególna zdolność, geniusz muzyczny ” ). However, an application to the minister responsible for assistance in financing a longer trip abroad to further educate the young artist was unsuccessful. So the family decided to let Frédéric travel to Vienna for a while.

First stay in Vienna (July 31 - August 19, 1829)

The journey began in July 1829 in the company of four friends. Stations were Krakow, Bielsko (German Bielitz), Teschen (Polish Cieszyn ) and Moravia . After arriving in Vienna on July 31, 1829, Chopin visited Polish friends and the publisher Tobias Haslinger. He promised to publish Chopin's Opus 2, Variations on the duet “Là ci darem la mano” from Mozart's opera Don Giovanni for piano and orchestra, written in 1827/28, on the condition that Chopin played it in a concert beforehand and had positive reviews on sale promoted. The concert took place on August 11, 1829 in Vienna's Kärntnertortheaterinstead of. In addition to the world premiere of the Mozart Variations op. 2, Chopin also played a “Free Fantasy”, an improvisation on a theme from the opera La dame blanche (German The White Lady ) by François-Adrien Boieldieu and a Polish folk song. The concert was celebrated as a success by listeners and the press, led to encounters between Chopin and representatives of the Viennese music scene and to a second, even more successful concert on August 18, 1829, in which Chopin, in addition to his Mozart variations, also performed the Krakowiak, Grand Rondeau de Concert F- majorop. 14 played. The reviews of both concerts emphasized Chopin's nuanced, virtuoso playing and praised the delicacy of his touch. It was found, however, that he played too softly, an accusation that Chopin would hear more often in the course of his later career. The compositions were not always understood due to the novelty of their tonal language.

On December 7th, 1831 , the Allgemeine Musikische Zeitung published a review by Robert Schumann under the title Ein Opus II , which was introduced with the exclamation “Hats off, your gentlemen, a genius” about the sheet music edition published by Tobias Haslinger in Vienna . It also said: “Chopin cannot write anything that does not have to be called out after the seventh or eighth bar at the latest: This is Chopin!” Elsewhere: “Chopin's works are like cannons hidden under flowers”. Chopin left Vienna with his companion on August 19, 1829. After a three-day stay in Prague, an extensive tour of the architectural monuments and picture gallery of Dresden and a visit to a performance of Goethe's Faustthe departure from the Saxon capital took place on August 29, 1829. The way back to Warsaw, which was reached on September 10, 1829, went via Breslau and Kalisz .

In Warsaw until departure (September 10, 1829 - November 2, 1830)

After returning from Vienna, Chopin devoted himself intensively to the musical life of Warsaw and to his own work. Important works from this period are the Piano Concerto in F minor, Op. 21, some of the Etudes, Op. 10, the Polonaise in F minor, Op. 71, No. 3, and the Waltzes, Op. 70, No. 1-3. The first performance of the piano concerto in F minor (published in 1836 as the 2nd piano concerto op. 21) took place in a small, private setting in front of invited guests on February 7, 1830. The public performance took place on March 17, 1830 in the National Theater on Krasiński Square in Warsaw. The reviews of the concert in which Chopin also wrote his Grande Fantaisie sur des airs nationaux polonais in A majorop. 13 were very positive. On March 22, 1830 Chopin appeared again in the same theater. This time, in addition to the Piano Concerto in F minor, he played Krakowiak, Grand Rondeau de concert in F major Op. 14 and improvisations on themes from Polish operas ( Jan Stefani : Krakowiacy i górale “The Krakowians and the Mountain People”; Karol Kurpiński : Novi Krakowiacy “The New Cracow”). This concert was also very successful. Even before Chopin's final departure, he wrote a. the Nocturnes Op. 9 and the Piano Concerto in E minor (published in 1833 as the 1st Piano Concerto, Op. 11).

In July 1830, Chopin visited Tytus Woyciechowski for two weeks on his farm in Poturzyn.

Memorial plaque in Poturzyn. Chopin visited Woyciechowski there on his farm.

“I want to tell you honestly that I think back to all of this with joy - your fields have left a certain longing in me - the birch in front of the windows will not get out of my mind. That Arbaletta [crossbow]! - How romantic! I remember the Arbaletta, because of which you plagued me so much - for all my sins. "

- Frédéric Chopin : Letter to Titus Woyciechowski, Warsaw, August 21, 1830.

Chopin gave his last concert in Poland on October 11, 1830 at the National Theater in Warsaw (Teatr Narodowy) with the performance of his Piano Concerto in E minor (op. 11) and the Grande Fantaisie sur des Airs Nationaux Polonais pour le Pianoforte avec accompagnement d'Orchestre ( “Great Fantasy on Polish Ways for the Pianoforte with Orchestra Accompaniment” in A major op. 13) under the direction of Carlo Evasio Soliva .

Chopin abroad (1830–1849)

Chopin knew that the really great musicians were not to be found in Warsaw and also no longer in Vienna, but in Paris, the stronghold for artists from all over the world in the 19th century. Back then, the size of a pianist was measured by success in this metropolis. For the first time in 1829 his parents and his teacher sent him to Vienna for three weeks to expand his artistic experience.

Chopin leaves Poland

Chopin left Poland on November 2, 1830 at the age of 20 - also at the urging of his father to face the impending revolt - and traveled with Tytus Woyciechowski via Kalisz, Breslau, Prague and Dresden to Vienna, where he arrived on November 23, 1830. The friends presented him with a silver cup with Polish soil on the last evening and sang him a farewell song on the outskirts, which contained the following refrain:

  • Farewell song (Polish) 

Zrodzony w polskiej krainie,
niech Twój talent wszędzie słynie,
a gdy będziesz nad Dunajem,
Spreją, Tybrem lub Sekwana,
niechaj polskim obyczajem
ogłaszanymi zostaną
Przez twe zajmujące tony,
Co umila nasze strony:
Mazur i Krakowiak luby,
city szukaj zachwytu, chluby,
nagrody , talentu, trudów,
Że głosząc pieśń naszych ludów,
jako ich współziomek prawy,
przydasz wieniec do ich sławy.

Chór:
Choć opuszczasz nacze kraje,
Lecz serce Twoje wpośród nas zostaje;
pamięć Twojego talentu istnieć u nas będzie…
Życzym Ci serdecznie pomyślności wszędzie.

Refrain:
Although you leave our country,
your heart still remains among us;
the memory of your talent will remain with us ...
We wish you success everywhere. "

Second stay in Vienna

Memorial plaque for Frédéric Chopin, Vienna, Kohlmarkt 9

After a four-day stay in Breslau (with a concert on November 8, 1830) and a week in Dresden, Chopin arrived in Vienna with his friend Tytus Woyciechowski on November 23, 1830. Chopin tried in vain to persuade the music publisher Carl Haslinger , who received him kindly, to publish his compositions (sonata, variations). The Viennese taste in music had changed so that during his eight-month stay - in contrast to his first stay in Vienna - he only gave one public concert on June 11, 1831. It took place in the Kärntnertortheater as part of the so-called academies. In this benefit concert, Chopin played his Piano Concerto No. 1 in E minor, Op. 11, without a fee. The press praised his piano playing, but not the composition.

During this time Chopin frequented the doctor Johann Malfatti .

Consequences of the November Uprising in Poland

At the beginning of December 1830, Chopin received news in Vienna that on the evening of November 29, 1830 the November uprising against Russian rule had broken out in Warsaw. Woyciechowski left Vienna to take part in the uprising, leaving behind a lonely, homesick Chopin. After a stay of over seven months, which Chopin found disappointing because he was recognized as a pianist, but not as a composer, and because he was marked by concern about Poland's uncertain fate, Chopin left Vienna on July 20, 1831.

The complicated exit formalities - Chopin was a Pole and thus a subject of the Russian Tsar - meant that Chopin, despite his intended destination Paris, applied for a passport to England on the advice of a friend, because he was neither from the Austrian could still hope for support from the Russian authorities. His request was rejected by the Russian embassy in Vienna. But he managed to get a visa to France. His passport was marked “passant par Paris à Londres”. Later in Paris, Chopin often jokingly said that he only stayed here “en passant” - in transit. However, Chopin intended to stay in Paris for at least three years. He drove via Salzburg to Munich, where on 28. August 1831 played the Piano Concerto No. 1 in E minor, Op. 11 and the Grande Fantaisie sur des airs polonais in A major, Op. 13 in the Philharmonie. In Stuttgart, which he reached in early September 1831, he learned of the suppression of the Polish uprising and the surrender of Warsaw on September 8, 1831. He continued the journey via Strasbourg to Paris.

Chopin in Paris (1831–1849)

Paris, 27 boulevard Poissonnière: Chopin's first apartment in Paris 1831–1832.
Portrait of the pianist, educator and entrepreneur Friedrich Kalkbrenner, engraving by Auguste Marc Edmé Bry after a drawing by Alphonse Farcy

Chopin arrived in Paris in the early evening of October 5, 1831, a complete stranger. He only had two letters of recommendation with him: one from his teacher Józef Elsner for the composer and composition teacher Jean-François Lesueur , the other from the medical doctor Johann Malfatti for the composer Ferdinando Paër , who was responsible for possible contacts with Gioachino Rossini , Luigi Cherubini and Friedrich Kalkbrenner was important.

The Italian composer and court conductor Ferdinando Paër campaigned for Chopin with the authorities to obtain a residence permit. Chopin was fascinated by Paris. Here he met Friedrich Kalkbrenner , whom he valued as a pianist and who made the offer to teach him for three years. With that, Chopin would have undertaken not to appear for this period. Kalkbrenner recognized Chopin's extraordinary talent and, if possible, wanted to avoid competition in the music business. Chopin turned down the proposal, worried about losing his personal way of playing the piano.

L'Hôtel Cromot du Bourg (courtyard side), Paris, 9 rueß.ß Cadet. Here, in the salons of the Pleyel company (first floor), Chopin gave his first concert in Paris on February 25, 1832. The rooms have been preserved and have been used commercially since 2018 after extensive restoration.

When Chopin's arrival in Paris on October 5, 1831, there was a time of economic crisis that repeatedly led to demonstrations. Unrest, hardship and bitterness characterized the mood of the working class. Chopin was in bad physical and mental health. In a letter to Tytus Woyciechowski dated December 25, 1831, he described his situation:

  • Chopin's letter to Tytus Woyciechowski (Polish) 
… Moje zdrowie nędzne; wesoły jestem zewnątrz, szczególniej między share state (share state Nazywam Polaków), ale w środku coś mnie morduje - jakieś przeczucia, niepokoje, SNY albo bezsenność - tęsknota - obojętność - Chęć życia, aw moment Chęć śmierci - jakiś słodki pokój, jakieś odrętwienie, nieprzytomność umysłu , a czasem dokładna pamięć mnie dręczy. Kwaśno mi, gorzko, słono, jakaś szkaradna mieszanina uczuć mną miota! | Fryderyk Chopin do Tytusa Woyciechowskiego, Paryż, 25 decemb [ra] 1831.
The Hôtel Lambert on the Île Saint-Louis in Paris, a center of Polish emigrants in Chopin's time.
Anton Teofil Kwiatkowski: Chopin's Polonaise. Ball at the Hôtel Lambert in Paris , watercolor, 1859, Poznan National Museum

"... my health is miserable. Outwardly I am happy, especially among ours (by ours I mean the Poles), but inside something plagues me - some premonitions, restlessness, dreams or insomnia - longing - indifference - the will to live and then again the desire for death - some sweet peace , some torpor, absent-mindedness, and sometimes an exact memory torments me. I feel sour, bitter, salty, an ugly mixture of feelings throws me back and forth! "

- Frédéric Chopin : Letter to Titus Woyciechowski, Paris, December 25, 1831.

After his arrival in Paris on October 5, 1831, Chopin had first contacts with Polish emigrants who had come from Poland as part of the so-called Great Emigration (Polish: Wielka Emigracja ). Soon Chopin was a guest in the most important and influential Parisian salons. The rooms in the building of Camille Pleyel's piano factory at 9 rue Cadet were to be of particular importance to Chopin . It took place here on February 25, 1832 through the mediation of the pianist Friedrich Kalkbrenner, who was also a partner in the Pleyel company, Chopin's first concert took place in Paris. It was a great success and laid the foundation for Chopin's successful career as a composer, pianist and, above all, as a sought-after piano teacher for members of the aristocracy. The printed program of this Grand Concert Vocal et Instrumental, donné par M. Frédéric Chopin, de Varsovie has been preserved. Chopin played his Piano Concerto in E minor, Op. 11 (not the one in F minor, Op. 21, as was long believed), his Grandes Variations brillantes sur un thème de Mozart, Op. 2, and together with Friedrich Kalkbrenner, Camille Stamaty(instead of the originally planned Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy), Ferdinand Hiller, George Osborne and Wojciech Sowiński the Grande Polonaise précédée d'une Introduction et d'une Marche op. 92 by Kalkbrenner in an arrangement for six pianos.

In the 18 years that Chopin spent essentially in Paris from 1831 to his death in 1849, he lived in nine different apartments.

Frédéric Chopin's Parisian apartments Period
27 boulevard Poissonnière Early October 1831 - June 1832
4 cité Bergère Fall 1832 - mid June 1833
5 rue de la Chaussée d'Antin June 1833 - September 1836. From 1834 together with Jan Matuszyński .
38 rue de la Chaussée d'Antin 2nd half of September 1836 - September 1839. Together with Julian Fontana .
5 rue Tronchet October 1839 - early November 1841
16 rue Pigalle (since April 1, 1997 rue Jean-Baptiste-Pigalle) Beginning of November 1841 - September 1842
in a separate pavilion next to the one in which George Sand lived.
9 square d'Orléans August 5, 1842 - late May 1849
(From April to November 1848 Chopin was in England and Scotland.)
74 rue de Chaillot End of May 1849 - 1st half of September 1849
12 place Vendôme Mid-September 1849 until his death on October 17, 1849

Economic situation

Chopin made his living primarily by taking piano lessons . In Chopin's day the piano was a widespread instrument that was mainly learned by women. Its great popularity since the beginning of the 19th century, which was viewed very critically by some observers such as Heinrich Heine in Paris or Eduard Hanslick in Vienna, has several reasons. The social philosopher Max Weber says that the piano is “a bourgeois house instrument” in terms of its “musical essence”. Due to its simple sound generation from the user's point of view, it opens up direct access, even for laypeople, to various types of music, from simple children's songs to virtuoso concert literature.

Due to his early intercourse in the Parisian salons of the aristocracy and also in the world of politics and finance, the protection of the Polish noble emigrants and not least because of the resounding success of his first concert in Paris (February 25, 1832), Chopin was soon a sought-after, good Paid piano teacher, whose students came mainly from the aristocracy and the influential political and financial milieus.

From 1833 Chopin had a regular income, which he was able to top up with fees for concerts and compositions, which he sometimes offered to publishers in France, England and Germany at the same time.

As can be seen from letters to his friends, Chopin was sometimes disappointed with the reward and the handling of his compositions. Then he was not afraid to use insulting and - from today's point of view - sometimes anti-Semitic statements.

Chopin had an elaborate lifestyle in Paris. He afforded a private carriage, had servants, and valued expensive clothing. He taught about five hours a day. The teaching fee was 20 francs. (On purchasing power: a carriage ride through Paris cost 1 franc). He asked for 30 francs per hour for house calls, which is around € 200 today. One lesson lasted 45 minutes, but he extended it with his talented students. Lessons from Chopin became a status symbol. During his time in Paris he had a total of around 150 students.

The public concerts of Frédéric Chopin time place program
Several soloists took part in most of the concerts. Only Chopin's contributions are listed here .
Warsaw February 24, 1818 Pałac Radziwiłłów
(Radziwiłł Palace)
- Adalbert Gyrowetz: Piano Concerto in G minor
Warsaw February 24, 1823 Gmach Towarzystwa Dobroczynności
(House of the Charity Society)
- Ferdinand Ries: piano concerto
Warsaw 3/3/1823 Gmach Towarzystwa Dobroczynności
(House of the Charity Society)
- John Field: Piano Concerto No. 5 in C major
Bad Reinerz
(Duszniki-Zdrój)
August 11, 1826 Hall of the bath Program not known
Bad Reinerz August 16, 1826 Hall of the bath Program not known
Vienna August 11, 1829 Kärntnertortheater - Variations on “Là ci darem la mano” from Mozart's Don Giovanni in B flat major op. 2
- Improvisations on a given theme from the opera La dame blanche ( The White Lady ) by François-Adrien Boieldieu and the Polish folk song “Oj chmielu, chmielu "(" 0 hops, hops ")
Vienna August 18, 1829 Kärntnertortheater - Krakowiak. Grand Rondeau de concert in F major op.14
Warsaw December 19, 1829 Dawna Resursa
(Ancient Resource)
- Piano accompaniment and improvisation on themes from Joseph Drechsler and Józef Damses The Millionaire Farmer or the Girl from the Enchanted World
Warsaw March 17, 1830 Teatr Narodowy
(National Theater)
- Piano Concerto in F minor, Op. 21 (published as No. 2 in 1836)
- Grande Fantaisie sur des airs nationaux polonais in A major, Op. 13
Warsaw March 22, 1830 Teatr Narodowy
(National Theater)
- Piano Concerto in F minor, Op. 21 (published as No. 2 in 1836)
- Krakowiak. Grand Rondeau de concert in F major op. 14
- improvisation on themes from Polish operas by Jan Stefani and Karol Kurpiński
Warsaw October 11, 1830 Farewell concert at Teatr Narodowy - Piano Concerto in E minor, Op. 11 (published in 1833 as Concerto No. 1)
- Grande Fantaisie sur des airs nationaux polonais in A major, Op. 13
Wroclaw
(Wroclaw)
November 8, 1830 resource - Rondo from the Piano Concerto No. 1 in E minor, Op. 11
- Improvisation on a theme from The Mutes from Portici by Daniel-François-Esprit Auber
Vienna June 11, 1831 Kärntnertortheater - Piano Concerto No. 1 in E minor, Op. 11.
Munich August 28, 1831 Hall of the Philharmonic Society - Piano Concerto No. 1 in E minor, Op. 11.
- Grande Fantaisie sur des airs nationaux polonais in A major, Op. 13.
Paris First concert in Paris
February 25, 1832
Salons Pleyel (9 rue Cadet) - Piano Concerto No. 1 in E minor op.11
- Friedrich Kalkbrenner: Grande Polonaise précédée d'une Introduction et d'une Marche op.92 (version for six pianos, together with Kalkbrenner, Stamaty, Hiller, Osborne, Sowiński)
- Variations on “Là ci darem la mano” from Mozart's Don Giovanni in B flat major op. 2
Paris May 20, 1832 Salle du Conservatoire (2 rue Bergère; benefit concert) - Piano Concerto No. 1 in E minor, Op. 11 (1st movement)
Paris March 23, 1833 Salle du Wauxhall (former rue Samson) - Johann Sebastian Bach: Allegro from the Concerto for Three Pianos in A minor BWV 1063 (together with Franz Liszt and Ferdinand Hiller)
Paris 3 April 1833 Salle du Wauxhall - Henri Herz: Grand morceau pour deux pianos à huit mains sur le choeur du Crociato de Meyerbeer (together with Franz Liszt, Jacques and Henri Herz)
Paris April 2, 1833 Théâtre-Italy
(benefit concert)
- George Onslow: Sonata in F minor for piano four hands op.22 (with Franz Liszt)
Paris April 25, 1833 Hotel de Ville - Piano Concerto No. 1 in E minor, Op. 11 (2nd and 3rd movements)
Paris December 15, 1833 Salle du Conservatoire - Johann Sebastian Bach: Allegro from the Concerto for Three Pianos in A minor BWV 1063 (together with Franz Liszt and Ferdinand Hiller)
Paris December 14, 1834 Salle du Conservatoire
(benefit concert)
- Piano Concerto No. 1 in E minor, Op. 11 (2nd movement)
Paris December 25, 1834 Salon de Stoepel (6 rue de Monsigny) - Ignaz Mocheles: Grande Sonate pour piano à quatre mains op 47th
- Franz Liszt: Grand Duo sur des Songs Without Words de Mendelssohn (together with Franz Liszt)
Paris February 22, 1835 Salons d'Érard (13 rue du Mail) - Ferdinand Hiller: Grand Duo pour deux pianos op.135 (together with Ferdinand Hiller)
Paris March 15, 1835 Salons de Pleyel - Program unknown (together with Kalkbrenner, Herz, Hiller and Osborne)
Paris 5 April 1835 Théâtre-Italy
(benefit concert for the Polish refugees)
- Piano Concerto No. 1 in E minor or No. 2 in F minor
Paris April 26, 1835 Salle du Conservatoire
(benefit concert)
- Grande Polonaise brillante précédée d'un Andante spianato op 22nd
Rouen March 12, 1838 Hotel de Ville (town hall) - Piano Concerto No. 1 in E minor, Op. 11
Paris March 3, 1838 Salons de Pape (10 rue de Valois) - Beethoven-Alkan: Allegretto and Finale of the 7th Symphony arranged for two pianos and eight hands (together with Zimmermann, Alkan and Gutmann)
Paris April 26, 1841 Salons Pleyel (Salle de concert, 22 rue Rochechouart) - Preludes from op. 28
- Ballad No. 2 in F major, op. 38
- Scherzo No. 3 in C sharp minor, op. 39
- Mazurkas
- Nocturnes
- Selection of studies
Paris February 16, 1848


Last concert in Paris
Salons Pleyel (Salle de concert, 22 rue Rochechouart) - Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Piano trio in G major KV 564
- Sonata in G minor for piano and violoncello op.65 (without the 1st movement, together with Franchomme)
- a nocturne
- Barcarolle in F sharp major op.60
- Selection of studies
- Berceuse in D flat major op. 57
- Preludes from op. 28
- Mazurken
- Waltz, at the end of the concert waltz D flat major op
London June 23, 1848 Singer Adelaide Sartoris-Kemble's Salon, 99 Eaton Place - Berceuse D flat major op.57
- Nocturnes
- Mazurkas
- Waltz
London 7. 7. 1848 Lord Falmouth, St. James Square 2 - Berceuse D flat major op.57
- smaller individual pieces
- Scherzo No. 1 B minor op.20
- a ballad
- three etudes from op.25 (No. 1 A flat major, No. 2 F minor, No. 7 c sharp minor)
- Preludes from op.28
London November 16, 1848 City Hall, Guild Hall - Etudes op. 25 No. 1 and 2
- no further information available
Manchester August 28, 1848 Concert Hall - a ballad
- Berceuse D flat major op. 57
- smaller pieces
Glasgow September 27, 1848 Merchant's Hall - a ballad
- Berceuse in D flat major op.57
- Andante spianato from op.22
- Impromptu No. 2 in F sharp major op.36
- Selection of studies
- Preludes from op.28
- Nocturnes in C sharp minor, D flat major op. 27 No. 1/2.
- Nocturnes in F minor, E flat major op.55 No. 1/2
- Mazurken op.7
- Waltz op.64
Edinburgh October 4, 1848 Hopetowns Rooms - similar program as in Glasgow
- Largo (it is either the Largo in E flat major (KK IVb / 2), called Modlitwa Polaków “Prayer of the Poles”, or the 3rd movement of the Sonata No. 3 in B minor op . 58)

Overall, Chopin performed in around 40 public concerts: in Warsaw, Bad Reinerz (today: Duszniki-Zdrój ), Breslau (today: Wrocław), Vienna, Munich, London, Rouen, Manchester, Glasgow, Edinburgh and in Paris. As was customary at the time, several soloists took part in the varied programs, with Chopin not always being the main soloist. Sometimes they were benefit concerts or concerts by other musicians, to whose success the famous colleagues contributed through their participation. In contrast to Liszt, Chopin preferred the intimate atmosphere of the salons to the large concert halls in which his delicate playing was not played out.

Social life in Paris and friends

Inner courtyard of the Bibliothèque Polonaise de Paris, the seat of the Polish historical-literary society on Île Saint-Louis at Quai d'Orléans 6 in Paris, with plaques of names of deserving personalities, including Chopin (upper left panel)

In 1832, Chopin became one of the first members of the Société littéraire polonaise (French "Polish Literary Society", Polish Towarzystwo Literackie w Paryżu ) founded in Paris on April 29, 1832 by Polish emigrants . The first president was Prince Adam Jerzy Czartoryski , and vice-president Ludwik Plater .

In Chopin's time there were around 850 salons in Paris, semi-private gatherings of friends and art lovers, which were common in large houses, and who met with a certain regularity, weekly or monthly, for dinner, conversation and music. Those who frequented these circles of the Parisian bourgeoisie had achieved a social reputation. Chopin probably felt most at home in the artists' salons, where he socialized with his own kind and ensured an intellectual level by making music and exchanging ideas.

A sign of the social recognition Chopin enjoyed in Paris is the invitation of the royal family to play in the Tuileries palace . Each time he received a gift with the engraved inscription: Louis-Philippe, Roi des Français, à Frédéric Chopin ("Louis Philippe, King of the French, to Frédéric Chopin").

Chopin's circle of friends included the poets Alfred de Musset , Honoré de Balzac , Heinrich Heine and Adam Mickiewicz , the painter Eugène Delacroix , the musicians Franz Liszt , Ferdinand von Hiller , and the cellist Auguste-Joseph Franchomme . Chopin was also several times a guest of the Marquis Astolphe de Custine , one of his ardent admirers, in his château in Saint-Gratien . Among other things, he played in Custine's Salon, such as the Etudes op. 25: 1-2 and the then unfinished Ballad op. 38.

Julian Fontana , friend and family member of Chopin, around 1860. In 1855, contrary to Chopin's wishes, he published works that were not intended for publication.

Of particular importance to Chopin was Julian Fontana , of the same age , with whom he had a lifelong friendship since childhood. Until his emigration to the United States (1841), he was indispensable for Chopin as a copyist , arranger , secretary and impresario , who also negotiated with the publishers and took care of his friend's everyday business. After Chopin's death he published - against the will of the composer, but with the consent of the family - some posthumous works with the opus numbers 66–73 (published 1855) and opus 74 (published 1859).

The pianist, music publisher and piano manufacturer Camille Pleyel was one of the most important people in Chopin's time in Paris from the start. It was a professional collaboration characterized by friendship and mutual respect that benefited both of them. The pianos and grand pianos, which Pleyel made available to Chopin free of charge, were, for Chopin, as he put it, the non plus ultra of piano making ; Chopin was a valued advertising medium for Pleyel, according to the company's sales statistics.

Travel and engagement: Aachen and Karlsbad (1834), Leipzig (1835)

Self-portrait of Maria Wodzińska at the age of 17, 1836

In 1834, the doctor and close childhood friend Jan Matuszyński moved into his apartment at Chaussée-d'Antin No. 5 and lived there with him until 1836. In May 1834 Chopin traveled to Aachen for the Lower Rhine Music Festival. He visited Cologne, Koblenz and Düsseldorf, where he met Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy, whom he already knew from Paris. In the summer he traveled to Karlovy Vary, where he met his parents. After his onward journey to Dresden, he met the Wodziński family again in Marienbad in 1836, where they were taking a cure and - despite the protests of their uncle - it was said that Chopin and Maria Wodzińska were engaged . Maria's mother allegedly insisted that this be kept secret until the summer of the following year. There is also no solid evidence for this.

In 1835 Chopin made the acquaintance of Clara and Robert Schumann in Leipzig, mediated by Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy, and in 1836 with Adolph von Henselt in Karlsbad. Only a year later, the alleged engagement to Maria Wodzińska was supposedly dissolved again - probably at the insistence of her parents because of Chopin's poor health.

In 1836, the pianist, composer and close childhood friend Julian Fontana moved in with Chopin in Chaussée-d'Antin as the successor to Jan Matuszyński .

Polish patriot

Despite his success and strong roots in the cultural life of Paris and a large circle of friends of Polish emigrants, Chopin longed for Poland and his family; As is evident from his letters and statements, he suffered from constant homesickness. Throughout his life Chopin insisted on the Polish pronunciation of his French surname: [ˈʃɔpɛn] . He expressed his sense of home and his national pride particularly in his mazurkas and polonaise. The expression of longing, nostalgia and melancholy (Polish "żal" ) became a characteristic of his music , along with the emphasis on Poland ( Polish "polskość" ). As an ardent Polish patriothe was entirely on the side of the resistance against tsarist Russia, which was occupying the so-called Congress Poland . If there was a Polish charity bazaar before Christmas, Chopin helped organize it.

His patriotism and longing for Poland remained a source of inspiration for many of his compositions. Inspired by the uprising, he wrote his revolutionary etude (Opus 10 No. 12).

1837 Chopin received over Count Carlo Andrea Pozzo di Borgo the offer, court composer and -pianist of Tsar Nicholas I to be. The background was a concert that Chopin had given in May 1825 on an aeolomelodicum (an organ variant) in front of his predecessor, Tsar Alexander I , in the Trinity Church in Warsaw . Chopin turned down the tsar's offer.

Chopin and George Sand

Eugène Ferdinand Victor Delacroix 041.jpg
Eugène Ferdinand Victor Delacroix 043.jpg


Frédéric Chopin and George Sand, two parts of a picture by Eugène Delacroix , 1838. The unfinished painting (oil on canvas) was cut up after the painter's death in 1863 and the two parts were sold individually. Today they hang in Paris (Chopin: 46 × 38 cm, Musée du Louvre ) and Copenhagen (George Sand: 79 × 57 cm, Ordrupgaard Museum ).
Eugène Delacroix: Design préparatoire pour le double portrait de Frédéric Chopin et George Sand (“Preliminary study for the double portrait of F. Chopin and G. Sand”), pencil on brown paper, 12.6 × 14.3 cm, Paris, Musée du Louvre , Cabinet des dessins
Auguste Charpentier : George Sand , 1838, oil on canvas, 85 × 64.5 cm, Paris, Musée de la vie romantique

Chopin first saw the successful writer Amandine Aurore Lucile Dupin de Francueil, aka George Sand , in the fall of 1836 at a reception at the Hôtel de France in Paris, where Franz Liszt and his lover Marie d'Agoult, coming from Switzerland, were relegated. His first reaction to this man, dressed in men's clothing and smoking cigars, was disapproval. The 27-year-old Chopin got into a life crisis because of an unhappy love for the then 18-year-old Maria Wodzińska. Maria Wodzińska and George Sand, however, were fundamentally different. Unlike Wodzińska, George Sand was a confident, provocative, and contradicting personality. The initiative for the relationship with Chopin came from her. Your nine-year relationship with Chopin, a love affair, initially characterized by trust, mutual appreciation, tenderness, but later also by jealousy, hatred and distrust, leaves some questions unanswered.

George Sand was a passionate woman who had a number of mostly younger lovers. The relationship between the then 32-year-old and Chopin, who was six years younger, was shaped from the start by very different emotional and sexual needs. George Sand destroyed numerous letters addressed to her, making the relationship difficult to assess. Clear indications, however, are a thirty-two page letter from George Sand to Chopin's friend Wojciech Grzymała(1793–1871) from late May 1838 in which she asked him for advice. She found herself in a conflict because she still had a relationship with the writer Félicien Mallefille, but on the other hand had developed an affection for Chopin, about whose feelings towards her she was in the dark. In any case, there must have been a closer encounter between the two.

  • Letter from George Sands to Albert Grzymala (French) 

"Et puisque je vous dis tout, je veux vous dire qu'une seule chose en lui m'a déplu, [c'est qu'il avait eu lui-même de mauvaises raisons pour s'abstenir. Jusque là, je trouvais beau qu'il s'abstînt par respect pour moi, par timidité, même par fidélité pour une autre. Tout cela était du sacrifice et par conséquent de la force et de la chasteté bien entendues. C'était là ce qui me charmait et me séduisait le plus en lui. Mais chez vous, au moment de nous quitter, et comme il voulait surmonter une dernière tentation, il m'a dit deux ou trois paroles qui n'ont pas répondu à mes idées.] Il semble faire fi, à la manière des dévots, des grossièretés humaines et rougir des tentations qu'il avait eues, et craindre de souiller notre amour par un transport de plus. Cette manière d'envisager le dernier embrassement de l'amour m'a toujours répugné. Si ce dernier embrassement n'est pas une chose aussi sainte, aussi pure, aussi dévouée que le reste, il n'y a pas de vertu à s'en abstenir. [Ce mot d'amour physique dont on se sert pour exprimer ce qui n'a de nom que dans le ciel, me déplaît et me choque, comme une impiété et comme une idée fausse en même temps. Est-ce qu'il peut y avoir, pour les natures élevées, un amour purement physique et, pour des natures sincères, un amour purement intellectuel?] Est-ce qu'il ya jamais d'amour sans un seul baiser et un baiser d'amour sans volupté? » Est-ce qu'il peut y avoir, pour les natures élevées, un amour purement physique et, pour des natures sincères, un amour purement intellectuel?] Est-ce qu'il ya jamais d'amour sans un seul baiser et un baiser d'amour sans volupté? » Est-ce qu'il peut y avoir, pour les natures élevées, un amour purement physique et, pour des natures sincères, un amour purement intellectuel?] Est-ce qu'il ya jamais d'amour sans un seul baiser et un baiser d'amour sans volupté? »

- George Sand à Albert Grzymala, fin May 1838 (unabridged excerpt)

“And since I am telling you everything, I will also tell you that there was one thing that I disliked about him. […] He seemed, in the manner of bigots, to despise gross human desires and to blush at his temptations, and he seemed to be afraid of tainting our love with a stronger excitement. This way of looking at the ultimate love union has always repelled me. If this last embrace is not as sacred and pure as everything else, there is no virtue in abstaining from it [...] Can there ever be love without a single kiss and a kiss of love without lust? "

- George Sand: Letter to Albert Grzymala, May 1838 (shortened excerpt)

During the nine-year relationship, the couple alternated between Paris and George Sand's country estate, now the Maison de George Sand , in Nohant-Vic .

Stay on Mallorca (November 9, 1838 - February 13, 1839)

Cell No. 4 in the Carthusian Monastery in Valldemossa, Mallorca. The Raindrop Prelude was heard for the first time on the Pleyel piano .

On October 18, 1838, George Sand began a trip to Mallorca with their children Maurice and Solange on medical advice. It was hoped that Maurice's health, suffering from rheumatism, would improvewas sick. Since Chopin suffered from tuberculosis and hoped for an improvement through a milder climate, he traveled to the family on October 27, 1838, who were waiting for him in Perpignan. After a boat trip to Barcelona and a five-day stay, the crossing to Mallorca began on November 7, 1838 with the destination Palma, which was reached on November 9, 1838. After various difficulties, the group left Palma and rented a beautifully located villa nearby from November 15, before they had to leave the place for reasons of hygiene - Chopin's lung disease had alerted the doctors and authorities - and finally settled in the abandoned Carthusian monastery Valldemossa where they stayed from December 15, 1838 to February 11, 1839. While Maurice was recovering, Chopin stayed in theValldemossa Charterhouse under a bad star. The premises were cold and damp, and the weather was very bad. In addition, there was the negative attitude of the Mallorcans towards the unmarried couple, and also the suspicion that Chopin's coughing indicated a contagious disease.

Chopin soon showed all signs of pneumonia , as George Sand later complained in writing. On February 13, 1839, after three and a half months, she and Chopin left the island. Despite the relative shortness of the stay in Mallorca, both Chopin and George Sand were severely affected. But in contrast to George Sand, who shared their partly negative experiences in the report Un hiver à Majorque (French Ein Winter auf Mallorca), Chopin reacted less resentfully. The often cited letter of December 3, 1838 about the medical art of the Mallorcans is possibly not meant so maliciously as rather testimony to the self-irony that Chopin often used to deal with his chronic illness.

  • Chopin's letter to Julian Fontana (Polish) 

“3 doktorów z całej wyspy najsławniejszych: every wąchał, com pluł, drugi stukał, skądem pluł, trzeci macał i słuchał, jakem pluł. Every mówił, żem zdechł, drugi - że zdycham, 3-ci - że zdechnę. "

- Chopin: List do Juliana Fontany, 3 grudnia 1838

“The three most famous doctors on the whole island examined me; one sniffed what I spit out, the second knocked where I was spitting from, the third felt and listened to me spitting. One said that I died, the second said - that I would die, the third - that I would die. "

- Chopin: Letter to Julian Fontana, Palma, December 3, 1838.

Before leaving, Chopin had asked his friend Camille Pleyel to send him a piano to Mallorca. Since this only arrived in January 1839, he had to be content with a poor instrument in the meantime in Palma and Valldemossa. The 24 Preludes Opus 28 were completed in Mallorca, including the so-called Raindrop Prelude . In the context of these pieces of music, people like to point out how uncomfortable Chopin felt in the uncomfortable surroundings of the monastery. A letter dated December 28, 1838 confirms this assumption. Chopin wrote to Julian Fontana:

  • Chopin's letter to Julian Fontana (Polish) 

"Między skałami i morzem opuszczony ogromny klasztor kartuzów, gdzie w jednej celi ze drzwiami, jak nigdy bramy w Paryżu nie było, możesz sobie mnie wystawić nieufryzowanego, bez białych jawsadegoicze. Cela ma formę trumny wysokiej, sklepienie ogromne, zakurzone, okno małe, przed oknem pomarańcze, palmy, cyprysy; naprzeciw okna moje łóżko na pasach, pod filigranową rozasą maurytańsfcą. Obok łóżka stary nitouchable kwadratowy klak do pisania ledwo mi służący, na nim lichtarz ołowiany (wielki tu lux) ze świeczką. Bach, moje bazgrały i nie moje szpargały ... cicho ... można krzyczeć ... jeszcze cicho. Słowem, piszę ci z dziwnego miejsca. "

- Chopin: List do Juliana Fontany, 28 grudnia 1838

“Only a few miles away between the rocks and the sea lies the huge abandoned Carthusian monastery, in which you can imagine me in a cell with a door, a gate that has never been seen in Paris, with no hair, without white gloves, pale as ever . The cell is in the form of a high coffin, the vaulted ceiling is huge, dusty, the window small, in front of the window oranges, palms, cypresses; opposite the window my bed on belts under a Mauritanian, filigree rosette ( German  rosette ). Next to the bed a nitouchable ( German  "untouchable"), a square folding desk that I hardly ever use for writing, on it a leaden candlestick (here a great luxury) with a candle, Bach, my scribbles and other musical notes ... quietly ... you could scream ... and still be quiet. In a word, I am writing to you from a strange place. "

- Chopin: Letter to Julian Fontana, Palma, December 28, 1838.

This letter contrasts with the enthusiastic letter that Chopin wrote from Palma to Fontana in Paris.

According to George Sand, Chopin suffered from hallucinations at that time . Spanish neurologists conclude that the violent visions can best be explained by what is known as temporal lobe epilepsy .

After arriving on the mainland, the group stayed in Barcelona for over a week and arrived on February 24, 1839 by steamer in Marseille, where, on medical advice, because of Chopin's health, they stayed for three months until May 22, 1839 to recover . A sea voyage lasting from May 13th to 18th, 1839 brought Chopin and George Sand on an excursion to Genoa, before they reached Nohant on June 1st, 1839 on their return journey via Arles and Clermont. It was here that Chopin spent his first summer at George Sand's estate.

Two centers of life: Nohant and Paris

Chopin in Nohant
The works created in Nohant
1. Summer in Nohant:
1839
(June 1 - October 11)
Piano Sonata No. 2 in B flat minor op.35
Impromptu No. 2 in F sharp major
op.36 Nocturne in G major op.37/2
Scherzo No. 3 in C sharp minor op.39
Trois études (Méthode des Méthodes) in F minor, A flat major, D flat major KK II b, 1-3
Three Mazurkas in B major, A flat major, C sharp minor op.41 / 2,3,4
Summer 1840
Chopin and George Sand did not stay in Nohant
In Paris, among others:
Waltz (Grande Valse) A flat major op.42
Waltz A flat major
op.64 Mazurka A minor (Émile Gaillard) KK IIb, 5
Mazurka A minor (Notre Temps) KK IIb, 4
2nd summer in Nohant
1841
(June 18 - October 31)
Tarantella A flat major
op.43 Polonaise in F sharp minor
op.44 Prélude in C sharp minor op.45
Ballade No. 3 A flat major op.47
Two Nocturnes in C minor, F sharp minor op.48
Fantasy in F minor op.49
3rd summer in Nohant
1842
(May 6th - July 28th and
August 9th - September 27th)
Three Mazurkas in G major, A flat major, C sharp minor
op.50 Impromptu No. 3 G flat major op.51
Ballade No. 4 in F minor
op.52 Waltz in F minor op. 70/2
Polonaise No. 6 A flat -Dur op 53rd
Scherzo no. 4 e-Op. 54
4. Summer in Nohant
1843
(May 22nd - November 28th)
Two Nocturnes in F minor, E flat major
op.55 Three Mazurkas in B major, C major, C minor
op.56 Berceuse D flat major op.57
5. Summer in Nohant
1844
(May 31-November 28)
Piano Sonata No. 3 in B minor, Op. 58
6. Summer in Nohant
1845
(June 13th - December 1st)
Three Mazurkas in A minor, A flat major, F sharp minor
op.59 Barcarolle in F sharp major
op.60 Polonaise Fantaisie A flat major op.61
7. Summer in Nohant
1846
(May 7th - November 11th)
Two Nocturnes in B major, E minor
op.62 Three Mazurkas in B major, F minor, C sharp minor op.63
Two waltzes in D flat major, C sharp minor op.64
Sonata for piano and violoncello in G minor op. 65
The Maison de George Sand in Nohant-Vic . Here Chopin spent seven summers with George Sand (1839 and 1841–1846) and composed some of his most important piano works.

After returning from Mallorca, Chopin's life in Paris took an orderly course. The winters were dedicated to teaching, social events, cultural life, salons and the few personal appearances. Up to and including 1846, the couple spent the summer stays of several months at George Sand's inherited country estate in Nohant . Chopin spent a total of seven summers in Nohant: 1839 and 1841 to 1846. During this time Chopin found peace and quiet to compose. A number of the most important works were created here. He received friends and debated aesthetic issues with Delacroix. He studied the bel canto repertoire of the 18th century and Luigi Cherubini's Cours de contrepoint et de fugue (German  course in counterpoint and fugue ).

From September 29, 1842, Chopin lived and worked in Paris at 9 Square d'Orleans, in the immediate vicinity of George Sand and her friend, Countess Marliani, wife of the Spanish consul, who had arranged the apartments.

End of the relationship (July 1847) and last meeting (April 4, 1848)

The relationship between Chopin and George Sand ended in 1847. On July 28, 1847, George Sand wrote her last letter to Chopin. It ends with the words:

  • Letter from George Sands to Chopin (French) 

“Adieu mon ami, que vous guérissiez vite de tous maux, et je l'espère maintenant (j'ai des raisons pour cela) et je remercie Dieu de ce bizarre dénouement à neuf années d'amitié exclusive. Donnez-moi quelquefois de vos nouvelles. Il est inutile de jamais revenir sur le reste. "

- George Sand

“Goodbye, my friend, may you be cured of all ills quickly, I can now hope for it (I have my reasons for it) and I will thank God for this wonderful dissolution of an exclusive nine year friendship. Let me know how you are from time to time. It is unnecessary to ever come back to the rest. "

- George Sand

The reason for the separation were the conflicts between two fundamentally different, highly sensitive characters that had been pent up for years. From letters from George Sand to friends it can be deduced that she no longer wanted to lead the life of what she calls a celibate nun and nurse of a difficult, seriously ill and capricious genius. The family quarrels over her daughter were only the immediate cause. That her daughter Solange joined the destitute sculptor Auguste Clésingerhad turned, George refused to accept Sand. Chopin had also heard about Clésinger's unsteady life. He advised Solange just as strongly against - but in the end he stuck to his friendship with her. He accepted her unconditional decision to marry Clésinger and, if necessary, to break with the imperious mother. That was the trigger for family disputes, in which there were fights between the son Maurice and Clésinger or the mother who jumped at the son.

George Sand and Chopin met again by chance on Saturday, March 4, 1848. While leaving Charlotte Marliani's (18, rue de la Ville-Évêque) apartment, Chopin met George Sand. He informed her that her daughter had become a mother four days earlier.

In the story of my life , George Sand writes:

  • From George Sand: Histoire de ma vie (French) 

«Je le revis un instant en mars 1848. Je serrai sa main tremblante et glacée. Je voulus lui parler, il s'échappa. […] Je ne devais plus le revoir. […] On m'a dit qu'il m'avait appelée, regrettée, aimée filialement jusqu'à la fin. On a cru devoir me le cacher jusque-là. On a cru devoir lui cacher aussi que j'étais prête à courir vers lui. […] J'ai été payée de mes années de veille, d'angoisse et d'absorption par des années de tendresse, de confiance et de gratitude qu'une heure d'injustice ou d'égarement n'a point annulées devant Dieu . »

- George Sand: Histoire de ma vie.

“In March 1848 I saw him again for a moment. I squeezed his cold, trembling hand. I wanted to talk to him, but he pulled away from me. [...] I shouldn't see him again. [...] I was told that he had longed for me to the end, mourned me, loved me like a son, but they kept it from me. It was also kept from him that I was always ready to rush to him. [...] For my years of vigilance, fear and devotion, I have been rewarded with years of tenderness, trust and gratitude that an hour of injustice or erring before God could not extinguish. "

- George Sand: Story of my Life

The last years (1847–1849)

In the course of 1847 Chopin's health deteriorated seriously. An effective therapy against tuberculosis was not known at the time. Chopin's pupil Jane Stirling , who had worked in the background for Chopin until Chopin's split with George Sand, took on Chopin's concerns after the couple split up and tried to alleviate his increasing material need.

On February 16, 1848, Chopin gave his last concert in Paris in the Pleyel concert hall at 20 rue Rochechouart, which was held in front of a select audience. There were only 300 tickets. The program included a piano trio by Mozart, Chopin's cello sonata in G minor op. 65 (without the 1st movement), a nocturne, the Berceuse op. 57, the Barcarolle op. 60, plus a selection of etudes, preludes, and mazurkas and waltz. The critics pointed out the concert as an unusual event (article in the Gazette Musicale of April 20, 1848).

Journey to England and Scotland (April 19, 1848 - November 23, 1848)

After the outbreak of the revolution in Paris on February 22, 1848, the so-called February Revolution , which ended with the king's flight to England and the proclamation of the republic of the July monarchy , Chopin felt increasingly uncomfortable because of the ongoing unrest in Paris. Many of his students left Paris, his financial situation deteriorated due to a lack of income.

Under the influence of his student Jane Stirling, who had been taking lessons from Chopin for years and had developed affection for her teacher, Chopin made the decision to travel to England and Scotland for a while, although he could well imagine settling there permanently. He left Paris on April 19, 1848 and arrived in London on April 20. Jane Stirling had traveled to London beforehand with her widowed sister to prepare for Chopin's arrival. The journey, which lasted about seven months in total, was extremely exhausting for Chopin and brought him to the brink of physical collapse, because Jane Stirling imposed a grueling program of visits with concerts on Chopin's family and thus prevented the much-needed rest. Jane Stirling had hoped in vain to marry Chopin. He found her unattractive and boring, but was grateful for her extreme care, even though it made him feel restricted and restricted.

Mazurka Opus 24 No. 3, Christoph Zbinden

Soon after his arrival, Chopin was invited to the salons of the London upper class, where he met well-known writers such as Charles Dickens and was given the opportunity to supplement his finances by teaching noble ladies. On May 15, 1848, Chopin played at a reception in the presence of Queen Victoria. Concerts in London followed on June 23, 1848 (program: Berceuse op.57, Nocturnes, Mazurken, Waltz) and on July 7, 1848 (program: Berceuse op.57, Scherzo in B minor, op.20, a ballad, three Etudes from op. 25 [No. 1 in A flat major, No. 2 in F minor, No. 7 in C sharp minor] and some preludes). At the invitation of Jane Stirling, Chopin went to Scotland on August 5, 1848. From here, Chopin had to return to a concert in Manchester on August 28, 1848, where he played solo pieces (a ballad, the Berceuse op. 57 and other pieces) in the Concert Hall as part of an orchestral concert in front of 1,500 listeners. In Scotland, Chopin was in poor physical and mental health and suffered from the obligations imposed on him. This was followed by concerts in Glasgow on September 27, 1848 (program: a ballad, Berceuse op.57, Andante spianato from op.22,

Chopin was so weak physically that he sometimes had to be carried up the stairs. After his return to London on October 31, 1848, Chopin played, despite his severely impaired health, on November 16, 1848 as a favor in the Guild Hall in a benefit concert in favor of Polish compatriots.

The Last Time in Paris (November 23, 1848 - October 17, 1849)

Grave of Chopin's parents, Powązki Cemetery in Warsaw

In a depressed mood, Chopin returned to Paris on November 23, 1848. On the whole, the stay in England and Scotland was a failure. The dwindling forces, but also the falling demand due to the unrest, made a regular teaching activity much more difficult. This created a financial bottleneck, especially as Chopin's savings were almost exhausted. Jane Stirling helped out with a large sum of money. Chopin's state of exhaustion persisted. The doctors recommended staying in the country to alleviate the symptoms. At the end of May 1849, Chopin moved into an apartment in the then still rural area of ​​Chaillot (Rue Chaillot 74). On June 22, 1849, Chopin suffered two blood attacks at night. Hopes of recovery finally faded when doctors diagnosed terminal tuberculosis. The thought of death had accompanied Chopin all his life. His father, youngest sister, and two closest friends had all died of tuberculosis.

Place Vendôme. Memorial plaque on the number 12.
"Frédéric-François Chopin, born in Żelazowa-Wola (Poland) on February 22, 1810, died in this house on October 17, 1849."

Chopin wrote a letter to his sister Ludwika Jędrzejewicz pleading with her husband and daughter to come to him. They arrived in Chaillot on August 9, 1849. After a brief recovery, the doctors advised to move. The Paris friends and Jane Stirling then bought him his last apartment at 12 Place Vendôme , which consisted of three rooms and two anterooms. They also ensured that Chopin did not suffer any material shortages in the last months of his life, especially since he could neither teach nor compose because of his state of health and was therefore ultimately destitute.

On September 15, 1849, he received the sacraments of death . On the same day Delfina Potocka came to Paris from Nice. She sang, accompanying herself on the piano, to the great delight of Chopin's arias by Italian composers (Bellini, Stradella, Marcello). Franchomme and Marcelina Czartoryska played the beginning of Chopin's Cello Sonata op. 65. At the beginning of October 1849 Chopin decreed that all unfinished and not yet published scores should be burned.

Death and Burial (October 17-30, 1849)

Teofil Kwiatkowski: Chopin on his deathbed, surrounded by Father Aleksander Jelowicki, Ludwika Jędrzejewicz, Princess Marcelina Czartoryska, Wojciech Grzymała, Teofil Kwiatkowski (from left to right).

Chopin died on October 17, 1849 at two in the morning at the age of 39, probably of tuberculosis . An examination of the heart placed in cognac in 2017 found that Chopin suffered from pericarditis caused by tuberculosis.

At the time of his death, six people were probably waking up by Chopin's bed: his sister Ludwika Jędzejewicz, Solange Clésinger, Teofil Kwiatkowski, Abbé Alexander Jełowicki, Adolf Gutmann and Dr. Jean-Baptiste Cruveil here. The following morning, Auguste Clésinger took Chopin's death mask off and made a cast of his left hand. Teofil Kwiatkowski and Albert Graefle painted or drew the head of the deceased. Doctor Jean Cruveilher, who treated Chopin to his end, performed a partial autopsy during which he removed Chopin's heart. Chopin had asked that his heart be brought home. The body of Chopin remained in the apartment for two more days and was then taken to the crypt of the La Madeleine church after the embalming .

Announcement of the funeral of Frédéric Chopin, signed by his sister
Chopin's grave in the Père Lachaise cemetery (Division 11, No. 20) in Paris with the Muse Euterpe by Auguste Clésinger

About 3000 mourners came to Chopin's funeral mass on October 30th at 11 a.m. in the La Madeleine church . When the coffin was carried from the crypt to the upper church, the orchestra of the Société des Concerts du Conservatoire ( French concert company of the Conservatory ) under the direction of Narcisse Girard played an orchestral version of the funeral march from Chopin's piano sonata in B flat minor, made by Napoléon-Henri Reber opus 35 . Furthermore, the organ, played by Louis James Alfred Lefébure-Wély, played the Preludes No. 4 in E minor and No. 6 in B minor from opus 28. The conclusion was Mozart's Requiem, a wish of Chopin. The funeral procession to the Père-Lachaise cemetery was led by Prince Adam Czartoryski and Giacomo Meyerbeer . Alexander Czartoryski, Marcelina's husband, Auguste Franchomme , Eugène Delacroix and Camille Pleyel walked by the side of the coffin . Chopin's sister Ludwika walked behind the coffin with her daughter, Jane Stirling and many who were close to Chopin. At Chopin's express request, his sister Ludwika secretly brought his heart back to Poland, where she kept it in her apartment in Warsaw. (For the further fate of Chopin's heart: see below .)

Ludwika paid for the funeral. Jane Stirling took over the travel expenses of Ludwika and her daughter Magdalena. She bought the Pleyel grand piano (No. 14810) that Camille Pleyel had given Chopin, as well as the rest of Chopin's furniture and valuables, including his death mask. Jane Stirling later used the rest of the household effects to design a museum room in Scotland in memory of Chopin, and years later she bequeathed these items to Chopin's mother in Warsaw. Some of these memorabilia are exhibited in the Frédéric Chopin Museum in Warsaw (Muzeum Fryderyka Chopina w Warszawie) .

On the anniversary of Chopin's death, on October 17, 1850, Auguste Clésinger unveiled the tomb he designed with Fryderyk Chopin's medallion. Inside the plinth, Jane Stirling had an iron box deposited, which contained various objects: a sheet of paper with Chopin's birth and death dates and the sentence: “We expect the resurrection of the dead and eternal life”, and also Polish earth, a silver one Cross that belonged to Chopin, a small medallion from Tellefsen and coins from the year Chopin was born and died. Jane Stirling scattered the Polish soil that Ludovika had given her on the grave.

Chopin as an artist

Drawing by Chopin, 1830

Chopin was versatile. In addition to his talent as a composer, pianist, improviser, virtuoso and piano teacher, his comedic gift of imitating people was also known - an ability fed by extraordinary powers of observation with which he often entertained friends. This talent as an actor remained one of his social domains: in 1829 he parodied the appearance and behavior of Austrian generals in Vienna and was as successful as a pianist. He also took drawing lessons from Zygmunt Vogel - and didn't just use drawing to make caricatures .

Chopin as a composer

Chopin composed almost exclusively for the piano. His preferred forms include mazurkas , waltzes , nocturnes , polonaises , etudes, impromptus , scherzi , and sonatas .

Chopin's compositions often developed from improvisations . George Sand describes the great difficulties that Chopin had in recording his ideas, which were already fully executed on the piano, on paper. Improvisation was much more important then than it is today, both in training and in concerts. Chopin was considered one of the best improvisers of his time.

In addition to pure piano music and the two piano concertos (No. 1 in E minor, Op. 11 (1830, published 1833) and No. 2 in F minor, Op. 21 (1829, published 1836)), Chopin composed works for the following genres:

  • Songs . They were not published until after his death (1849) in 1859, 1872 and 1910, for the most part under the opus number 74.
  • Chamber music . Three works for piano and violoncello:
    - Introduction et Polonaise brilliant in C major Op. 3 (1829/30),
    - Sonata in G minor op.65 (1845/46),
    - Grand Duo concertant in E major on themes from Robert le diable by Giacomo Meyerbeer , without opus number (composed with Auguste-Joseph Franchomme ) ( 1831).
    - Trio in G minor for piano, violin and violoncello op.8 (1828/29).

Sources of inspiration and influences

Comparison of Ignaz Moscheles, Impromptu op.89, and Frédéric Chopin, Fantaisie-Impromptu op.66 (posthumous)
Frédéric Chopin at the piano , Jakob Götzenberger , 1838. Pencil, heightened white with chalk (rehauts de craie blanche) on brown paper, 25.5 × 20 cm. Warsaw, Frédéric Chopin Museum .

Chopin took over - and exaggerated - the brilliant virtuoso literature . The influence of Ignaz Moscheles , Friedrich Kalkbrenner , Carl Maria von Weber , Johann Nepomuk Hummel and (who was also trained by Elsner) Maria Szymanowska is clear. Instructed in concentrated and meticulous work by Elsner, Chopin sometimes spent years honing drafts of compositions. "He [...] repeated and changed a measure a hundred times, wrote it down and deleted it just as often, in order to continue his work the next day with the same meticulous, desperate persistence."

In addition to the melodies and the virtuoso piano setting of his compositions, there is a highly expressive harmony that confidently deals with chromatics , enharmonics and altered chords and creates new effects. His teacher Elsner encouraged Chopin to turn to Polish folk dances and folk songs . Its elements can be found not only in the polonaises , mazurkas and Krakowiaks , but also in other works without naming reference. Chopin's models were Johann Sebastian Bach and Domenico Scarlatti, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and the Italian composers committed to bel canto such as Vincenzo Bellini . In response to Elsner's suggestion that he would not write operas, Chopin replied that composers would have to wait years for their operas to be performed.

  • Quote from Frédéric Chopin (Polish) 

“Rzucili się do mnie, że zamiast operę narodową, albo symfonię pisać, łaskoczę nerwy po salonach i piszę głupie exercisy. Jeżeli nie operę, to nie powinienem nic innego tworzyć, jak tylko mazury a polonezy, bo jak nie czują, to im polskości palcem w moich nutach nie pokażę. "

- Frédéric Chopin

“They pounced on me (with the charge) that instead of writing a national opera or a symphony, I tickle my nerves in the salons and write stupid exercises. If not an opera, then I shouldn't be able to do anything but mazurkas and polonaise, but if you don't feel it, then I won't point my finger at the Polish in my scores. "

- Frédéric Chopin

Chopin as a pianist and piano teacher

Cast of Chopin's left hand, post mortem ; Poland Museum Rapperswil (Switzerland).

Chopin's contemporaries describe his playing or his interpretation as changeable, never fixed, but spontaneous. “To hear the same piece by Chopin twice was to hear two different pieces, so to speak”. Princess Maria Anna Czartoryska described it like this:

“Just as he constantly had to correct, change, modify his manuscripts - to the point that his unfortunate editors confused the same work - he seldom presented himself in the same state of mind and emotions: it was therefore seldom the same The composition played identically. "

- Maria Anna Czartoryska

Although Chopin mainly taught students who came from circles of the wealthy aristocracy, he also paid attention to their talent when selecting them. Only a few of Chopin's students later became concert pianists. One of his most promising students, Carl Filtsch (1830–1845), died as a teenager. Marie Moke-Pleyel, who - of almost the same age - may not be directly regarded as Chopin's pupil, but as an intimate connoisseur of his music, and who was still a professor at the Royal Conservatory in Brussels , became successful .

Chopin taught his students his very personal understanding of music. The following statement, Jean-Jacques Eigeldinger calls it a "profession de foi esthétique" (German: aesthetic creed), made Chopin on the occasion of a conversation about a concert that Liszt gave on April 20, 1840 at Érard.

«La dernière chose, c'est la simplicité. Après avoir épuisé toutes les difficultés, après avoir joué une immense quantité de notes et de notes, c'est la simplicité qui sort avec tout son charme comme le dernier sceau de l'art. Quiconque veut arriver de suite à cela n'y parviendra jamais; on ne peut commencer par la fin. Il faut avoir étudié beaucoup, même immensément pour atteindre ce but; ce n'est pas une chose facile. »

“The last thing is simplicity. After all difficulties have been exhausted, an immense amount of notes played, it is simplicity that emerges with its charm, like the final seal of art. Anyone who wants to do this immediately will never succeed; one cannot begin with the end. You have to have studied a lot, a tremendous amount, to achieve this goal; that's not an easy thing. "

- Frédéric Chopin

Sketches for a piano school

Basic hand position according to Chopin. (The mirror-inverted position of the left hand is not mentioned in Chopin's work).

Chopin only left sketches for a piano school that were published late, first by Alfred Cortot (1877–1962) and more recently by Jean-Jacques Eigeldinger , who also wrote Chopin vu par ses élèves ( German  Chopin from the perspective of his students ) covers all issues related to this topic.

Chopin insisted on a piano stool that was low by contemporary standards so that the elbows were level with the white keys. The pianist should be able to reach all of the keys on either end of the keyboard without bending to the side or moving his elbows. In the initial position of the fingers, the thumb of the right hand is on "e", the second finger on "f sharp", the third on "g sharp", the fourth on "a sharp" (= "b") and the fifth finger on "h ". The fingers were trained from the basic position with the hand held calm and relaxed.

He often used the phrase “dire un morceau de musique” (French “recite a piece of music”), in keeping with the baroque concept of the “sound speech” of the historical performance practice according to Nikolaus Harnoncourt . The prerequisite for this was Chopin's unconventional finger training. Chopin did not try, as is often the case today, to correct the natural imbalance of the fingers through exercises, but rather each finger should be used according to its own characteristics. He valued the thumb as the “strongest and freest finger”, the index finger as the “most important support”, the middle finger as the “great singer” and the ring finger as “his worst enemy”.

The relaxed hand position necessary for an appropriate touch explains Chopin's preference for black keys. It allows the longer middle fingers to be in a comfortable position as a prerequisite for a virtuoso and expressive game.

In the game, emotional involvement should flow into the interpretation. Chopin was against any mannerisms and pathetic movements. A pianist should not present himself and his feelings to the audience and thus put himself in the foreground, but the work. He also rejected the stage events aimed at large and loud show effects in the manner of Niccolò Paganini and Franz Liszt for himself. Chopin recommended, in keeping with contemporary piano schools (Czerny, Hummel Kalkbrenner), that his students should let their fingers fall freely and keep their hands in the air without weight. Elisabeth Calandwill later call this the "feather-light arm". When playing the scales and exercises, the accent should be shifted to different tones to achieve evenness. Here Chopin was the forerunner of later practice practices, for example Alfred Cortot's piano pedagogy, where the rhythmic variants are recommended for overcoming technical problems. Chopin often used the term "souplesse" (French "suppleness"). It was the basis of physiologically correct piano playing. Here, too, modern piano pedagogy is based on Chopin's point of view, in that it demands suppleness and relaxation in the prevention of game damage. He also encouraged his students to sing the pieces and recommended a visit to the opera to be inspired by Italian bel canto.

Problems of performance practice

In contrast to the Chopin interpretation of the late nineteenth and first half of the 20th century, which largely depended on the intuition and personal musical taste of the interpreters, efforts were also made to reduce the basic elements of performance practice to one of the most reliable original texts to provide a scientific basis. By researching the historical and sociocultural circumstances, the performance practice has also become more objective, especially since knowledge of the old instruments, their construction, their variety and their sound, which differs from today's instruments, is also included.

Knowledge of the baroque tradition to which Chopin refers is necessary for the appropriate presentation of Chopin's compositions. Thus elements of improvisation with the practice of decorating and the variants are recourse to old forms of music-making or their continuation. This also applies to the important area of ​​bel canto with the central concept of rubato.

Tempo rubato

Metronome by Johann Nepomuk Mälzel, Paris 1815; Kunsthistorisches Museum , Vienna

To explain the tempo rubato (Italian "robbed time"), usually abbreviated rubato , Chopin said that the left hand is the maître de chapelle (French "Kapellmeister"), while the right hand is ad libitum (Italian "at will") allowed to play. This picture, often used by Chopin, has come down to us in different versions. He meant that since 17./18. In the 19th century, so-called bound rubato, also described by Mozart : “the modification of individual note values ​​with the same basic movement of the accompaniment.” To ensure this, a metronome was always available on Chopin's piano . The other form of rubato, the so-called free rubatois a change in tempo as a whole (melody and accompaniment together) and is indicated in Chopin by the terms ritardando (gradual slowing down of the tempo) and rallentando ( slowing down of the tempo). Carl Czerny describes it in his pianoforte school as a conscious slowing down and speeding up in both hands. If the rubato is exaggerated, there is a risk that the way of playing appears unnatural and slips into the kitschy or sentimental . This also applies in general to the treatment of dynamics (changing the volume) and agogic (changing the tempo).

“Chopin, as Mme Camille Dubois so beautifully put it, often demanded that the accompaniment of the left hand should be played strictly in time, while the vocal part allowed freedom of expression through tempo modification. That is quite possible: You hurry ahead, you come with a delay - the two hands are not 'en valeur' ​​[for example: in the same amount of time]. On the whole, however, the two movements compensate each other. "

- George Mathias

Notation and ornamentation

Two ornaments from Bach's ornament table with his instructions for execution as they are also used by Chopin.
Above picture: Trill beginning on the beat with the upper secondary note.
Lower picture: trill (with suggestion) from below. Start on the field

In practice, the ornamentation in Chopin's piano works is often wrongly executed because the signs are misinterpreted. Numerous handwritten entries in the copies of his students, which were not available to earlier generations of pianists, helped to understand Chopin's intentions. With some decorations, Chopin is based on the baroque tradition. Chopin's ornaments are essentially as follows:

  • the suggestion (appoggiatura, monotone or multi-note): the execution is in full measure, i.e. the suggestion is played on the beat, the main note immediately afterwards.
  • the trill : in Chopin, as in the Baroque period, it usually begins with the upper secondary note. It begins with the main note at the beginning of a piece, for example in the Etude in F major Opus 10 No. 8 or in the Waltz in A flat major Opus 42. If the trill is preceded by a suggestion with the same note as the beginning of the trill, the trill should be used begin with this note, not the upper secondary note. So the note is not played twice.
  • the trill with a suggestion from below (also called “trill from below”). It corresponds to the ornamentation known from baroque music. Bach calls it "double cadence", or if there is a look-up, "double cadence and mordant".
  • the impact trill : it begins, as in classical music, with the main note on the beat. Sometimes Chopin designates the rebound trill with the symbol "tr" or he writes it out.
  • the double strike (Gruppetto) start with the upper secondary note. Noted by a Grupetto.svg.

With an arpeggio , Chopin sometimes connected the beginning with a dashed line to the note on the other staff (the other hand) to mark the start of the beat.

variants

Chopin was strict in playing his own pieces. He usually did not allow others to deviate from his notation . However, it is known (examples: Nocturne Opus 9 No. 2, Berceuse Opus 57) that Chopin allowed his students to play variants in his music. When the young Norwegian Thomas Tellefsen played his variant in 1840, Chopin had no objection to it. Chopin declined to have his personal style of play imitated. Rather, he always tried to awaken a sense of co-creative interpretation in his students. “Put your whole soul into it,” was one of his most frequent teaching instructions, whereby it was important that his students first carried out a formal analysis of the composition.

Pedal use by Chopin

In the history of piano music there was no composer who paid so much attention to the use of the pedals as Chopin and who precisely marked the pedals on many of his works. The care with which Chopin proceeded shows that the pedal was an essential element of the sound design for him. “The right piano pedal [but] was an integral part of the interpretation for him.” Today, this topic is not adequately dealt with either in the literature on performance-related questions of Chopin playing, or in lessons. The beginning of the use of the forte pedal is noted with Engage Pedal Mark SVG.svgand the end with Pedal Mark 2.svg(pedal cancellation sign).

Chopin's pedaling serves as an important clue for the tonal design of the work. Chopin did not envisage a dense, uninterrupted use of the pedals, guaranteed by constant “stepping”, but rather a selective, harmony- and rhythm-related pedal use. In contrast to the strong effect of the mutes on today's piano, in which the sound is completely muffled after releasing the key or the pedal, the notes of the piano from Chopin's time had an echo of about half a second because of the smaller mutes. Therefore, when lifting the pedal before the new harmony, there was no disturbing larger tonal gap, which was in keeping with Chopin's ideal of tied, vocal playing in the sense of bel canto. From Chopin's pedaling it is also evident that in some cases he intended mixed sounds, which were also mixed sounds on the piano of that time and should not be avoided with the argument that the piano had changed a lot since the Chopin period. In this regard, the editors of some Chopin editions, which emphasize tonal cleanliness, sometimes go against the composer's intentions. Nevertheless, it should not be forgotten that Chopin's pedal indications refer to an instrument that differs greatly from today's piano, especially in terms of sound, and that the original indications in some cases have to be adapted to today's conditions. In practice, this means that, due to the greater sonority of the modern grand piano, more frequent pedal changes or the use of the half-pedal are indicated for some passages in order to avoid a complete blurring of the sound. Chopin often did not re-pedal repetitions. If entire passages are left unmarked, it does not have to mean that the pedal is not used.

Many modern pianists ignore the often subtle and precise pedal indications by Chopin or consider them to be non-binding. Chopin said to his students: "the correct application of the same [the pedal] remains a study for life." The pianos around 1846 were less resonant and the player could hold the pedal down for an entire phrase to give the music a floating sound. This has changed with modern piano construction. In 1844, a new pedal by Xavier Boisselot (1811-1893) was presented at the Paris exhibition , which, unlike the "right pedal", does not lift all the dampers. This pedal became “ Sostenuto-Pedal ”(Italian“ held ”) or tone holding pedal and makes it possible to hold selected tones (mostly as organ points in the bass) while others remain unaffected. This pedal does not play a role in Chopin's piano works. Chopin also used the “ Una-corda-Pedal ” (Italian “one string”), the so-called “left pedal”, but without specifying it in his manuscripts.

Chopin's technique of playing the piano and making piano

Before his time in Paris, Chopin only knew grand pianos with the " Viennese mechanism " (pinch tongue mechanism) and the corresponding easy variety. The wings, which he found in Paris, had the "English" jack mechanism , which in principle of mechanics Bartolomeo Cristofori was (1655-1731) corresponded to and since the beginnings of piano construction in use. Chopin valued the Pleyel grand pianos because of their smooth action. With their, as Liszt put it, “silvery, slightly veiled tone” they came closest to his ideal sound.

Insignum of Pleyel

“Quand je suis mal disposé, disait un jour Chopin, je joue sur un piano d'Érard et j'y trouve facilement un ton tout fait. Mais quand je me sens en verve et assez fort pour trouver mon propre son à moi, il me faut un piano de Pleyel. »

“When I'm badly disposed, I play an Érard piano because I find a prefabricated note there. But when I feel alive and strong enough to find my own sound, I need a Pleyel piano. "

- Frédéric Chopin
Insignum from the Érard

A decisive advance in piano construction was the invention and development of a repeater mechanism with double release ( à double échappement French "with double release") by Sébastien Érard from 1808, which his nephew Pierre Érard had patented in England in 1821 (patent no. 4631) . It enabled a quick repetition (repeated striking) of notes also in the forte ( Music dynamic forte.svg) ( German  loud, strong ). This invention, which was to become of great importance for the further development of piano playing, was irrelevant for Chopin's playing because the fast repetition in the medium dynamic range ( Italian mezzoforte ( Music dynamic mezzo forte.svg) 'Medium loud' ) which Chopin preferred in his playing, thanks to the mechanics of Pleyel's wings. Unlike Érard, Pleyel continued to use the simple release of the English system. However, through constant minor improvements, he succeeded in making his mechanics smoother than the English original. Since the Erard mechanics allowed a greater playing depth, a stronger sound could be produced by a stronger attack, which met the requirements of the large concert halls. The double release was only introduced at Pleyel after 1863.

Chopin's reception

Criticism of Chopin

François-Joseph Fétis wrote a fundamentally enthusiastic review of Chopin's Paris Début in the Revue Musical of March 3, 1832, in which - in addition to considerable praise - he did not spare criticism of Chopin's own rendition of his E minor piano concerto:

"Superfluous articulations, a certain licentiousness in the sequence of phrases - with the result that one believes that one is hearing improvisations more than written music, these are the shortcomings that mix in the advantages already mentioned."

- François Fétis

In Germany, Ludwig Rellstab attacked Chopin's works more fundamentally. He branded the variations on Là ci darem la mano as "Slavic vandalism". After the publication of the Mazurken Opus 7, Rellstab wrote in his journal Iris of July 12, 1833 about Chopin:

“In the dances he is satisfied with this passion, searching for it and writing unnaturally to the point of gross excess. Searching for ear-rending dissonances, tortured transitions, cutting modulations, disgusting contortions of melody and rhythm, he is quite tireless and we might say inexhaustible. Everything that one can fall on is sought out in order to create the effect of bizarre originality, especially the strangest keys, the most unnatural pitches of the chords, the most hairy combinations of fingerings. [...] If Mr. Chopin had presented this composition to a master, he would hopefully have torn it up at his feet, which we hereby symbolically want to do. "

- Ludwig Rellstab, 1833

Robert Schumann, albeit a great admirer of Chopin, wrote in 1840 of the Sonata in B flat minor Opus 35 (Sonata with the Funeral March) that it was no music at all: “This is how only Chopin begins and only he ends: with dissonances through dissonances in dissonances. [...] That Chopin called it a sonata, one would rather be called a Caprice , if not an arrogance that he just paired four of his greatest [note: in the sense of "crazy"] children together. "

Hector Berlioz criticized the fact that Chopin's entire interest was concentrated on the piano part and that the orchestra merely represented an almost superfluous accompaniment in his piano concertos. When Chopin made a guest appearance at the Vienna Theater am Kärntnertor , the imbalance between piano and orchestra also became visually clear. The stage was reserved for the soloist, the orchestra played - as in an opera performance - down in the orchestra pit .

Claude Debussy , half a century later, wrote about the Sonata in B minor, Op. 58, that it only consisted of “sketches”. Debussy was an admirer of Chopin and dedicated his twelve etudes to him.

Criticism of the pianist

Chopin has also been criticized as a pianist. Because his playing was mainly in the lower and middle range of dynamics, contemporaries who had seen him in one of his few concerts in larger halls accused him of playing too softly. Chopin usually performed in front of a smaller audience in the salons. His more reserved but nuanced playing, which traces the emotional content of the music, was in contrast to the playing of other artists, such as Liszt, who applied the effects that Paganini achieved on the violin to the piano. Chopin did not deny his admiration to these artists, but went his own way of internalized play that dispensed with effects.

Chopin did not like to play in front of a large anonymous audience, which frightened him. He feared that the general public - in contrast to the open-minded audience in the salons - would condemn his music. In addition, at that time the concert grand piano did not yet have the fullness of sound of modern instruments and, in order to be heard, forced the pianist to play that contradicted his nature and the spirit of the work represented (such as the Berceuse ). In the 18 years of his time in Paris he only gave a total of ten concerts.

Criticism of the piano teacher

Usually Chopin was very controlled. With less talented students, however, he could also have an outburst of anger that could break a chair or start trampling his feet. His student Zofia Rosengardt (1824–1868), who was secretly in love with Chopin, called such lessons "leçons orageuses" ( German  stormy lessons ). Later Chopin was her best man at her marriage to Józef Bohdan Zaleski(1802-1886). From November 1843, Zofia took regular weekly piano lessons. In her diary she describes the personality and behavior of her teacher in everyday situations from the perspective of a student towards the master she admires. By tracing a colorful portrait of Chopin, she expresses his sensitivity and also his mood swings and stormy temperament.

Aspects of the Chopin game

After Chopin's death, the struggle to preserve the proper style of his work began. Especially his students and grandchildren, but also other piano teachers, pianists and lovers devoted themselves to this task. Falsifications and misunderstandings were common.

Karol von Mikuli , student of Chopin 1844–1848

Karol Mikuli was a student of Chopin from 1844 to 1847 and enjoyed the special trust of his teacher. The first editions of Chopin's piano works used in lessons were corrected by the teacher where necessary and in some cases annotated (e.g. fingerings, instructions for the execution of decorations). They served Mikuli as the basis for his Chopin edition published in 1879. Mikuli is the founder of the so-called Lviv piano school. He was regarded as the absolute authority on all questions relating to Chopin's piano works and his interpretation. With his students he discarded any rhythmic negligence that was hidden behind a misunderstood term of the rubato and, in the tradition of his teacher, attached great importance to a kantables ( Italian vocal, song-like ) game that excluded a hard, "knocking" sound. Hardness and rudeness in the game were not tolerated. According to Mikulis, "Chopin's playing sang the musical phrase with such clarity that every note became a syllable, every measure became a word, every phrase became a thought, a language without excess, simple and even". In the preface to his Chopin edition, Mikuli set out the most important peculiarities of Chopin's playing and remarks relating to the proper interpretation of his works. To this day they are the guiding principle, especially in the Polish tradition of playing Chopin.

Bronisław von Poźniak wrote his writings on the piano or specifically on Chopin playing in the first half of the 20th century. He emphasizes the importance of relaxation and avoiding unnecessary movements. Poźniak sees himself as the keeper of the tradition of the Polish Chopin game, as taught by Karol von Mikuli (1819–1897), a student of Chopin, in Lwów ( Lemberg ).

Poźniak opposes the excessive emphasis on the technical side of Chopin's piano work, as it is expressed above all in the exaggerated tempos of some Chopin interpreters. This display of technical skills, as is particularly observed in the interpretation of the etudes, is a falsification of the spirit of Chopin's music, which, according to Poźniak, is characterized by nobility, poetry, naturalness, lack of any sentimentality and deeply felt love and attachment to the Polish homeland the Polish people.

The editions of Chopin's works

Historical editions (selection)

Documentation of the historical editions can be found in the catalog of works by Józef Michał Chomiński and Teresa Dalila Turlo.

The Mikuli edition

  • Chopin's pianoforte works revised and fingered (for the most part according to the author's notes) ( sic ) by Carl Mikuli . Ms. Kistner, Leipzig 1879.

The edition, originally published in 17 volumes in January 1880, was later reprinted in individual editions by other publishers (G. Schirmer, Hansen et al.). The authority of the Mikuli edition is based on the experience of several years of study (1844–1848) of the editor with Chopin in Paris. As a basis, he used the French first editions, annotated by the composer himself in Mikuli's lessons, also copies in which Mikuli entered Chopin's comments during the lessons, as well as those made by the students Delfina Potocka , Marcelina Czartoryska and Friederike Streicher-Müller in their notes Entries. For the text design he took advice from Camille Dubois-O'Meara, Vera Rubio, Ferdinand Hiller and Auguste Franchomme . It has been criticized that Mikuli did not identify Chopin's original fingerings or did not use them because he viewed fingering as an individual matter for the pianist, which is related to the physiological conditions of the hand, his technique and his style of interpretation. The preface is the most accurate source we know of Chopin's teaching.

The Oxford Edition

Édouard Ganche 1921, French Chopin researcher in the first half of the 20th century
  • The Oxford Original Edition of Frédéric Chopin. Edited from the original edition and the manuscripts by Édouard Ganche , président de la Société Frédéric Chopin in Paris. (Publiées d'après l'édition originale et les manuscrits par…) . Oxford University Press, London 1932.

The edition drew its authority from the fact that Edouard Ganche, author of several works about Chopin, had contact with people from the circle of Chopin's pupils and was thus able to obtain authentic information on some problems. The publisher advertised with the sentence: L'oeuvre de Chopin comme il l'écrivit (French "The work of Chopin as he wrote it"). The edition was a great step forward compared to the so-called instructive editions, which were characterized by the arbitrary and personal taste-guided interventions in the original text of their editors.

The Paderewski edition

  • Fryderyk Chopin: Dzieła Wszystkie (Polish "Complete Works"). Według autografów i pierwszych wydań z komentarzami krytycznymi (Polish "After the manuscripts and first editions with critical comments"). Redakcja Ignacy J. Paderewski . Współudział (Polish "collaboration") Ludwik Bronarski i Józef Turczyński . Polskie Wydawnictwo Muzyczne, Cracow, Institut Fryderyka Chopina, Warsaw, 1949–1961.

Paderewski's Chopin edition, a pioneering editorial work that appeared in different language versions with fingerings and commentaries, still has historical value today. It was replaced by the modern Urtext editions (Henle, PWM, Peters, Wiener Urtext, Bärenreiter).

The Cortot edition

  • Alfred Cortot : Édition de Travail des Oeuvres de Chopin (= Édition Nationale de Musique Classique) . Édition Salabert, Paris. (Some volumes originally appeared from 1915 to 1939 in the iceditions Maurice Sénart, Paris. They were taken over by Salabert as part of the “Collection Maurice Senart”). The text of the Cortot edition has been overtaken by the modern Urtext editions. However, with its detailed commentaries on the composer and the works, it is still a popular edition with pianists today, especially since some volumes have been published in several languages. In particular, the music pedagogical objectives with detailed comments on playing technique and numerous additional exercises to overcome technical problems are one of the reasons for the widespread use of the edition. Each issue is preceded by the motto of Cortot's demand: Travailler non seulement le passage difficile, mais la difficulté elle-même en lui restituant son caractère élémentaire(French: “You don't just practice the difficult passage, but the difficulty itself, by reducing it to its elementary character”). Today, the edition is viewed critically by musicology and piano pedagogy because of its subjectivity. Even the effectiveness of some of the many additional exercises to solve the technical problems is disputed. The holistic approach of modern piano pedagogy with the inclusion of the entire playing apparatus shows that Cortot's method in small steps with the emphasis on training the fingers does not always solve the problem posed, but also creates new problems. (One example is the countless, from today's point of view problematic, exercises for thumb underlay to achieve égalité(French "evenness"), which can also be achieved by other means). Cortot's fingering is considered difficult because he did not care to make the piece more playable by making things easier, but rather to realize the composer's intentions through appropriate fingering. Modern piano teachers believe that this is also possible with simple fingerings that encourage relaxation. In the technical field, it remains to Cortot's merit to have shown that a learning goal-oriented, methodical approach can also overcome great difficulties, such as those of the etudes. Some of his comments on the understanding of Chopin and on the interpretation of Chopin's piano work may no longer stand up to modern knowledge,réserve aristocratique (French "aristocratic (n) restraint") Chopin's appropriate interpretation and natural playing style to achieve. Like Mikuli , Michałowski, Poźniak and other pianists committed to the Polish tradition, Cortot repeatedly emphasizes in his edition that piano technique must serve the highly emotional music of Chopin and not a display of the virtuosity of the player, a requirement that still does not exist today is completely fulfilled.

The Breitkopf & Härtel editions

  • Oeuvres de piano de Fréd. Chopin . Leipzig 1852–1867.

The edition is a summary of many works published as first editions by Breitkopf during Chopin's lifetime.

  • Works for the pianoforte by F. Chopin. New edition . Leipzig 1868–1873.
  • Pianoforte works by Fr. Chopin. New revised edition with fingering for use in the Conservatorium der Musik zu Leipzig by Carl Reinecke Leipzig 1880–1885.
  • Friedrich Chopin's works. Edited by Woldemar Bargiel, Johannes Brahms, Ernst Rudorff. First critically reviewed complete edition . Leipzig 1878-1880.
  • Fr. Chopin Pianoforte Works. Edited by Ignaz Friedman . Leipzig 1913.

This edition, which the famous Chopin player Ignaz Friedman referred to as the complete edition, was widespread at the time and was made on the basis of original manuscripts and the existing older editions. However, no critical comment is given that would show the selection from the various templates and the deviations. Despite the designation complete edition, there are no works that Friedmann assigns to the category “sins of youth” and the like. Friedman points out that piano making has made great strides since Chopin's time without the older editions taking this into account. Pedals, fingerings and phrasing are often questionable. Friedmann is of the opinion that Chopin's fingering is new territory and "in some respects it has long since been overcome" (from the foreword).

This 12-volume edition was already indicated with the edition numbers (ED 5811–5822) until after 1945, but was never published. It is also not known how far the editor had come with his work. Only a few introductions to the complete edition from 1940 have been preserved In view of the widely recognized authenticity of Koczalski's Chopin playing, which, however, has also been questioned by well-known pianists ( Claudio Arrau , Artur Rubinstein ), this edition of a grandchildren of Chopin's should have provided information on the proper reproduction of Chopin's piano work can.

The Peters editions

  • For Chopin's complete ( sic ) pianoforte works. Critically revised and fingered by Hermann Scholtz . CF Peters, Leipzig 1879. (New edition 1904–1907).
  • Works by Fr. Chopin critically revised by Hermann Scholtz. New edition by Bronisław von Poźniak . New edition on the 100th anniversary of Chopin's death October 17, 1949 in conjunction with the Chopin Committee Berlin . CF Peters, Leipzig 1948–1950.

There was no major revision of the text of the old St. Peter's edition. Pożniak provided the edition with a new fingering derived from the experience of the concert pianist and pedagogue, which in deliberate simplicity leads to some ease of playing. He consistently refrains from changing fingers for repeated notes and embellishments, like Ferruccio Busoni didhad practiced. Poźniak's economical pedaling, which often contradicts Chopin's own statements, has as a guideline the clarity of harmony and lines that should not be blurred. In doing so, however, he fails to recognize that sound mixes of unrelated chords are sometimes intended by Chopin and that this is also expressed in the original pedaling. With his edition, as in his writings, Pożniak pursued the goal of bringing Chopin's piano works closer to the largest possible group of players, including amateur players. His approach corresponds entirely to Chopin's ideal of simplicité (French “simplicity”) and the facilement instructions that he often uses in class(French "with ease, unconstrained"), as it was handed down by his students. (See the works of Jean-Jacques Eigeldinger in the bibliography ).

The Askenase edition

From 1946 to 1969 Stefan Askenase (1896–1985) published a number of Chopin's piano works at Edition Heuwerkemeijer, Amsterdam:

  • Nocturnes (1946, edition no.406),
  • Valses (1947, edition no.401),
  • Mazurkas (1947, edition no.405),
  • Andante spianato from opus 22 (1969, edition no.35)
  • Nocturne in c sharp minor opus posth. (1969, edition no.496)

The edition emerged from Askenase's artistic and educational practice. It therefore has very personal traits and is most likely to be compared with the so-called instructive editions of the earlier era. Without informing the user, the text is interfered with (for example with redistributions to both hands that deviate from the original) if this appears practical to the editor and thereby facilitates the game. (Askenase had relatively small hands.) With the exception of the C sharp minor nocturne, the editions have precise fingerings and are fully pedaled. The pedaling often does not correspond to Chopin's original instructions, it even contradicts them sometimes, because Askenase does not take into account the sound mixes intended by Chopin. It is also the exact name of the finger pedal that Chopin has been shown to use. One also speaks of the legatissimo attack: The notes belonging to a harmony are held with the fingers, especially with accompanying figures. The fingering is of great simplicity and also uses the pedal as a binding pedal where binding with the fingers encounters difficulties. This use was not intended by Chopin because the pedal only has a tonal function for him.

  • In the book series Wie Meister üben from Panton Verlag Zürich, the documentation of a lesson (text and two long-playing records) about Berceuse opus 57 appeared in 1969, in which many aspects of the Chopin play are discussed. Like the other editions, with the exception of the Nocturne in C sharp minor, the supplement to the text of the Berceuse has fingerings and precise pedaling.

Modern Urtext editions

Henle edition

Polish national edition

  • Wydanie Narodowe Dzieł Chopina (Polish National Edition of Chopin's Works). Editor: Jan Ekier. Polskie Wydawnictwo Muzyczne (PWM), Krakow.

The Peters editions

  • Frédéric Chopin. Piano works . Urtext edition. Edition manager: Paul Badura-Skoda. Edition Peters, Leipzig 1985/86. Published:
    • Préludes (No, ed. 13,178th of Paul Badura-Skoda, with performance practice notes, 1985).
    • Impromptus (No. 13355, edited by Akira Imai, 1986).
    • Ballads (No. 13363, edited by Herbert Schneider, fingering by Paul Badura-Skoda, 1986).
  • The complete Chopin: a new critical edition . Series editors: John Rink , Jim Samson , Jean-Jacques Eigeldinger; editorial consultant: Christophe Grabowski . Edition Peters, London a. a.

Bärenreiter edition

  • Urtext edition Bärenreiter, Kassel.

Wiener Urtext Edition

  • Frédéric Chopin. [Works] . Based on the autographs, copies, first prints, original editions. Wiener Urtext Edition, Vienna and Mainz 1973–1986. Published:
    • 24 Preludes (No. 50005, edited by Bernhard Hansen, fingering by Jörg Demus , 1973).
    • Études op.10 (No. 50030, edited by Paul Badura-Skoda, 1973).
    • Études op.25 . Trois Nouvelles Études (No. 50031, edited by Paul Badura-Skoda, 1973).
    • Impromptus (No. 50058, edited by Jan Ekier, 1977).
    • Scherzos (No. 50061, edited by Jan Ekier, 1979).
    • Nocturnes (No. 50065, edited by Jan Ekier, 1980).
    • Ballades (No. 50100, edited by Jan Ekier, 1986).

Budapest Urtext Edition

  • Frédéric Chopin, Complete Piano Works in 11 Volumes. Koenemann Music, Budapest.

Chopin's compositional work

Work descriptions (selection)

About 230 works by Chopin have survived.

Ballads

Barcarolle

Barcarolle, Opus 60, Olga Gurevich

Berceuse

Etudes

Impromptus

Fantaisie-Impromptu, Opus 66 posthumously
Impromptu No. 1 Opus 29, Frank Levy

Schubert and Chopin's Impromptus (pieces from the impromptu ) are no more impromptu pieces than their waltzes. The Fantaisie-Impromptu (composed in 1834, published in 1855 as opus 66) was best known . Chopin is said not to have released it for publication because after the piece was written he realized that the main theme of the first part was very similar to the theme of Vivace from the Impromptus Opus 89 by Ignaz Moscheles . Musically and pianistically richer are the Impromptus F sharp major Opus 36 (1840) and G flat major Opus 51 (1843). The Impromptu in A flat major Opus 29 (1837/38) with its richly decorated middle section in F minor remains in the context of virtuoso salon music.

Concerts

Krakowiak

Chopin - Rondo de Concert Krakowiak, Opus 14

The concert rondo for piano and orchestra Opus 14 in F major (1828) and the final movement of the E minor concerto are Krakowiaks , Polish folk dances that come from the region around Krakow.

Songs

Over the course of almost two decades, Chopin set 19 romantic Polish poems that were current at the time. 17 of them were edited from the estate of Julian Fontana (1810–1869) as Opus 74 in 1859 . 2 songs do not have an opus number. The spectrum of the songs ranges from the humorous society song to the rhapsody , from the ballad-like dumka to the lyrical romance .

Mazurkas

Mazurka Opus 17 No. 4, Christoph Zbinden
Mazurka Opus 7 No. 1, Christoph Zbinden

Main article: Mazurkas (Chopin)

The mazurka ( Russian ; Polish mazurek ) was, unlike the polonaise, a fairly new genre of piano music at the beginning of the 19th century, but it quickly established itself throughout Europe. Chopin knew it as folklore - Kujawiak is the slow, Oberek the faster variant of Mazurek - from his summer stays in the Polish countryside. The term is derived from the Polish landscape Masovia ( Polish : Mazowsze ). When he was 15, Chopin wrote his first mazurka (B flat major K. 891–895). Stylistic features of his mazurkas are chromatic , modalTwists and sometimes a bass with a quint drone (low sustaining tone to accompany a melody). Chopin published 43 mazurkas, most of which are grouped together (opus numbers 6, 7, 17, 24, 30, 33, 41, 50, 56, 59, 63, plus the mazurkas in A minor “Gaillard” and A minor "France Musicale"). The edition of Henle Verlag, Munich, lists a total of 57 mazurkas, including the deceased. As a rule, the last piece of each opus number marks a major conclusion. The middle section of the F sharp minor polonaise and the final movement of the F minor concerto have the character of mazurkas. The numerous mazurkas embody a kind of musical diary of the composer.

Nocturnes

Polonaises

Autograph of the beginning of the Polonaise in A flat major op.53 (1842) - Morgan Library & Museum
Andante spianato et Grande Polonaise brilliant Opus 22, Debbie Hu
Polonaise in A flat major, Opus 53, Héroïque, Giorgi Latso

Chopin created a total of 17 polonaise (from French danse polonaise , Polish dance ). Initially he was based on the polonaises Michał Ogińskis (1765-1833), Josef Elsners, Johann Nepomuk Hummels and Carl Maria von Webers. Bronisław von Poźniak writes about the tempo: “I know positively that Chopin expressly recommended that his students count the three-quarter time in six-part when studying polonaise. In doing so, he proved that he didn’t want the tempo to be different from what it was when dancing. ”Nevertheless, Chopin's polonaise were not intended for dancing. His earliest piece preserved as a printed work is a polonaise in G minor (K. 889) from 1817. Some polonaise without an opus number are early works that Chopin did not want to publish later because they were too simple for him. His later works of this genre, created in Paris, break free from models.

Preludes

Prelude Opus 28 No. 4
Prelude Opus 28 No. 16, Giorgi Latsabidze

Rondos

Rondo à la Mazur, Opus 5, Christoph Zbinden

Chopin wrote five rondos : Rondo in C minor, Opus 1, Rondo à la mazur in F major, Opus 5, Rondo in E flat major, Opus 16 (also called Introduction et Rondeau ), Rondo in C major, Opus posth 73 (versions for piano solo and two pianos) and Rondo à la Krakowiak, Opus 14. Robert Schumann heard the Rondo à la Mazur for the first time in 1836 and he called it “lovely, enthusiastic and full of grace. If you don't know Chopin yet, you should get to know him with this piece ”.

Scherzi

Scherzo No. 2, Opus 31, Eunmi Ko

Sonatas

Dances

As a Pole, Chopin - like his compatriots Karol Kurpiński (1785–1857) and Maria Szymanowska - set a monument to the local dances Polonaise and Mazurka. As character pieces , like the waltzes, they are not intended for dancing . With Chopin they are stylized dances for the concert performance.

bolero
Chopin Bolero Opus 19, Christoph Zbinden

The concertante Opus 19 is a bolero . Despite the ostensibly Spanish character of the piece, it has been described as a covert polonaise or boléro à la polonaise , as its rhythms are more reminiscent of the national dance of Chopin's homeland than anything Spanish. Chopin wrote his bolero in 1833, five years before his first visit to Spain.

Bourrée
Chopin Bourrée, A major, Aya Higuchi

Frédéric Chopin wrote his two Bourrées , originally baroque court dances , in 1846 in A major and G major. They were only published in 1968, have no opus numbers and are numbered according to the Chopin catalog raisonné (see bibliography).

Écossaises
Écossaise No. 1, Aya Higuchi

Chopin composed three Écossaises ( French for "Scottish"), Opus 72 No. 3 / 1–3, originally Scottish round dances in 3/4 or 3/4 time, which were accompanied by the bagpipes. It is a lively counter dance danced in court societies in 2/4 time.

tarantella
Chopin Tarantella Opus 43, Olga Gurevich

Chopin composed the Tarantella Opus 43 in A flat major in June 1841 and published it in October 1841.

waltz
Waltz in C sharp minor Opus 64 No. 2, Luke Faulkner

Main article: Waltz (Chopin)

Grande Valse brillante (1831), E flat major Opus 18. Sergei Rachmaninoff (recorded on January 21, 1921)

Chopin dealt with this genre again and again and created a broad spectrum of forms, from virtuoso parade pieces - the Grandes Valses Brillantes - to deeply melancholy mood pictures. Unlike Franz Schubert's waltzes, for example, they were not intended for dancing.

The so-called “ Minute Waltz ” (Opus 64 No. 1, originally Valse du petit chien, German  “Waltz of the Little Dog” ) is not designed to be played in one minute if possible. The following anecdote is related to the creation: “George Sand owned a small dog that used to turn around to catch its tail. One evening, when he was busy with it, she said to Chopin: 'If I had your talent, I would write a piano piece for this dog'. Chopin sat down at the piano and improvised the waltz in D flat major. "

For Chopin, waltzes were impressions from the contemporary salon: evening parties, chevaleresque gestures, swirling couples - all at the elegant distance typical of Chopin.

Life-size bust from the Königliche Porzellan-Manufaktur Berlin on the occasion of Chopin's 200th birthday, based on a design by Christian Bahr (2010). Hackesche Höfe , Berlin.

Works with opus number

The last opus number Chopin used was 65, which is assigned to the Cello Sonata in G minor. With the permission of the composer's mother and sisters, but against his declared will, Julian Fontana selected other unpublished piano pieces and songs and grouped them into 9 opus numbers (opus 66–74). These works were published in 1855 (opus 66–73) and 1859 (opus 74).

Works with opus number
Opus number Title of the work Time of origin First edition Dedicated recipient
1 Rondeau in C minor 1825 (1825) Ludwika Linde
2 Variations on “La ci darem la mano” de “ Don Juan ” de Mozart in B flat major for piano and orchestra 1827 (1833) Tytus Woyciechowski
3 Polonaise brilliant in C major for violoncello and piano 1829/1830 (1835) Joseph Merk
4th Sonata No. 1 in C minor 1827/1828 (1851) Joseph Elsner
5 Rondeau à la Mazur in F major 1826 (1828) "Comtesse Alexandrine de Moriolles"
6th Cinq Mazurkas F sharp minor, C sharp minor, E major, E flat minor, C major 1830/32 (1833, a German edition of Quatre Mazurkas, without which appeared in C major 1832) "Comtesse Pauline Plater"
7th Quattre Mazurkas in B flat major, A minor, F minor, A flat major 1824/1832 (1833) Paul Emile Johns
8th Trio for piano, violin and violoncello in G minor 1828/1829 (1833) Prince Anton Radziwiłł
9 Trois Nocturnes in B flat minor, E flat major, B major 1832 (1832) Marie Pleyel
10 Douze Études 1829-1833 (1833) Franz Liszt
11 Piano Concerto No. 1 in E minor 1830 (1833) Friedrich Kalkbrenner
12 Variations brilliant sur le rondeau favori “Je vends des Scapulaires” de “Ludovic” de Hérold et Halévy in B flat major 1833 (1833) Emma Horsford
13 Fantaisie sur des airs nationaux polonais in A major for piano and orchestra 1828 (1834) Johann Peter Pixis
14th Krakowiak. Grand Rondeau de Concert in F major for piano and orchestra 1828 (1834) Princess Anna Czartoryska
15th Trois Nocturnes in F major, F sharp major, G minor 1833 (1833) Ferdinand von Hiller
16 Rondeau in E flat major 1833 (1833) Caroline Hartmann
17th Quatre Mazurkas in B flat major, E minor, A flat major, A minor 1833 (1833) "Madame Lina Freppa"
18th Grande valse brilliant in E flat major 1833 (1834) Laura Horsford
19th Boléro in C major 1833 (1834) "Comtesse Emilie de Flahault"
20th Scherzo No. 1 in B minor 1833 (1835) Thomas Albrecht
21st Piano Concerto No. 2 in F minor 1829 (1836) Countess Delfina Potocka
22nd Grande polonaise brillante précédée d'un Andante spianato in G major a. E flat major 1830-1835 (1836) "Baronesse d'Est"
23 Ballad No. 1 in G minor 1833 (1836) Bodo Albrecht von Stockhausen
24 Quatre Mazurkas in G minor, C major, A flat major, B flat minor 1833 (1835) Count Léon-Amable de Perthuis
25th Douze Études 1835-1837 (1837) Countess Marie d'Agoult
26th Deux Polonaises in C sharp minor, E flat minor 1835 (1836) Josef Dessauer
27 Deux Nocturnes in C sharp minor, D flat major 1835 (1836) Countess Therese von Apponyi
28 24 Preludes Opus 28 1838-1839 (1839) Camille Pleyel
29 Impromptu No. 1 in A flat major 1837 (1837) "Comtesse Caroline de Lobau"
30th Quatre Mazurkas in C minor, B minor, D flat major, C sharp minor 1837 (1837) Princess Maria of Württemberg born Princess Czartoryska
31 Scherzo No. 2 in B flat minor 1837 (1837) "Comtesse Adèle de Fürstenstein"
32 Deux Nocturnes in B major, A flat major 1837 (1837) and "Baroness Camille de Billing née de Courbonne"
33 Quatre Mazurkas in G sharp minor, C major, D major, B minor 1838 (1838) "Comtesse Róża Mostowska"
34 Trois Valses A flat major, A minor, F major 1835-1838  
34/1 Valse in A flat major 1835 (1838) Countess Josephine von Thun-Hohenstein
34/2 Valse in A minor 1838 (1838) "Baroness G. d'Ivry"
34/3 Valse in F major 1838 (1838) "Mademoiselle la Baronne A. d'Eichthal"
35 Sonata No. 2 in B flat minor 1837 (funeral march), 1839 (1840) no dedication
36 Impromptu No. 2 in F sharp major 1839 (1840) no dedication
37 Deux Nocturnes in G minor, G major 1838: G minor, 1839: G major (1840) no dedication
38 Ballad No. 2 in F major 1839 (1840) Robert Schumann
39 Scherzo No. 3 in C sharp minor 1839 (1840) Adolf Gutmann
40 Deux Polonaises in A major (“Militaire”), C minor 1838: A major, 1839: C minor (1840) Julian Fontana
41 Quatre Mazurkas in E minor, B major, A flat major, C sharp minor 1838: E minor, 1839 (1840) Stefan Witwicki
42 Grande Valse in A flat major 1840 (1840) no dedication
43 Tarantelle in A flat major 1841 (1841) no dedication
44 Polonaise in F sharp minor 1841 (1841) Princess Ludmille de Beauveau b. Komar
45 Prelude in C sharp minor 1841 (1841) Princess Elisabeth Tschernischeff
46 Allegro de Concert in A major 1834-1841 (1841) Friederike Müller
47 Ballad No. 3 in A flat major 1841 (1841) Pauline de Noailles
48 Deux Nocturnes in C minor, F sharp minor 1841 (1841) Laure Duperré
49 Fantaisie in F minor 1841 (1841) Princess Catherine de Souzzo
50 Trois Mazurkas in G major, A flat major, C sharp minor 1842 (1842) Leon Szmitkowski
51 Impromptu No. 3 in G flat major 1842 (1843) Countess Johanna von Esterházy b. Countess Batthyány
52 Ballad No. 4 in F minor 1842-1843 (1843) Baroness Charlotte de Rothschild
53 Polonaise in A flat major ("Héroïque") 1842-1843 (1843) Auguste Léo
54 Scherzo No. 4 in E major 1842-1843 (1843) Jeanne de Caraman (German edition), Clothilde de Caraman (French edition)
55 Deux Nocturnes in F minor, E flat major 1842-1844 (1844) Jane Stirling
56 Trois Mazurkas in B major, C major, C minor 1843-1844 (1844) Catherine Maberly
57 Berceuse in D flat major 1844 (1845) Elise Gavard
58 Sonata No. 3 in B minor 1844 (1845) Countess Élise de Perthuis
59 Trois Mazurkas in A minor, A flat major, F sharp minor 1845 (1846) no dedication
60 Barcarolle in F sharp major 1845-1846 (1846) Clotilde von Stockhausen
61 Polonaise Fantaisie in A flat major 1846 (1846) "Madame A. Veyret"
62 Deux Nocturnes in B major, E major 1846 (1846) "Mademoiselle R. de Könneritz"
63 Trois Mazurkas in B major, F minor, C sharp minor 1846 (1847) Countess Laura Czosnowska
64 Trois Valses 1847 (1847)
64/1 Valse Des-Dur ("Waltz of the Minute")     Countess Delfina Potocka
64/2 Valse in c sharp minor     Baroness Charlotte de Rothschild
64/3 Valse in A flat major     Countess Katarzyna Branicka
65 Sonata for violoncello and piano in G minor 1845-1846 (1847) Auguste-Joseph Franchomme
66 Fantaisie-Impromptu in C sharp minor 1834 (1855)
67 4 mazurkas , G major, G minor, C major, A minor 1835-1848 (1855)  
68 4 Mazurkas in C major, A minor, F major, F minor 1827-1848 (1855)  
69 2 Valses in A flat major, B minor 1829-1835 (1855)
70 3 Valses in G flat major, F minor, D flat major 1829-1842 (1855)
71 3 Polonaises in D minor, B flat major, F minor 1827-1829 (1855)
72/1 Nocturne in E minor 1827 (1855)
72/2 Marche funèbre in C minor 1826, 1827 or 1829 (1855)
72/3 Trois Écossaises in D major, G major, D flat major 1826 or 1830 (1855)
73 Rondeau pour deux pianos in C major 1828 (1855)
74 Dix-sept mélodies polonaises 1827-1847 (1859)

Works without opus number

The works are marked with the catalog numbers of Maurice JE Brown (B (1972)), Krystyna Kobylańska (KK (1979)), and Józef Michał Chomiński / Teresa Dalila Turło (Cho (1990)).

Works without opus number
Catalog numbers Title of the work Time of origin (First edition)
B. 3, KK IVa / 1, Cho 160 Polonaise in B flat major 1817 (1910)
B. 1, KK IIa / 1, Cho 161 Polonaise in G minor 1817 (1817)
B. 5, KK IVa / 2, Cho 162 Polonaise in A flat major 1821 (1901)
B. 14, KK IVa / 4, Cho 227 Introduction et Variations sur un air national allemand
(“Der Schweizerbub”) in E major
1824 (1851)
B. 6, KK IVa / 3, Cho 163 Polonaise in G sharp minor 1822 or 1824 (1864)
B. 16, KK IIa / 2, KK IIa / 3, Cho 100, Cho 101 Mazurkas in G major and B flat major 1826 (1826)
B. 14, KK IVa / 6 Cho 228 Variations on an Italian song for piano 4 hands in D major (fragment) 1826 (1965 with reconstruction of
lost pages by Jan Ekier)
B. 13, KK IVa / 5, Cho 164 Polonaise in B flat minor 1826 (1880)
KK IV /, 8, Cho 128 Nocturne in C minor 1847 (?) Or early work (1938)
B. 37, KK IVa / 10, Cho 229 Souvenir de Paganini in A major 1829 (1881)
KK IVa / 9, Cho 102 Song (as mazurka ) in G major: Jakież kwiaty, jakie wianki
( German  Which flowers, which wreaths )
1829 (1856).
B. 44, KK IVa / 12, Cho 220 Valse in E major 1829 or 1830 (1861)
B. 46, KK IVa / 14, Cho - (page 246) Valse in E flat major 1830 (1902)
B. 21, KK IVa / 13, Cho 221 Valse in A flat major 1830 (1902)
B. 56, KK IVa / 15, Cho 222 Valse in E minor 1830 (1868)
B. 51, KK IVa / 11, Cho 146 Czary (German magic): song for a singing voice 1830 (1912 French, 1952 Polish, 1909 German)
B. 36, KK IVa / 8, Cho 165 Polonaise in G flat major 1829 (1870)
B. 49, KK IVa / 16 Cho 127 Lento con gran espressione in C sharp minor
(also called "Nocturne")
1830 (1875)
B. 73, KK IVb / 1, Cho 103 Mazurka in B flat major 1832 (1909)
B. 31, KK IVa / 7 KK IVb / 2 Cho - (page 245) Mazurka in D major (authenticity doubtful) 1829, 2nd version 1832 (1875)
B. 70, KK IIb / 1, Cho 10 Grand Duo concertant pour piano et violoncelle
sur des thèmes de "Robert le Diable"
[de Meyerbeer] in
E major
1831 (1833)
B. 82, KK IVb / 3, Cho - (page 246) Mazurka in C major (authenticity doubtful) 1833 (1869)
B. 84, KK IVb / 6, Cho 9 Cantabile in B flat major 1834 (1931)
B. 85, KK IVb / 4, Cho 104 Mazurka in A flat major 1834 (1930)
B. 132, KK IVb / 9, Cho 147 Dumka (song for voice) in A minor 1840 (1910)
B. 133, KK IVb / 10, Cho 223 Sostenuto (also called "waltz") in E flat major 1840 (1955)
B. 130, KK IIb / 3, Cho 38-40 Trois études pour La Méthode des Méthodes (Trois nouvelles études) 1839-1840 (1840)
B. 144, KK IVc / 2, Cho - (page 238) Fugue in A minor 1827 or 1841 (1898)
B. 151, KK IVb / 12, Cho 107 Moderato (Feuille d'album ) in E major 1843 (1910)
B. 150, KK IVb / 11, Cho 224 Waltz in A minor 1847 (1955)
KK IVc / 13 Gallop in A flat major 1846  
B. 160b / 2, KK VIIb, 1/2, Cho - (page 248) Two Bourrées in G major and A major (attributed to Chopin) 1846 (1968)
KK IVb / 7, Cho 191 Presto con leggierezza (Prelude A flat major) 1834 (1918)
KK IIb / 4, Cho 106 Mazurka in A minor ("France Musicale" or "Notre Temps") 1841 (1841 French) (1842 German)
KK IIb / 5, Cho 105 Mazurka in A minor (À Émile Gaillard) 1840 (1841)
KK IVb / 6, Cho 49 Largo in E flat major ("Modlitwa Polaków" (German Prayer of Poles)) 1847 (1938)
KK Appendix 1a / 4, Cho - (page 245) Contredanse G flat major 1827 (1934)
KK IIb / 2, Cho 230 Variation No. 6 in E major from Hexameron on a marching theme from the opera "I Puritani" by V. Bellini 1837 (1838 Italian), (1839 German), (1841 French)

Chopin's work in arrangements and arrangements

Godowsky Studies on F. Chopin's Etudes

Chopiniana

Excursus on individual topics

Chopin family tree

The family tree of the Chopin family can be traced from the paternal side to the great-great-grandparents.

Chopin family tree 
Great-great-grandparents François Chapin
(1676–28.06.1714)
Catherine Oudot
(6.03.1682–21.01.1753)
Estienne Bastien
(1687–1734)
Anne Maton
(1691–1734)
Jean Deflin
(1674– December 9, 1754)
Catherine Henry
(1687–1715)
Claude Renard
(1667–1729)
Anne Barbe
? ? ? ?
Great grandparents Nicolas Chopin
(1712–?)
Elizabeth Bastien
(1712–1747)
Jean Charles Deflin
(1705–1738)
Suzanne Renard
(1709–1774)
Mikołaj Krzyżanowski
Barbara Jeż
?
Grandparents Fryderyk Choppen
(1738–1814)
Marguerite Deflin
(1736–1794)
Jakub Krzyżanowski
(1729–29.10.1805)
Antonina Kołomińska
parents Nicolas Chopin
(April 15, 1771– May 3, 1844)
Tekla Justyna Krzyżanowska
(September 14, 1782– October 1, 1861)
children Ludwika Marianna Chopinówna
(April 6th, 1807– October 29th, 1855)
Józef Jędrzejewicz
(July 7th, 1803– May 11th, 1853)
Fryderyk Franciszek Chopin
(February 22, 1810– October 17, 1849)
Izabella Chopinówna
(July 9, 1811 - June 3, 1881)
Feliks Antoni Barciński
(May 28, 1803 - May 9, 1878)
Emilia Chopinówna
(November 9, 1812– April 10, 1827)
Chopin family
( all oil paintings by Ambroży Mieroszewski)

French citizenship of Chopin

Chopin's French passport allowing him to leave France, July 7, 1837. Validity for one year.

Through his French-born father, Chopin was entitled to French citizenship, which he received four years after his arrival in France. The claim was derived from the Code Napoléon from 1804, in which it was stated in Article 10: "Every child of a French born abroad is French." ( French Tout enfant né d'un Français a l'étranger est Français. ) . Article 12 also stated that “the status of a foreigner who marries a French person follows the status of her husband” ( French: L'étrangère qui a épousé un Français suivra la condition de son mari.). As a result, Chopin was able to avoid obtaining the status of a political refugee with a Russian passport, because he was a Pole with a passport issued by the Russian tsar according to the principle of territoriality in Poland . This would also have posed major administrative problems in obtaining foreign visas from the Russian embassy. His first French passport was issued on August 1, 1835.

From a legal point of view, the composer had two nationalities. According to the Civil Code , his father automatically made him French, and as a citizen of the Duchy of Warsaw, he was also a Pole. Through the accumulation of both legal titles, the status of dual citizenship remained in effect for life. In this respect, Chopin was not an emigrant in France like many of his friends - even if he always identified himself with the emigration, because his personal preference was unequivocal. As a citizen and patriot, he was and remained a Pole who took a passionate interest in the tragic fate of his people.

On the occasion of a trip from Chopin to London on July 7, 1837, he received a passport issued by the French authorities. It is noted there both that he has "gray-blue eyes" (which does not agree with Delacroix's portrait of the composer) and that Chopin is descended from "French parents".

Chopin's heart

Column with Chopin's heart in the Holy Cross Church in Warsaw. Carrara marble epitaph (1880) by Leonard Marconi (1835–1899).

At his express request, Chopin's heart was secretly brought back to her Polish homeland by his sister Ludwika, where she found it in her apartment on Ul. Podwale kept in Warsaw's Old Town. After a few weeks, the heart was entrusted to the priests of the Holy Cross Church in Krakowskie Przedmieście Street, where it was laid out first in the sacristy and then in the crypt of the lower church. During the Warsaw UprisingHeavy fighting was fought near the church. The chaplain of the German troops, Pastor Schulz, persuaded the priest Niedziela to hand over the urn to the Germans in order to save them from destruction. On September 4th, the Germans gave the relic to Archbishop Antoni Władysław Szlagowski and filmed the event for propaganda purposes. The urn with Chopin's heart was kept in Milanówek , where the Warsaw bishops were interned. She stood on the piano in the salon chapel on the first floor of the presbytery of the Holy Jadwiga Church until October 17, 1945. After the end of the war, on the anniversary of Chopin's death, the pastor of the Holy Cross Church brought priestsLeopold Petrzyk (1890–1960), the composer Bolesław Woytowicz (1899–1980) and the musicologist Bronisław Sydow (1886–1951) the Urelazowa Wola urn. From there there was a solemn return of the urn, accompanied by the Polish President Bolesław Bierut (1892-1956), from the birthplace of Chopin back to the Holy Cross Church in Warsaw. There the column with the heart of Chopin contains the inscription: Polish Gdzie skarb twój, tam i serce twoje , “Where your treasure is, there is your heart too” ' ( Matthew 6/21). The indication of the date of birth (February 22nd instead of March 1st) does not correspond to today's knowledge.

In 1926/1928 and again in 1929 an attempt was made by Marshal Józef Piłsudski to transfer the remains of Chopin from France to Poland and to bury them in the Wawel Cathedral in Krakow at the place where Poland's kings and freedom fighters rest. The political conditions then - and also later - did not allow this, however.

Chopin and religion

Chopin felt deeply connected to Christianity. In many letters to his family who remained in Poland, he expressed his longing for the festivities celebrated in Polish-Catholic tradition around Christmas or Easter - with customs that were completely foreign to the French, such as pasterka on Christmas Eve and Christmas dinner ( Polish Wigilia ) with Polish Christmas wafers and Polish Christmas carols ( Polish Bożonarodzeniowe opłatki i kolędy ). The oblates are broken in the family circle, wishing luck and blessings for the coming year. Or the Easter food blessing ( Polish Wielkanocne święcone ) on Holy Saturday, when the Święconki are brought to the Catholic parish church, where they are blessed and sprinkled with holy water, before they are traditionally eaten with the family at the Easter breakfast on Easter Sunday .

List of Chopin interpreters

The list of Chopin interpreters contains well-known pianists who mainly dealt with Chopin's works or who have distinguished themselves through special interpretations.

List of important Chopin students

This list contains names of Chopin's students and grandchildren who were important in spreading the teaching of Chopin.

International Chopin Competition

Chopin in the time of National Socialism

From 1934 Adolf Hitler wanted a reconciliation with Poland with the aim of strengthening foreign policy. Propaganda Minister Joseph Goebbels signed a German-Polish media agreement. Afterwards, "a friendly atmosphere should be created and reconciliation advanced". Musically, Fryderyk Chopin had to serve: his works were played on German radio stations. Ballets were danced to Chopin's music in German opera houses, and Germany provided Poland with financial support to acquire valuable Chopin manuscripts.

With the British-French declaration of guarantee of March 31, 1939 to Poland, which dealt with the independence of Poland, the mood changed. The National Socialists assumed that Chopin's music was revolutionary. Since then it has been forbidden to perform musical works related to the Polish national tradition. This was also the case in the Warsaw Ghetto , of which the critic Marcel Reich-Ranicki (1920–2013) reports in his autobiography that occasionally a pianist played a lesser-known work by Chopin as an encore and cynical when asked by an overseer whose piece he was playing referred to Schumann.

Hans Frank (1900–1946), National Socialist Governor General of Poland, who was called by contemporaries the "butcher of Poland" or the "butcher of Jews of Krakow", tried to Germanize Chopin during the opening of a Chopin exhibition in Krakow on October 27, 1943: “Friedrich Schopping was a genius, so he couldn't be Polish. This is the greatest composer that German soil has produced. ”It is said that while Frank wanted to bring culture to the“ Slavic barbarians ”, he himself also had a strange affinity for the culture of Poland.

Nocturne in c sharp minor, posthumous

On September 25, 1939, at 8 a.m., a piano concert was broadcast live on Polish Radio. Władysław Szpilman (1911–2000) was playing Chopin's Nocturne in C sharp minor (B. 49, KK IVa / 16 Cho 127: Con gran espressione, also called “Nocturne”) when the first German bombs fell on Warsaw and the Polish radio its The broadcast was interrupted because of the attack by German troops on Warsaw . Polish radio resumed broadcasts with exactly the same piece after the Second World War.

The Chopin Monument in Warsaw was designed in 1907 by Wacław Szymanowski (1859–1930) and was originally intended to be inaugurated in 1910 on the return of Chopin's 100th birthday. Due to controversies about the design and the First World War , it was only built in 1926 in Łazienki Park . It shows Chopin seated under a stylized pianist's hand that merges into the eagle head of Poland's coat of arms . After the attack on Poland , the German Wehrmacht blew up this memorial on May 31, 1940. After the mold survived the Second World War , a replica was made of the memorial after the war, which was re-erected in its original location in 1958.

Pianos and grand pianos from Chopin's time

The last Pleyel grand piano (No. 14810), on which Chopin played and composed from November 1848 until his death ( Frédéric Chopin Museum Warsaw ).

There are some original, still playable pianos and grand pianos by Pleyel, Érard and Broadwood that are associated with Chopin or on which Chopin can be shown to have played. Chopin had a good relationship with the three important piano makers mentioned. Pleyel was friends with Broadwood and even recommended Chopin on his trip to England in 1848 to use Broadwood's instruments. With Camille Pleyel, Chopin had a close, friendly relationship that was characterized by mutual respect and trust. Pleyel made his best instruments available to Chopin free of charge, which were then sold after a while, sometimes by Chopin himself (for example the “pianino”, Pleyel No. 6668 from Valldemossa after the stay in Mallorca or the Pleyel grand piano No. 13819 brought to London for the trip to England). The following Pleyel instruments could be proven, on which Chopin played with certainty:

  • Piano ("pianino") No. 6668 / Charterhouse of Valldemossa.
  • Grand piano (“piano à queue”) No. 7267 / Musée de la musique, Paris.
  • Grand piano (“piano à queue”) No. 12480 / Stiftelsen Musikkulturens Främjande, Stockholm.
  • Grand piano (“piano à queue”) No. 13189 / Cobbe Collection, Hatchlands Park, Surrey UK.
  • Piano (“pianino”) No. 13555 / Narodowy Instytut Fryderyka Chopina, Warsaw.
  • Grand piano (“piano à queue”) No. 13716 / Jagiellonian University Museum , Krakow.
  • Grand piano (“piano à queue”) No. 13823 / Jagiellonian University Museum, Krakow.
  • Grand piano (“piano à queue”) No. 14180 / Frédéric Chopin Museum, Warsaw .
  • Grand piano (“piano à queue”) No. 11265 / private property of a German collector.

In detail:

  • Pleyel upright piano No. 6668 . Completion: 1838.
    The instrument was sent to Mallorca in January 1839 from Pleyel. Before returning home in February 1839, Chopin sold the piano for Pleyel to the banker Canut.
    Current location: Valldemossa Charterhouse , cell 4, Chopin Museum.
  • Pleyel grand piano # 7267 . Completion: 1839.
    The instrument was made available to Chopin by Pleyel from October 1839 when he moved to 5 rue Tronchet. It was sold to Natalia Obreskoff, an admirer of Chopin, in May 1841.
    Current location: Musée de la musique , Paris.
  • Pleyel grand piano # 12480 . Completion: 1845.
    It was made available to Chopin from December 1846 and sold in 1847. Current
    location: The Nydahl Collection , Stiftelsen Musikkulturens Främjamde, Stockholm.
  • Erard wing # 713 . Completion: 1843.
    Jane Stirling, who also owned a Pleyel grand piano (No. 13823), bought the instrument in 1843, the year in which she became a student of Chopin. The wing had been back in England since 1847 and was moved to Keir House, the seat of the Stirling family in Scotland, in October 1848. Chopin also stayed here during his trip to Scotland. Current
    location: The Cobbe Collection in Hatchlands Park, East Clandon, Surrey, UK.
  • Pleyel grand piano # 11265 . Completion: 1844.
    It was bought by Chopin and stood in his apartment in Paris, Square d'Orléans 9 from November 29, 1844 to June 12, 1845. It was restored in 2009 by the company Edwin Beunk & Johan Wennink, Enschede , Netherlands.
    Current location: private property of a German collector.
  • Pleyel grand piano # 12342 . Completion: 1845.
    The grand piano was donated in 2006 by Madame Migaux to the Polish Library in Paris (Bibliothèque Polonaise de Paris, Biblioteca Polska w Paryżu). In an accompanying letter it is stated that Chopin is said to have played on this instrument at "réunions musicales", which were organized by Monsieur de Bantel in Evreux.
    Current location: Bibliothèque Polonaise de Paris, Salon Chopin.
  • Pleyel piano No. 13555 , completion: 1846 or 1847.
    Chopin chose the instrument in 1848 for his pupil Madame Raymond. Chopin's signature is written in pencil on the mechanism of the piano.
    Current location: Narodowy Instytut Fryderyka Chopina, Warsaw.
  • Pleyel grand piano # 13716 . Completion: 1847.
    Chopin selected the instrument for Countess Katarzyna Potocka. It was sold to Poland on February 7, 1848.
    Current location: Museum of the Jagiellonian University (Universytet Jagielloński in Polish), Krakow.
  • Pleyel grand piano # 13819 . Completion: January 1848.
    Chopin called this wing "his own", but Pleyel only made it available to him. The instrument was most likely used in Chopin's last Paris concert on February 16, 1848. He took it to London in April 1848 and gave his first concert on it at Gore House, the seat of Lady Blessington and Count d'Orsay. When he left London, at the end of July 1848, he sold it for Pleyel to Lady Trotter, widow of Sir Coutts Trotter, London. Current
    location: The Cobbe Collection , Hatchlands Park, East Clandon, Surrey, UK.
  • Pleyel grand piano # 13823 . Completion: 1847.
    The grand piano was bought on November 15, 1847 for 2500 francs by Jane Stirling in Paris. According to a letter from Chopin to Franchomme dated August 11, 1848, he was in Chopin's salon. Inside the instrument there is a signature written in ink: "Frédéric Chopin 15 novembre 1848". Édouard Ganche received the grand piano on July 30, 1927 from Anne D. Houston, a great-niece of Jane Stirling .
    Current location: Museum of the Jagiellonian University , Green Hall (in Polish: Muzeum Universytetu Jagiellońskiego, Zielona Sala), Krakow.
  • Broadwood grand piano # 17047 . Completion: 1847.
    The instrument was made available to Chopin for his concerts in London in May, June, July and November 1848, as well as the concert in Manchester in August 1848. Chopin gave the last public concert of his career on this instrument on November 16, 1848 in the Guildhall in London. The grand piano is owned by the Royal Academy of Music and was brought to the Cobbe Collection on permanent loan in 1991. It was restored by David Hunt. Current
    location: The Cobbe Collection in Hatchlands Park, East Clandon, Surrey, UK.
  • Pleyel grand piano # 14810 . Completion: November 1848.
    Pleyel made it available to Chopin from the end of November 1848 until his death on October 17, 1849. It was bought by Jane Stirling after Chopin's death on December 11th, 1849 and as a gift for Chopin's older sister Ludwika Jędrzejewicz in June 1850 on the sea route Le Havre - Danzig in a tinplate box (“en fer blanc”) to protect against moisture Warsaw brought and remained in family ownership. On April 3, 1924, Maria Ciechomska, a granddaughter of Ludwika, sold the wing to the National Museum in Warsaw (Muzeum narodowe w Warszawie) . During the Second World War, the instrument was evacuated in Salzburg. In February 1968 it became a permanent loan from the Chopin Society(Towarzystwo im. [= Imienia] Fryderyka Chopina) . Around 1960 the wing was restored according to the ideas and technical possibilities of the time. From today's perspective, the restoration has ruined the instrument. It was robbed of its historical sound and is now considered unplayable.
    Current location: Frédéric Chopin Museum Warsaw (Muzeum Fryderyka Chopina w Warszawie) .
  • Pleyel piano No. 15025.
    Chopin never played this instrument, which is now in the Salon of the Maison de George Sand in Nohant. It was only bought by George Sand on May 25, 1849, after the separation from Chopin.

Protection of Chopin's legacy

In Poland, according to Art. 1, Para. 1 of the Act of February 3, 2001 on the Protection of the Heritage of Fryderyk Chopin, his works and related objects constitute a national property that is subject to special protection. The law affects the use of Chopin's picture and surname in trademarks, while it does not apply to his works that are publicly available. The National Fryderyk Chopin Institute (NIFC = Narodowy Institut Fryderyka Chopina) deals with the protection of the composer's heritage, supported by the Patent Office of the Republic of Poland. Companies wishing to register a trademark including Fryderyk Chopin's name or likeness must first seek approval from the NIFC. The institute assumes that products bearing the picture or name of a composer are of high quality and are associated with Poland. To accept the use of such a mark for commercial purposes, the institute charges an annual fee and a percentage of the profit made.

Honors (selection)

Memorial plaque in the Church of Saints Roch and John the Baptist in Brochów, with the inscription:
In this church
,
Fryderyk Chopin was baptized on April 23, 1810 ,
born on February 22, 1810
in Żelazowa Wola
.

Monuments

Frédéric Chopin Monument in Żelazowa Wola
Karol Badynas sculpture by Frédéric Chopin and George Sand, Singapore Botanic Gardens, 2008.

Chopin as namesake

Others

Zebra crossing in the form of a piano keyboard in Warsaw, designed in the Chopin year 2010
  • In 1935 the guitar transcription of the Mazurka, opus 63, no. 3 by Andrés Segovia was published.
  • In 2007 the Japanese computer role-playing game Eternal Sonata appeared for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, in which Frédéric Chopin is a playable character. The game contains some works by Chopin and informs the player about some biographical data of the musician.
  • In 2010, Peter Finger published the guitar piece Onkel Frédéric on his album Flow, a tribute to the waltz composer Chopin.
  • In the Chopin year 2010 in Warsaw (ul. Emilii Plater ) a zebra crossing in the look of a piano keyboard was created in honor of Chopin.
  • Dozens of stamps and coins with the portrait of Chopin appeared worldwide.

Representation of Chopin in film, art and literature

Films about Frédéric Chopin (selection)

There are almost 300 titles in the largest Internet film database, Internet Movie Database (IMDb), under “Frédéric Chopin”, and a further dozen can be found through links. Few Polish films are shown, although there are around 50 such feature-length films.

  • 1919: Nocturno der Liebe (Alternative name: Chopin) - feature film, Germany, director: Carl Boese , with Conrad Veidt as Chopin
  • 1934: Farewell Waltz - feature film, 87 min., Germany, director: Géza von Bolváry , with Wolfgang Liebeneiner as Chopin
  • 1951: Chopin's youth (Młodość Chopina) - feature film, 1951, 121 min., Poland, director: Aleksander Ford, with Czesław Wołłejko as Chopin
  • 1991: In Love with Chopin (Impromptu) - feature film, 1991, 103 min., USA, France, Great Britain, director: James Lapine, with Hugh Grant as Chopin
  • 1991: Blue Note (La Note bleue) - feature film, 1991, 135 min., France, director: Andrzej Żuławski , with Janusz Olejniczak as Chopin
  • 1993: Chopin - Pictures of a Separation - TV feature film, 1993, 114 min., Germany, France, director: Klaus Kirschner, with Stephan Wolf-Schönburg as Chopin
  • 1999: Chopin's secret. The strange case of Delfina Potocka, feature film, docu-fiction, 1999, GB, 109 min., Director: Tony Palmer
  • 2002: Chopin - Longing for Love (Chopin. Pragnienie miłości) - feature film, 2002, Poland, 134 min., Director: Jerzy Antczak , with Piotr Adamczyk as Chopin
  • 2010: The Art of Frédéric Chopin (L'art de Frédéric Chopin. 200 ans de la naissance de Frédéric Chopin) - Documentation, France, 2010, 52 min., Director: Gérald Caillat

Chopin in art (selection)

“Most of the portraitists painted a face of Chopin to hide Chopin's oversized hooked nose. However, if they portrayed him from the side, they were very careful and discreet with his nose, because the image of man should also be an image of his art, the perfection and symmetry of which had to delight laypeople and artists, ”said Ludwig Kusche, analyzing the paintings from Chopin. The best portrait of Chopin is the oil painting by Delacroix that hangs in the Louvre in Paris and shows the head half from the front and half from the side. The joint portrait that Delacroix made of the artist couple was cut up in 1874 by an unknown person. Today Chopin hangs alone in the Louvre, his former lover in the Ordrupgaard Museum in Charlottenlund, Denmark.

Chopin in literary representations (selection)

First manuscript page of the poem Fortepian Szopena (“The Chopin's Piano”, 1863/64) by the Polish poet Cyprian Kamil Norwid
  • Gottfried Benn: Chopin 

Chopin
Not very productive in conversation,
opinions were not his strength,
opinions talk about it,
when Delacroix developed theories
he became restless, he for his part could
not justify the nocturne.

Weak lover;
Shadows in Nohant,
where George Sand's children took
no educational advice
from him.

Breast disease in the form
with bleeding and scarring that
goes on for a long time;
silent death
as opposed to one
with paroxysms of pain
or by volleys of rifles:
one moved the wing (Erard) to the door
and Delphine Potocka
sang him
a violet song in the last hour .

He traveled to England with three
grand pianos: Pleyel, Erard, Broadwood,
played for twenty guineas for
a quarter of an hour
in the evening at the Rothschilds, Wellingtons, at Strafford House
and in front of numerous trousers;
Darkened by tiredness and near death
, he returned home
to the Square d'Orleans.

Then he burns his sketches
and manuscripts,
just no remnants, fragments, notes,
these treacherous insights -
said at the end:
“My attempts are completed according to
what I was able to achieve.”

Every finger should play
with the strength corresponding to its structure,
the fourth is the weakest
(only Siamese to the middle finger).
When he started, they were
on e, f sharp, g sharp, b, c.

Anyone who has ever
heard certain preludes from him,
be it in country houses or
in a mountainous area
or from open patio doors,
for example from a sanatorium,
will be hard to forget.

Never composed an opera,
no symphony,
just these tragic progressions
out of artistic conviction
and with a small hand.
Gottfried Benn

  • André Gide : Notes on Chopin . L'Arche, Paris 1948.
  • Eva Gesine Baur : Chopin or Die Sehnsucht: a biography. CH Beck, 2009, ISBN 978-3-406-59056-6 .
  • Rudolf Thiel : Heaven full of violins. The life of the great symphonic orchestra. Paul Neff Verlag, Vienna 1951. (Chapter: Chopin Préludes in 24 keys, pp. 299–339).
  • Guy de Pourtalès : Chopin ou le poète (=  Vies des hommes illustres. No. 7). 40e édition. Librairie Gallimard, Paris 1927.
  • Guy de Pourtalès: The blue sound. Frédéric Chopin's life. (=  Fischer library. No. 578). Fischer library, Frankfurt 1964.
  • George Sand : Un hiver à Majorque. Première édition. Hippolyte Souverain, Paris 1842.
  • George Sand : Un hiver à Majorque. Ediciones la Cartuja, Palma de Mallorca, Clumba, 1971.
  • Antoni Wodzinski: Les trois romans de Frédéric Chopin . Calmann-Lévy, Paris 1886.
  • Yolande van de Weerd : Wiosna. Poetic evocatie rond de muziek en het leven van Frédérik Chopin. Self-published 1999, ISBN 90-805086-1-6 .
  • Roberto Cotroneo : The Lost Score. 3. Edition. Translated from the Italian by Burkhart Kroeber . Suhrkamp 1999, ISBN 3-518-39526-2 .
  • Éric-Emmanuel Schmitt : Madame Pylinska et le secret de Chopin . Albin Michel, Paris 2018.

literature

Bibliographies

  • Bronisław Edward Sydow: Bibliografia FF Chopina . Towarzystwo Naukowe Warszawskie, Warsaw (Warsaw) 1949. ( Suplement . Polskie Wydawnictwo Muzyczne, Kraków (Krakow) 1954).
  • Kornel Michałowski: Bibliografia Chopinowska - Chopin Bibliography 1849–1969 . Polskie Wydawnictwo Muzyczne (PWM), Kraków (Kraków) 1970. (Several additions in: Rocznik Chopinowski (Polish "Chopin Yearbook") published by Towarzystwo im. Fryderyka Chopina. Polskie Wydawnictwo Muzyczne, Kraków (Kraków) 1956–2001).

Directories of sound carriers (discographies, etc.)

  • Armand Panigel (Ed): L'oeuvre de Frédéric Chopin. Discography générale réalisée sous la direction de Armand Panigel. Introduction et notes de Marcel Beaufils. (= Archives de la musique enregistrée UNESCO). Editions de la Revue Disques. Paris 1949.
    (Complete index of recordings of Chopin's works, transcriptions and arrangements published up to 1949).
  • Józef Kański: Dyskografia chopinowska. Historyczny katalog nagran płytowych / A Chopin Discography. A Historical Catalog of Recordings . Polskie Wydawnictwo Muzyczne (PWM), Kraków (Cracow) 1986.
  • Gerhard Dangel, Hans-Wilhelm Schmitz: Chopin. In: Welte-Mignon piano roles. Complete catalog of the European recordings 1904–1932 for the Welte-Mignon reproduction piano. Self-published by the authors, Stuttgart 2006, ISBN 3-00-017110-X , pp. 281–285.

Catalog raisonnés

  • Maurice John Edwin Brown: Chopin. An index of his works in chronological order. 2nd Edition. Macmillan, London 1972, ISBN 0-333-13535-0 / Da Capo Press, New York 1972, ISBN 0-306-70500-1 .
  • Józef Michal Chomiński, Teresa Dalila Turlo: A catalog of the works of Frederick Chopin. Polskie Wydawnictwo Muzyczne (PWM), Kraków 1990, ISBN 83-224-0407-7 .
  • Krystyna Kobylańska : Frédéric Chopin. Thematic-bibliographical catalog of works. Henle, Munich 1979, ISBN 3-87328-029-9 .
  • Christophe Grabowski , John Rink : Annotated catalog of Chopin's first editions. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 2010, ISBN 978-0-521-81917-6 .
  • Christophe Grabowski, John Rink: AC online. Annotated catalog of Chopin's first editions. chopinonline.ac.uk.

Letters and documents

  • Moritz Karasowski : Friedrich Chopin. His life and his letters. 2nd Edition. Dresden: Ries, New York: Schirmer, 1878 ( Textarchiv - Internet Archive ).
  • Souvenirs inédits de Frédéric Chopin. Lettres de Chopin à sa famille et de sa famille à lui. Lettres des Wodzinski. Lettres des élèves et des connaissances de Chopin. Correspondance de Mlle Stirling. Mélanges , translated by Laure Disière, ed. by Mieczysław Karłowicz , Paris / Leipzig: H. Welter 1904 ( digitized version )
  • Correspondance de Frédéric Chopin . Recueillie, réviséé, annotée er traduite par Bronislaw Édouard Sydow en collaboration with Suzanne et Denise Chainaye er Irène Sydow. Richard-Massé, Paris 1953–1960. Vol. 1: L'aube 1816-1831 (1953). Vol. 2: L'ascension (1831-1840). Vol. 3: La gloire 1840-1849 (1960). (Edition définitive: La Revue musicale, Paris 1981).
  • Krystyna Kobylańska (ed.): Frédéric Chopin. Letters. S. Fischer, Frankfurt am Main 1984, ISBN 3-10-010704-7 .
  • Krystyna Kobylańska: Chopin at home. Certificates and souvenirs. Polskie Wydawnictwo Muzyczne, Cracow 1955 (documents from 1771 to 1830, text in German).
  • Hans Werner Wüst : Frédéric Chopin - letters and testimonies. A portrait. Bouvier, Bonn 2007, ISBN 978-3-416-03164-6 .
  • Uta Goebl-Streicher : Friederike Müller, a favorite student of Chopin, in her unknown letters from Paris (1839–1841, 1844–1845) . In: Notations 1985–2015 , ed. by Karin Wagner and Anton Voigt. Universaledition, Vienna 2015, pp. 263–276
  • Uta Goebl-Streicher: Frédéric Chopin. Insights into lessons and the environment. The letters of his favorite student Friederike Müller Paris 1839–1845 (= musicological writings , 51). Katzbichler, Munich / Salzburg 2018; ISBN 978-3-87397-214-8 .

Literature and Biographies

  • Eva Gesine Baur : Chopin or Die Sehnsucht. CH Beck, Munich 2009, ISBN 978-3-406-59056-6 .
  • Ernst Burger : Frédéric Chopin. A life history in pictures and documents. Hirmer, Munich 1990, ISBN 3-7774-5370-6 .
  • Camille Bourniquel: Frédéric Chopin. With testimonials and photo documents. Rowohlt, Reinbek 1994, ISBN 3-499-50025-6 .
  • Frédéric Chopin: Esquisses pour une méthode de piano . Texts réunis et présentés by Jean-Jacques Eigeldinger. (= Harmoniques . Série: Écrits de musiciens ). Ouvrage publié avec le concours du Center National des Lettres. Flammarion, Paris 1993, ISBN 2-08-066680-0 .
  • Jean-Jacques Eigeldinger : Chopin vu par ses élèves. La Baconniére, Neuchâtel 1970; Revised new edition Fayard, Paris 2006, ISBN 2-213-62916-1 - English translation under the title Chopin: pianist and teacher - as seen by his pupils. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 1986, ISBN 0-521-24159-6 .
  • Jean-Jacques Eigeldinger: L'univers musical de Chopin. Fayard, Paris 2000, ISBN 2-213-60751-6 .
  • Jean-Jacques Eigeldinger: Chopin et Pleyel. Fayard, Paris 2010, ISBN 978-2-213-61922-4 .
  • Jean-Jacques Eigeldinger: Chopin, âme des salons parisiens: 1830–1848. Fayard, Paris 2013, ISBN 978-2-213-67243-4 .
  • Benita Eisler: A Requiem for Frédéric Chopin. Blessing, Munich 2003, ISBN 3-89667-158-8 .
  • Uta Goebl-Streicher: Frédéric Chopin. Insights into lessons and the environment. The letters of his favorite student Friederike Müller, Paris 1839–1845 (= musicological writings. 51). Katzbichler, Munich / Salzburg 2018, ISBN 978-3-87397-214-8 .
  • Johann Jacob Hansen: Pictures of the life of outstanding Catholics of the 19th century ... Adapted from sources and edited by Jakob Hansen. Vols I-IV (1901-1906). Bonifacius-Druckerei, Paderborn, OCLC 457630342 . l
  • Martin Sehested Hansen: Brilliant pedaling. The pedaling of the style brilliant and its influence upon the early works of Chopin. epOs-Music, Osnabrück 2016, ISBN 978-3-940255-54-9 , ISBN 978-3-940255-62-4 .
  • Ute Jung-Kaiser (Ed.): Chopin, the Antistar. Olms, Hildesheim / Zurich u. a. 2010, ISBN 978-3-487-14331-6 .
  • Michael Lorenz : A Godson of Frédéric Chopin. Vienna 2015.
  • Jürgen Lotz: Frédéric Chopin. Rowohlt, Reinbek 1995, ISBN 3-499-50564-9 .
  • Reinhard Piechocki: Cannons sunk under flowers. Chopin's Music in Dark Times (1933–1945). STACCATO Verlag, 2017, ISBN 3-932976-68-1 .
  • Stefan Plöger: In search of his life: On Chopin's ways. Schweikert-Bonn-Verlag, Stuttgart 2010, ISBN 978-3-940259-16-5 .
  • Christoph Rueger : Frédéric Chopin: his music - his life. Parthas-Verlag, Berlin 2009, ISBN 978-3-86964-022-8 .
  • Jim Samson: Frédéric Chopin. Reclam, Stuttgart 1991, ISBN 3-15-010364-9 .
  • Bernard Scharlitt: Chopin. With 22 illustrations, printed and published by Breitkopf & Härtel, Leipzig 1919.
  • Gisela Schlientz: George Sand. Life and work in texts and pictures. (= island paperback 565). Insel Verlag, Frankfurt am Main 1987, ISBN 3-458-32265-5 .
  • Mieczysław Tomaszewski: Frédéric Chopin. Laaber-Verlag, Laaber 1999, ISBN 3-89007-448-0 . (German translation by: Chopin: człowiek, dzieło, rezonans. Podsiedlik-Raniowski i Spółka, Poznań (Posen) 1998, ISBN 83-7212-034-X .)
  • Alan Walker: Fryderyk Chopin: a life and times , London: Faber & Faber, 2018, ISBN 978-0-571-34855-8 . (Picador Paperback, New York, 2019, ISBN 978-1-250-23482-7 ).
  • Adam Zamoyski : Chopin: The poet at the piano. Edition Elke Heidenreich at C. Bertelsmann, Munich 2010, ISBN 978-3-570-58015-8 .
  • Tadeusz A. Zieliński: Chopin. His life, his work, his time. Lübbe, Bergisch Gladbach 1999, ISBN 3-7857-0953-6 .

Web links

Commons : Frédéric Chopin  - album with pictures, videos and audio files
Commons : Frederic Chopin  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Chopin Societies

Free sheet music editions

Audio files

Individual evidence

  1. Julian Fontana stated in the preface to Chopin's posthumous works published in Berlin in 1855 that 1809 was the year of Chopin's birth. This statement is wrong, even if it was represented by well-known authors and musicians. These include M. Szulc, F. Niecks and at times also Raoul Koczalski .
  2. Wincenty Łopaciński: Chopin, Mikołaj. In: Polski słownik biograficzny. Volume 3. Polska Akademia Umiejętnosści, Krakau 1937, p. 426.
  3. The entries were not discovered until 1892, 43 years after Chopin's death: Fryderyk Chopin's birth and baptism certificate. Parafia Rzymskokatolicka św. [= świętego] Jana Chrzciciela i św. Rocha (Polish "Roman Catholic Parish of Saint John the Baptist and Saint Roch"). Retrieved February 12, 2018.
  4. ^ Tadeusz A. Zieliński: Chopin. His life, his work, his time . Gustav Lübbe Verlag, Bergisch Gladbach 1990, ISBN 3-7857-0953-6 , pp. 27 and 864.
    Four memorial sites record February 22nd as their birthday: the memorial plaques on the house where he was born in Żelazowa Wola, in the baptistery in Brochów, on the house where he died Paris (Place Vendôme 12) and the urn with Chopin's heart in the Church of the Holy Cross in Warsaw.
  5. Larivière, Michel .: Homosexuels et bisexuels célèbres: le dictionnaire . Delétraz, Paris 1997, ISBN 2-911110-19-6 , pp. 99 f .
  6. a b c Late outing - Chopin was gay - and nobody should know about it. November 16, 2020, accessed November 21, 2020 .
  7. ^ David Frick: Chopin's polish letters . The Fryderyk Chopin Institute, Warsaw 2016, ISBN 978-83-64823-19-0 , p. 146 .
  8. Bernard crowd Litt: Frederick Chopin's collected letters . Breitkopf & Härtel, Leipzig 1911, p. 66 .
  9. literally: "there we will shake hands".
  10. ^ Frédéric Chopin: Letters. Edited with a foreword and comments by Krystyna Kobylańska . Translated from Polish and French by Cesar Rymarowicz. Henschelverlag, Berlin 1983, p. 76.
  11. ^ Fryderyk Chopin - Information Center - Chopin's letters. Retrieved November 18, 2020 .
  12. Krystyna Kobylanska (ed.): Fryderyk Chopin letters . Henschelverlag, Berlin 1983, p. 93 f .
  13. ^ Ernst Burger: Frédéric Chopin. A life history in pictures and documents. Munich 1990, ISBN 3-7774-5370-6 .
  14. ^ Announcement of a Chopin concert in Vienna , Musikalische Akademie , August 11, 1829, Austrian National Library. Retrieved February 18, 2018.
  15. Allgemeine Musikische Zeitung, No. 49 of December 7, 1831 . Breitkopf & Härtel., 1831, p. 805. Limited preview in Google Books . See the use of this quote by Reinhard Piechocki: Cannons sunk under flowers - Chopin's music in dark times (1933–1945). Staccato Verlag, Düsseldorf, 2017, ISBN 978-3-932976-68-1 .
  16. ^ Fryderyk Chopin - Information Center - Chopin Biography. Retrieved November 24, 2020 .
  17. ^ Frédéric Chopin: Letters. Edited with a foreword and comments by Krystyna Kobylańska . Translated from Polish and French by Cesar Rymarowicz. Henschelverlag, Berlin 1983, p. 84.
  18. ^ Fryderyk Chopin - Information Center - Chopin Biography. Retrieved November 21, 2020 .
  19. ^ Tadeusz A. Zieliński: Chopin. Życie i droga twórcza. Polskie Wydawnictwo Muzyczne (PWM), Krakau 1993, ISBN 978-83-224-0456-0 , p. 183.
  20. ^ A. Krasiński: Biblioteka warszawska . 1862, p. 40 ( books.google.de ). Full wording of the farewell song. In: Tadeusz A. Zieliński: Chopin. Życie i droga twórcza. Polskie Wydawnictwo Muzyczne (PWM), Krakau 1993, ISBN 978-83-224-0456-0 , p. 183. The text was printed one day after Chopin's departure on November 3, 1830 in the "Kurier Warszawski".
  21. The arrival of Chopin in Paris is usually given in the literature as the end of September 1831. To specify the date s. Jean-Jacques Eigeldinger: Chopin et Pleyel. Paris: Fayard, 2010, ISBN 978-2-213-61922-4 . P. 7, note 1 (Zofia Helman, Hanna Wróblewska-Straus: The Date of Chopin's Arrival in Paris. In: Musicology Today. Anthropology - History - Analysis. Institute of Musicology, University of Warsaw 2007, pp. 95-103. Alan Walker: Fryderyk Chopin. A Life and Times . Picador Paperback, New York, 2019, ISBN 978-1-250-23482-7 , p. 212.
  22. “Listy Chopina”: List do Tytusa Woyciechowskiego w Poturzynie (Paryż, December 25, 1831). See also: Frédéric Chopin: letters. Edited with a foreword and comments by Krystyna Kobylańska . Translated from Polish and French by Cesar Rymarowicz. S. Fischer Verlag, Frankfurt am Main 1984, ISBN 3-10-010704-7 , p. 138.
  23. ^ Frédéric Chopin: Letters. Edited with a foreword and comments by Krystyna Kobylańska . Translated from Polish and French by Cesar Rymarowicz. S. Fischer Verlag, Frankfurt am Main 1984, ISBN 3-10-010704-7 . P. 138.
  24. These are three consecutive ("en enfilade") rooms that were normally used to display musical instruments and in which concerts were also held. The rooms have been preserved to this day and are located in the so-called Hôtel Cromot du Bourg , 9 rue Cadet. Photos in: Jean-Jacques Eigeldinger: Chopin et Pleyel. Librairie Arthème Fayard, Paris 2010, ISBN 978-2-213-61922-4 , pp. 26-27. After extensive renovation work, the rooms have been used commercially since 2018.
    See also: autourduperetanguy.blogspirit.com Bernard Bassor: Les Pleyel, 9 rue Cadet, l'Hôtel Cromot du Bourg. In: Association du Père Tanguy publications.Issue of March 17, 2007. They held about 150 people. After the Pleyel company moved to the building complex at Rue Rochechouart 20-24, there was a separate concert hall at number 22 (inauguration on December 25, 1839), which could hold around 550 people and until 1927 after a fire in the facility (1851) , the year of the inauguration of the new Salle Pleyel at 252 rue du Faubourg-Saint-Honoré. See also: Patrimoine ancien: L'hôtel Cromot du Bourg, espaces culturels de la Ville de Paris on paris-promeneurs.com with partially different figures. See also: neufhistoire.fr (input: L'Hôtel Cromot du Bourg).
  25. The Swiss musicologist Jean-Jacques Eigeldinger was able to prove that the date (February 26th) given in all publications, including his own, is incorrect. Also Alan Walker: Fryderyk Chopin: a life and times . Picador Paperback, New York, 2019, ISBN 978-1-250-23482-7 pp. 224–226, stays at February 26th. Jean-Jacques Eigeldinger: Documents inconnus concernant le premier concert de Chopin à Paris (25 février 1832). In: Revue de Musicologie. Vol. 94/2 (2008), pp. 575-584.
  26. ^ Jean-Jacques Eigeldinger: Chopin âme des salons parisiens. 1830-1848. Librairie Arthème Fayard, Paris 2013, ISBN 978-2-213-67243-4 , p. 121.
  27. ^ Les premiers concerts publics de Chopin à Paris 1832–1838. In: Jean-Jacques Eigeldinger: L'univers musical de Chopin. Librairie Arthème Fayard, Paris 2000, pp. 193-203.
  28. See: frederic-chopin.com (website of Société Chopin à Paris).
  29. ^ Alan Walker: Fryderyk Chopin: a life and times. Faber & Faber, Londond 2018, ISBN 978-0-571-34855-8 . P. 296 f.
  30. ^ Alan Walker: Fryderyk Chopin: a life and times. Faber & Faber, London 2018, ISBN 978-0-571-34855-8 . P. 296 f.
  31. Krystyna Kobylanska (ed.): Fryderyk Chopin letters . Henschelverlag, Berlin 1983, p. 181, 419 .
  32. Quoted in Dieter Hildebrandt: Pianoforte or The War in the Hall. The piano in the 19th century. Carl Hanser Verlag, Munich and Vienna 1985, ISBN 3-446-14181-2 , p. 9.
  33. ^ Hans Werner Wüst: Frédéric Chopin. Bonn, Bouvier 2007, ISBN 978-3-416-03164-6 , pp. 177 and 187.
    Chopin's income in the years 1833–1847 was around 14,000 francs per year, which in 2018 would correspond to around € 100,000. With that he could just cover his expenses. Friedrich Niecks describes him as a man who couldn't handle money. See also Suzanne et Denise Chainaye: De quoi vivait Chopin? (De quoi vivaient-ils?). Deux rives, Paris 1951, pp. 29-49.
  34. ^ Jean-Jacques Eigeldinger: L'univers musical de Chopin. Librairie Arthème Fayard, Paris 2000, pp. 191-227.
  35. ^ On February 6, 1854, the society was renamed Société historique et littéraire polonaise (German "Polish historical-literary society", Polish Towarzystwo Historyczno-Literackie ) (President: Prince Adam Jerzy Czartoryski; Vice President: Adam Mickiewicz). It is still based in Paris on Île Saint-Louis, 6 quai d'Orléans. See Małgorzata Maria Grąbczewska (editor): Chopin. Przewodnik po zbiorach Towarzystwa Historyczno-Literackiego / Biblioteki Polskiej w Paryżu. Towarzystwo Historyczno-Literackie / Biblioteka Polska w Paryżu, Paris 2010, ISBN 978-2-9505739-4-0 , pp. 11-12.
  36. Walker, Alan: Fryderyk Chopin: a life and times . First ed. Farrar, Straus and Giroux, New York 2018, ISBN 978-0-374-15906-1 , pp. 302 f., 309.365 .
  37. The exact title is: Œuvres posthumes pour le piano de Frédéric Chopin publiés sur manuscrits originaux avec autorisation de sa famille par Jules Fontana . AM Schlesinger, Berlin 1855. The songs in the German translation by F. Gumbert, also published by Schlesinger in 1859 as op. 74, were entitled: 16 Polish songs for a voice with accompaniment of the pianoforte . S. Zieliński: Chopin (1999), p. 868.
  38. ^ Jean-Jacques Eigeldinger: Chopin et Pleyel . Librairie Arthème Fayard, Paris 2010, ISBN 978-2-213-61922-4 , pp. 257-309.
  39. ^ Bronislas Édouard Sydow (Ed.): Correspondance de Frédéric Chopin . tape 2 . Éditions Richard-Masse, Paris 1953, p. 130 f .
  40. ^ A b Alan Walker: Fryderyk Chopin: a life and times . First ed. Farrar, Straus and Giroux, New York, ISBN 978-0-374-15906-1 , pp. 296 f .
  41. The Polish musicologist Zieliński points out that Chopin worked on the Etudes Opus 10 mainly in Vienna and that the basic idea for the so-called Revolutionary Etude Opus 10/12 existed even before his stay in Stuttgart. In addition, the expression of struggle and heroism that the etude exudes does not match the feelings that trigger defeat and surrender.
    Tadeusz A. Zieliński: Chopin. His life, his work, his time. Gustav Lübbe Verlag, Bergisch Gladbach 1999, ISBN 3-7857-0953-6 , p. 873, note 31.
  42. George Sand: Correspondance. Texts réunis, classés et annotés by Georges Lubin. Garnier Frères, Paris 1964–1987. Volume IV, pp. 428-439.
  43. Quoted in: Gisela Schlientz: George Sand. Life and work in texts and pictures. Insel Verlag, Frankfurt am Main 1987, ISBN 3-458-32265-5 , p. 112.
  44. It is the Pleyel piano No. 6668 (built 1838). The instrument was sent to Mallorca by Pleyel in January 1839. Before returning home in February 1839, Chopin sold the piano for Pleyel to the banker Canut.
  45. George Sand: Un hiver à Majorque. Première édition. Hippolyte Souverain, Paris 1842.
  46. pl.chopin.nifc.pl (Listy Chopina No. 246, Palma 3 grudnia 1838)
  47. ^ Frédéric Chopin: Letters. Edited with a foreword and comments by Krystina Kobylańska. Translated from Polish and French by Caesar Rymarowicz . S. Fischer Verlag, Frankfurt am Main 1984, ISBN 3-10-010704-7 , p. 158. (Licensed edition by Henschel Verlag Kunst und Gesellschaft, GDR-Berlin 1983).
  48. For the history of this instrument, which is insignificant from the point of view of instrument making, see Paul Kildea: Chopin's Piano. A Journey through Romanticism . Allen Lane (Penguin Random House UK), 2018, ISBN 978-0-241-18794-4 .
  49. pl.chopin.nifc.pl (Listy Chopina No. 249, Palma 28 grudnia 1838)
  50. ^ Frédéric Chopin: Letters. Edited with a foreword and comments by Krystina Kobylańska. Translated from Polish and French by Caesar Rymarowicz. S. Fischer Verlag, Frankfurt am Main 1984, ISBN 3-10-010704-7 , p. 160 (licensed edition by Henschel Verlag Kunst und Gesellschaft, GDR-Berlin 1983).
  51. George Sand: History of my stay in Mallorca from History of my life, as an appendix in George Sand: A winter in Mallorca. DTV paperback, 10th edition. Munich 1995, ISBN 3-458-33802-0 , p. 258 f.
  52. Doctors explain Chopin's hallucinations , Der Spiegel , November 25, 2011. Accessed on March 27, 2018.
    Chopin - Hallucinations through Epilepsy , Ärzteblatt , January 25, 2011. Accessed on March 27, 2018.
    Claudia Schreiber: Solo for Clara . Carl Hanser Verlag GmbH & Company KG, February 22, 2016, ISBN 978-3-446-25222-6 , pp. 182-183.
  53. Every year in Nohant “Les fêtes romantiques de Nohant” (“The Festival of the Romanticism of Nohant”) and “Le Nohant festival Chopin” (“The Chopin Festival Nohant”) take place.
  54. ^ Sylvie Delaigue-Moins: Chopin chez George Sand à Nohant. Chronique de sept étés. 4ème édition. Les Amis de Nohant, Le Pin 1996.
    Frédéric Chopin. Les années Nohant 1939-1846 . Texts: Yves Henry, Irena Poniatowska. Piano (concert grand piano Fazioli): Yves Henry. Soupir Editions 2004-2008. S243 P (with recordings of all of Chopin's piano works written in Nohant).
  55. ^ Jean-Jacques Eigeldinger: Chopin, Fryderyk Franciscek, Frédéric François. In: Music in the past and present. Person part 4, Kassel u. a. 2000, columns 977-979. The article has since been updated in MGG Online to the status of 2006, but still contains information that Eigeldinger corrected in other publications.
  56. Quoted in: Sylvie Delaigue-Moins: Chopin chez George Sand à Nohant. Chronique de sept étés. 4ème édition. Les Amis de Nohant, Le Pin 1996, ISBN 2-9504129-0-4 , p. 204.
  57. Both George Sand and Charlotte Marliani had given up their apartments in Square d'Orléans: Sand after separating from Chopin, Marliani after separating from her husband. See Tad Szulc: Chopin in Paris. The life and times of the romantic composer . Scribner, New York 1998, ISBN 0-684-82458-2 , p. 366.
  58. Tadeusz A. Zielinski: Chopin: His life, his work, his time (music series). Co.-Prod. with Atlantis Musikbuch-Verlag, 2008, ISBN 3-254-08048-3 , p. 816.
    See pl.chopin.nifc.pol, listy Chopina nr. 610, 5 March 1848: Thu Solange Clésinger . In this letter of March 5 to Sand's daughter, Chopin factually describes the meeting from the previous day. The melodramatic portrayal of Sand in her Histoire de ma vie (“Story of my life”), written years later, presents the event differently.
  59. George Sand: Histoire de ma vie. Texts intégral. Edition établie, présentée et annotée by Martine Reid. (= Quarto Gallimard). Editions Gallimard, Paris 2004, ISBN 2-07-072884-6 , pp. 1501-1502.
  60. Quoted in: Gisela Schlientz: George Sand. Life and work in texts and pictures. Insel Verlag, Frankfurt am Main, 1987, ISBN 3-458-32265-5 , p. 171.
  61. Today the street is called Rue de Rocheouart.
  62. Commissioned by Jane Stirling.
  63. Andreas Otte, Konrad Wink: Kerner's diseases of great musicians. 6th edition. Schattauer, Stuttgart and New York 2008, ISBN 978-3-7945-2601-7 , p. 221 ff.
    According to another assumption, cystic fibrosis could also have been the cause. This assumption is contradicted by the fact that people with cystic fibrosis generally died in childhood and adolescence at that time.
    Lucyna Majka, Joanna Gozdzik, Micha Witt: Cystic fibrosis - a probable cause of Frédéric Chopin's suffering and death (PDF; 54 kB). In: J. Appl. Genet. 44 (2003), pp. 77-84. A. Jaffé, A. Bush: Cystic fibrosis: review of the decade. In: Monaldi archives for chest disease.Volume 56, Number 3, June 2001, pp. 240-247, PMID 11665504 (review).
  64. concerti. The concert and opera magazine. December 2017. p. 6. Michał Witt et al .: A Closer Look at Frederic Chopin's Cause of Death . In: American Journal of Medicine , Elsevier, October 11, 2017, doi: 10.1016 / j.amjmed.2017.09.039 . In addition, doctors speculate about other possible causes of death. Jan Brachmann: A matter of the heart. How did Frédéric Chopin die? In: Frankfurter Allgemeine. Features section. November 21, 2017, accessed March 30, 2018.
  65. Das Herz des Musikers , NDR television on December 11, 2018.
  66. ^ Alan Walker: Fryderyk Chopin: a life and times . Picador Paperback, New York, 2019, ISBN 978-1-250-23482-7 , p. 618.
  67. Jane Stirling , Clan Stirling Online. Retrieved February 14, 2018.
  68. ^ Edouard Ganche: Frédéric Chopin. Sa vie et ses oeuvres. Éditions Mercure de France, Paris 1926, p. 423. Quoted in: André Delapierre et Thomas Schlunke: Chopin à Paris . L'Harmattan, Paris 2004, ISBN 2-7475-5770-7 , p. 112.
  69. ^ Report by George Sands in: Ernst Burger: Frédéric Chopin. A life history in pictures and documents. Munich 1990, ISBN 3-7774-5370-6 , p. 254.
  70. a b Kronika Polski. W boju i na tułaczce: 1831–1846. Wydawnictwo Ryszard Kluszczyński, Kraków 1998, p. 12.
  71. Jean Kleczinski, Frederic Chopin: de l'interprétation de ses oeuvres. Paris, Félix Mackar, 1880, XII, p. 82.
  72. ^ Jean-Jacques Eigeldinger: Chopin vu par ses élèves. La Baconniére, Neuchâtel 1970; Revised new edition Fayard, Paris 2006, ISBN 2-213-62916-1 . P. 169 No. 133.
  73. ^ Jean-Jacques Eigeldinger: Chopin vu par ses élèves. Nouvelle édition mise à jour. Librairie Arthème Fayard, Paris 2006, ISBN 978-2-213-62916-2 , p. 167 (note 127).
  74. ^ Jean-Jacques Eigeldinger: Chopin vu par ses élèves. Nouvelle édition mise à jour. Librairie Arthème Fayard, Paris 2006, ISBN 978-2-213-62916-2 , p. 79.
  75. ^ Alfred Cortot: Aspects de Chopin. Albin Michel, Paris 1949. New edition 2010. ISBN 2-226-19590-4 .
  76. ^ Frédéric Chopin: Esquisses pour une méthode de piano. Texts réunis et présentés by Jean-Jacques Eigeldinger. Flammarion, Paris 1993, ISBN 2-08-066680-0 .
  77. ^ Jean-Jacques Eigeldinger: Chopin vu par ses élèves. Nouvelle édition mise á jour. Librairie Arthème Fayard, Paris 2006, ISBN 978-2-213-62916-2 .
  78. The key sequence e, f sharp, g sharp, h, c described in Gottfried Benn's poem Chopin does not correspond to the one given by Chopin.
    The tone sequence e, f sharp, g sharp, a sharp, h is an excerpt from the B major scale, where "e" represents the last note of the first tetrachord (four-tone sequence), the notes "f sharp" to "h" the second tetrachord.
  79. Fryderyk Chopin. Man, pianist, composer. In: Mieczyslaw Tomaszewski: Frédéric Chopin and his time. Laaber-Verlag, 2017, ISBN 3-89007-448-0 . Retrieved February 18, 2018.
  80. Frédéric Chopin's individual piano playing. From: Wiener Urtext Edition. Retrieved March 13, 2018.
  81. see: Rudolf Steglich: Chopin's pianos . In: Chopin's yearbook . Ed .: Franz Zagiba. International Chopin Society Vienna. Notring-Verlag, Vienna 1963, pp. 139–160.
  82. See on this: Jean-Jacques Eigeldinger: Chopin vu par ses élèves. Nouvelle édition mise à jour. Librairie Arthème Fayard, Paris 2006, ISBN 978-2-213-62916-2 , p. 160, note 114.
  83. ^ Mozart, letter to the father of October 23, 1777 . Retrieved March 28, 2018.
  84. Riemann Music Lexicon. Edited by Wilibald Gurlitt , Hans Heinrich Eggebrecht and Carl Dahlhaus 13., updated new edition, ed. by Wolfgang Ruf in conjunction with Annette van Dyck-Hemming. Schott Verlag, Mainz 2012. Subject: Keyword: tempo rubato.
  85. ^ George Mathias: Préface to Isidore Philipp: Exercices quotidiens tirés des œuvres de Chopin. Hamelle, Paris 1897. Quoted in Chopin: Preludes op. 28. Edited by Paul Badura-Skoda. Edition Peters, Leipzig 1985. p. 80.
  86. In: JS Bach: "Clavier-Büchlein before Wilhelm Friedemann Bach " (1720). (Music Library, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut / USA)
  87. See the description by Paul Badura-Skoda in his edition of the Preludes Opus 28 , Edition Peters No. 9900, Leipzig 1985, pp. 76–79.
    John Petrie Dunn: Ornamentation in the works of Frederick Chopin (= Novello's Music Primers and Educational Series) . Novello and Company, London, New York 1921. (Reprint: Da Capo Press, New York 1971).
  88. Jean-Jacques Eigeldinger: Chopin, Pianist and Teacher, as seen by his pupils, Cambridge University Press, 2nd edition / new edition 2011, p. 199 ff, ISBN 978-0-521-36709-7
  89. ^ Moritz Karasowski, Friedrich Chopin, his life, his works and letters, Dresden, 1877, p. 288.
  90. ^ Paul Badura-Skoda : Notes on the proper execution of Chopin's works. In: Chopin: Preludes Opus 28th Urtext edition. Published by Paul Badura-Skoda. Edition Peters, Leipzig 1985, p. 95.
  91. With this stepping down, also called syncopated pedal or change pedal, the pedal is not lifted before the new harmony begins, as prescribed by all contemporary piano schools, but only at the same time or after the new harmony has been struck, which is then triggered by immediately stepping ( "Stepping on") of the pedal is fixed. It is not certain whether Chopin was even familiar with the syncopated pedal, which is also used by amateur players today and which only became popular in the latter part of the 19th century. The piano schools of Kalkbrenner, Hummel and Czerny, known to Chopin, do not know the syncopated pedal as it is practiced today.
  92. ^ Daniel Magne: Interpréter Chopin sur un piano d'époque . In: Danièle Pistone (ed.): L'interprétation de Chopin en France . Librairie Honoré Champion, Paris 1990, ISBN 2-85203-125-6 , p. 32.
  93. Friedrich Niecks: Friedrich Chopin as a person and as a musician. Reproduced by the author and translated from English by W. Langhans. 2nd volume. Leuckart Verlag, Leipzig 1890, p. 368. (These are memories of Chopin by Friederike Streicher). Also quoted in: Jean-Jacques Eigeldinger: Chopin vu par ses élèves. Nouvelle édition mise à jour. Librairie Arthème Fayard, Paris 2006, ISBN 978-2-213-62916-2 , p. 84.
  94. Alisha Walker: The Message of a Pianist: Chopin's Pedal. Intermezzo, 2015, No. 11. Retrieved March 19, 2018.
    David Rowland: A history of pianoforte pedaling. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 1993, ISBN 0-521-40266-2 , pp. 125-130.
    Maurice Hinson: Pedaling the piano works of Chopin. In: Joseph Banowetz : The pianist's guide to pedaling. Indiana University Press, Bloomington 1985, ISBN 0-253-34494-8 , pp. 179-198. (German edition: Joseph Banowetz: Pedal technology for pianists. A manual. Schott, Mainz 2008, ISBN 978-3-7957-8735-6 ).
    Tomasz Herbut:Chopin's pedal. Comments from a contemporary interpreter. In: Claudio Bacciagaluppi, Roman Brotbeck, Anselm Gerhard [Hrsg]: Between creative individuality and artistic self-denial. (= Music research at the Bern University of the Arts , edited by Roman Brotbeck, Volume 2). Edition Argus, Schlingen 2009, ISBN 978-3-931264-82-6 , pp. 132–141
    Leonid Kreutzer: The normal piano pedal from the acoustic and aesthetic point of view. Breitkopf and Härtel, Leipzig 1915, pp. 70–83.
    Dominique Merlet: L'art de la pédale chez Chopin. In: Daniel Pistone (ed.): L'interprétation de Chopin en France.(= Musique - Musicology No. 20). Éditions Champion, Paris 1990, ISBN 2-85203-125-6 , pp. 35-43.
    Paul Badura-Skoda: Chopin's Text - the eternal question of Chopin's Pedalling Signs . In: Chopin's works as a source of performance inspiration . International Chopin Conference, Warsaw (Warszawa, Warsaw) 1999, pp. 120-140, 274-284.
  95. Spielart is a technical term used in piano construction. It describes the way in which the mechanism of the instrument reacts to the different touch nuances of the player. It must not be confused with the difficulty of the game . Herbert Junghanns: The piano and grand piano construction. 7th, improved and considerably expanded edition, edited and supplemented by HK Herzog. (= Reference book series Das Musikinstrument. Vol. 4). Verlag Erwin Bochinski, Frankfurt am Main 1991, ISBN 3-923639-90-2 , p. 259.
  96. The playing depth of the Pleyel instruments was about 7 mm, the playing weight about 35 g. S. Jan Marisse Huizing: Frédéric Chopin. The Etudes. Emergence. Performance practice. Interpretation . Schott Music, Mainz 2009, ISBN 978-3-7957-8744-8 , p. 43.
  97. Quoted in: Jean-Jacques Eigeldinger: Chopin vu par ses élèves. Éditions de la Baconnière, Boudry-Neuchâtel 1988, ISBN 2-8252-0212-6 , p. 45.
  98. ^ Henri Blaze de Bury: Musiciens contemporains. Lévy frères, Paris 1856. p. 118. Quoted in: Jean-Jacques Eigeldinger: Chopin vu par ses élèves. Nouvelle édition mise à jour. Librairie Arthème Fayard, Paris 2006, ISBN 978-2-213-62916-2 . P. 43.
    s. also Guy de Portalès: Chopin ou Le poète . In: La Galerie pittoresque (n ° 5). Gallimard, 1927, ISBN 2-07-101804-4 .
  99. ^ Rosamund EM Harding: The Piano-Forte. Its history traced to the Great Exhibition of 1851 . Second, completely revised edition. The Gresham Press, Old Woking, Surrey 1978, ISBN 0-905418-31-X . Pp. 156-159, 320.
  100. Claus Bockmaier: Facets II: Small studies - Edition and interpretation by Chopin - The Munich School and Max Reger . Buch & media, March 21, 2016, ISBN 978-3-86906-846-6 , p. 132.
  101. Tadeusz A. Zielinski, Chopin: His life, his work, his time ( music series ). Co.-Prod. with Atlantis Musikbuch-Verlag, 2008, ISBN 3-254-08048-3 , p. 420.
  102. Ludwig Kusche: Frédéric Chopin , Süddeutscher Verlag, 1960, p. 24 f.
  103. ^ Zofia Rosengardt-Zaleska , Persons related to Chopin (English), The Frederic Chopin Institute. Retrieved March 13, 2018.
  104. Tereza Staruh: Karol Mikuli and Frédéric Chopin (PDF). University of Leipzig, Faculty of History, Art and Oriental Studies, Volume 6, pp. 117a – 121. Retrieved March 13, 2018.
  105. ^ Bronislaw v. Poźniak: Chopin. Practical Instructions for Studying Chopin's Works. Published in cooperation with the German Chopin Committee Berlin. Mitteldeutscher Verlag, Halle (Saale) 1949.
  106. ^ Józef Michał Chomiński, Teresa Dalila Turlo: A catalog of the works of Frederick Chopin. Polskie Wydawnictwo Muzyczne (PWM), Kraków 1990, ISBN 83-224-0407-7 , p. 252 ff.
  107. a b c d e f g h i j k Józef Michał Chomiński, Teresa Dalila Turlo: A catalog of the works of Frederick Chopin. Polskie Wydawnictwo Muzyczne (PWM), Krakow 1990, ISBN 83-224-0407-7 .
  108. ^ Jean-Jacques Eigeldinger : Chopin vu par ses élèves. La Baconniére, Neuchâtel 1970; Revised new edition Fayard, Paris 2006, ISBN 2-213-62916-1 , pp. 222–224.
  109. Raoul von Koczalski: Introductions to the Chopin Complete Edition . Sächsisches Staatsarchiv Leipzig, archival material in inventory 21081 (= Breitkopf & Härtel, Leipzig), archival number 1810, manuscript (machinensch.) S. archiv.sachsen.de
  110. According to the publisher, the archive in Leipzig burned out during the Second World War (1939–1945), so the fate of the Koczalski edition remains unclear.
  111. Franco Luigi Viero, Review Urtextausgabe Bärenreiter , audacter. Collection of critical editions of the Works of Fryderyk Chopin. Retrieved April 4, 2018.
  112. The presented music files are to be understood as examples for the corresponding music genres and works. High quality interpretations are not available under a free license.
  113. ^ Józef Michał Chomiński, Teresa Dalila Turło: Catalog dzieł Fryderyka Chopina. (A Catalog of the works of Frederick Chopin) (=  Documenta Chopiniana. ). Polskie Wydawnictwo Muzyczne (PWM), Kraków 1990. ISBN 83-224-0407-7 , p. 157.
  114. ^ Fryderyk Chopin: Mazurki (Wydanie Narodowe, editor: Jan Ekier). Polskie Wydawnictwo Muzyczne (PWM), Kraków 1998.
  115. ^ Bronislaw von Pozniak: Chopin. Practical Instructions for Studying Chopin's Works. Published in cooperation with the German Chopin Committee Berlin. Mitteldeutscher Verlag, Halle (Saale) 1949, p. 62.
  116. Robert Schumann quoted in: Ashton Jonson: A Handbook to Chopin's Works . BoD - Books on Demand, 2010, ISBN 978-3-86741-437-1 , p. 8.
  117. Chopin Biography , Narodowy Instytut Fryderyka Chopina. Retrieved February 18, 2018.
  118. ^ Friedrich Niecks : Friedrich Chopin as a person and musician. Reproduced by the author and translated from English by Dr. Wilhelm Langhans [1832-92]. Second volume. Leipzig 1890, p. 155 ( Textarchiv - Internet Archive ).
  119. "La Méthode des Méthodes" (German Die Klavierschule der Klavierschulen) was a piano school ( méthode ) edited by FJ Fétis and Ignaz Moscheles , which summarized the advice and instructions of the most famous piano schools at the time and études de perfectionnement (published in 1840) in the third part various composers, some of which were written especially for the work. Among the composers were u. a. Chopin, Heller, Liszt, Mendelssohn, Moscheles, Thalberg.
  120. This piece is Chopin's harmonization of the 1816 setting by Jan Kaszewski of a text by Alojzy Feliński . Tadeusz A. Zieliński: Chopin. His life, his work, his time . Gustav Lübbe Verlag, Bergisch Gladbach 1999, ISBN 3-7857-0953-6 . P. 564.
  121. The exact title of the joint work, which was commissioned by Princess Cristina Belgiojoso (1808–1871) and to which Chopin contributed the 6th variation, is in the French first edition: Hexameron. Morceau de Concert. Grandes variations de bravoure pour piano sur la marche des Puritains de Bellini, composées pour le concert de Madame la Princesse Belgiojoso par Messieurs Liszt, Thalberg, Pixis, Henri Herz, Czerny et Chopin . In the Italian first edition the word “Hexameron” is missing. Editions: Haslinger, Vienna 1839; Ricordi, Milan 1838; Troupenas, Paris 1841. S. Jean-Jacques Eigeldinger: Hexameron ou Chopin dans une "Galerie des pianistes" . In: J.-J. Eigeldinger: L'univers musical de Chopin. Librairie Fayard, Paris 2000, pp. 229-250.
  122. The ending “-ówna”, spoken: [ ˌʃɔpɛnˈuːvna ], means “daughter of…” in Polish.
  123. Tadeusz A. Zielinski, Chopin: His life, his work, his time (music series), Co.-Prod. with Atlantis Musikbuch-Verlag, 2008, ISBN 3-254-08048-3 , p. 401.
  124. Ann Malaspina: Chopin's World. The Rosen Publishing Group, New York 2008, ISBN 978-1-4042-0723-3 , p. 26. Limited preview in Google Books .
    Tad Szulc : Chopin in Paris. The Life and Times of the Romantic Composer. Da Capo Press, Cambridge / Mass. 1999, ISBN 978-0-306-80933-0 , p. 69. Limited preview in Google Books .
  125. ^ Chopin's passport, 1837 . Retrieved February 14, 2018.
  126. Krzysztof Bilica, “Ktokolwiek by wiedział…” , Ruch Muzyczny, No. 17/18, August 31, 2008. Accessed March 3, 2018.
    Documentary “Serce Chopina” (Chopin's Heart) by Piotr Szalsza. In: The strongest gun in Poland , Neue Zürcher Zeitung, November 27, 2010. Retrieved on March 2, 2018.
    Dispute over Chopin's heart , Deutschlandfunk, August 2, 2008. Retrieved on March 2, 2018.
  127. ^ Jean-Jacques Eigeldinger: Chopin vu par ses élèves . Nouvelle édition mise à jour. Librairie Arthème Fayard, Paris 2006, ISBN 978-2-213-62916-2 , pp. 209-242.
  128. Pronunciation: [əuˈmiərə] / [əuˈmɑːrə]
  129. Marcel Reich-Ranicki: My life. Stuttgart, 1999. p. 223.
  130. Thomas Desi: The "butcher of Poland" and his love for Chopin. In: derStandard.at. April 26, 2010, accessed March 18, 2018.
  131. Roman Polanski used this scene in his film " The Pianist ", shot in Babelsberg, with Adrien Brody in the lead role, for which the actor won an Oscar in 2003.
  132. Speech on Remembrance Day for the Victims of National Socialism , German Bundestag, 2012. Accessed on February 12, 2018.
  133. Hanna Kotkowska-Bareja, Pomnik Chopina. (Polish) Warszawa: Państwowe Wydawnictwo Naukowe. (1970) p. 47.
  134. ^ Rudolf Steglich: Chopin's pianos . In: Chopin-Jahrbuch 2. Vienna 1963, pp. 139–160.
    Franz Josef Hirt: Masterpieces of piano making. History of stringed instruments from 1440 to 1880 . Urs-Graf Verlag, Dietikon-Zurich 1981.
    Jean-Jacques Eigeldinger: Chopin et Pleyel . Librairie Arthème Fayard, Paris 2010. ISBN 978-2-213-61922-4 . Pp. 229-256. (By printing excerpts from the manufacturing and sales registers of the Pleyel company, which are now kept in the Musée de la Musique, Paris, the history of individual instruments can be described more precisely than was previously possible. Archivesmusee.citedelamusique.fr ) .
    Alec Cobbe:Composer Instruments. A catalog of the Cobbe Collection of keyboard instruments with composer associations . Technical data compiled by David Hunt. The Cobbe Collection Trust in Association with the National Trust, [Hatchlands Park, East Clandon, Surrey], ISBN 0-9538203-0-0 .
    Alec Cobbe, Chopin's Swansong: the Paris and London pianos of his last performances . The Chopin Society, London and The Cobbe Collection Trust, 2010. ( cobbecollection.co.uk ).
    Alec Cobbe and Christopher Nobbs: Three hundred years of composers' instruments: The Cobbe Collection . Boydell & Brewer Ltd, London 2014, ISBN 1-84383-957-1 , ISBN 978-1-84383-957-6 .
  135. ^ Jean-Jacques Eigeldinger: Chopin et Pleyel . Librairie Arthème Fayard, Paris 2010. ISBN 978-2-213-61922-4 , pp. 230-235, 238
  136. Photo and sound sample: cobbecollection.co.uk .
  137. ^ Alain Kohler: La découverte d'un piano Pleyel joué par Chopin . May 2015. musicologie.org
  138. ^ Jean-Jacques Eigeldinger: Chopin et Pleyel . Librairie Arthème Fayard, Paris 2010. ISBN 978-2-213-61922-4 , p. 281.
    wwwfortepian.instrumenty.edu.pl
  139. To identify the wing see chap. swissinfo.ch
  140. Photos and sound samples: cobbecollection.co.uk . Concerts at Hatchlands. Idil Biret plays Chopin's Pleyel No. 13819 (1848) (available on youtube).
    Another sound example: Chopin's own piano: Sam Haywood . Works by Frédéric Chopin. Location: The Cobbe Collection, Hatchlands Park, Surrey. Photo taken on: 9/10. March 2010. The Cobbe Collection Trust & Sam Haywood, Hatchlands Park 2010. CD # CFC104.
  141. cobbecollection.co.uk
  142. Sound example: Raoul Koczalski plays Chopin on Chopin's Pleyel (concert on February 21, 1948 in the Belvedere (Pałac Belweder) in Warsaw), available on youtube.
  143. ^ Jean-Jacques Eigeldinger: Chopin et Pleyel . Librairie Arthème Fayard, Paris 2010. ISBN 978-2-213-61922-4 . P. 246.
  144. Illustration and sound example: cobbecollection.co.uk .
    Peter Katin. Chopin on Chopin's Concert Broadwood Piano . Works by Frédéric Chopin. Location: The Cobbe Collection, Hatchlands Park, Surrey. Date of recording: 4th / 6th June 1998. The Cobbe Foundation, Hatchlands Park 1998. CD # CFC 103.
  145. André Pierre Dela / Thomas Schunke: Chopin à Paris . L'Harmattan, Paris 2004, ISBN 2-7475-5770-7 , p. 119.
  146. Ustawa z dnia 3 lutego 2001 r. o ochronie dziedzictwa Fryderyka Chopina. , Internetowy System Aktów Prawnych - ISAP (Polish). Retrieved March 19, 2018.
  147. Chopin monument unveiled. Der Standard, November 25, 2010, accessed March 17, 2018.
  148. ^ Dramatic Chopin statue unveiled in central Manchester. (English). The Polish Heritage Society, September 2011, accessed March 17, 2018.
  149. Chopin. (English). inyourpocket.com, May 2016, accessed March 17, 2018.
  150. Anthony K. Higgins: Exploration history and place names of northern East Greenland (= Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland Bulletin 21, 2010), ISBN 978-87-7871-292-9 (English). P. 149 ( PDF ; 12.3 MB).
  151. Chopin Rose. Retrieved March 8, 2018.
  152. ^ Andrés Segovia: Frédéric Chopin: Mazurka opus 63 No. 3. B. Schott's Sons, Mainz 1935; New edition 1963 (= guitar archive. Volume 140).
  153. ^ Hannes Fricke: Myth guitar: history, interpreters, great hours. Reclam, Stuttgart 2013, ISBN 978-3-15-020279-1 , p. 139.
  154. Chopin goes to the movies ( Memento from October 23, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) FF Chopin, (English; under supervision of the Fryderyk Chopin Society). Retrieved February 20, 2018.
  155. The film, magazine, no. 2, January 11, 1919, pages 39-40
  156. The Kinematograph, magazine, no. 627, January 8, 1919
  157. Jerzy Maśnicki: Silent Land. Polish motifs in European silent cinema . Słowo / obraz terytoria, Danzig 2006, ISBN 978-83-7453-633-2 , p. 25–26 (Polish, original title: Niemy kraj. Polskie motywy w europejskim kinie niemym .).
  158. John T. Soister: Conrad Veidt on the screen: A comprehensive illustrated Filmography . McFarland & Company, Jefferson, North Carolina 2002, ISBN 978-0-7864-4511-0 , pp. 62 (English, original title: Conrad Veidt on Screen: A Comprehensive Illustrated Filmography .).
  159. Ludwig Kusche: Frédéric Chopin. Süddeutscher Verlag, Munich 1960, pp. 66–68.
  160. On March 10, 2011, the Gdańsk photographer and gallery owner Władysław Żuchowski published a daguerreotype with the inscription "Frédéric Chopin 1849", which he acquired from an unnamed source in Scotland; it is inscribed with the name of the photographer Louis-Auguste Bisson (1814–1876) and apparently shows the dead Chopin on his deathbed. The authenticity of the recording has not yet been confirmed.
  161. ^ Bilingual edition of the text (Polish-French) , artgitato.com, October 31, 2015. Accessed April 14, 2018.
  162. s. Friedrich Niecks: Friedrich Chopin as a person and musician . Reproduced by the author and translated from English by W. Langhans. First volume. Verlag FEC Leuckart, Leipzig 1890, p. 319.
  163. in. = Abbreviation of imienia (Polish "the name") = genitive of "imię" (Polish "the name")
This version was added to the list of articles worth reading on April 12, 2005 .