Chopin

(sho-pan), Frederic Frangois, compr. b. Zelazowa Wold, near Warsaw, Feb. 22, 1810 [some auth. give Mar. 1, 1809]; d. Paris, Oct. 17, 1849. His mother was a Pole, but his father was a native of Nancy, France, who having failed m busine and retired from the army, taught French at several schools, and at a boaiding-^choo of his own, where ins son ioccivimI his rather slight general education. He had thorough musical instruction from Adalbert Zywny, and, while at the Warsaw Lyceum, from Joseph Eisner. In 1818 he won much praise by playing a Gyrowetz concerto in public; in 1825 he published the rondo Op. 1; in 1829 gave a succe ful concert in Vienna, and in 1830, after three farewell concerts in Warsaw, he had a not very succe ful tour acro Europe, arriving in Paris early in 1832. He soon formed many friends among literary and musical circles, such as Balzac, Heine, Liszt, Cherubin i, Bellini, Meyer beer, etc. Up to 1835 he gave infrequent recitals, which seem to have declined in popularity: As a performer he was at his best only in his own music, and from the contradictory reports of contemporaries emeiges an impre ion that his playing was remarkable CHOPIN for quality of touch and tone, smoothne and delicacy, rather than force; his use of tempo rubato, strongly condemned by some as a sentimental exaggeration, was evidently a technical device well controlled and may have been one source of the haunting charm of his performance. C. visited Germany again in 1835-36, when he met Mendel ohn and Schumann, and in 1837 and again at the time of the Revolution of ’48 he visited and played in England, returning to Paris about a year before his death. Throughout his life C. was beloved by many women, the most famous of them being the novelist George Sand (Mme. Dudevant); his intimacy with her lasted from 1S37-47, in her Hiver & Major que, His to ire de ma vie and Lucrezia Floriani (where one of the characters represents Chopin), and in many works of and about the period, the details may be read. From about 1837 C. was troubled with the pulmonary disease of which he finally died, much evidence has been produced to refute the once current idea that he was always a neurotic invalid; but the frequency of such contemporary remarks as Berlioz’s “ II se mourait toute sa vie ” prevents us from thinking of him as actually robust. His works are practically all for the pianoforte. A posthumous volume of 17 Polish songs, mostly arrangements of old tunes, is his only vocal music; one pf. trio Op. 8, a polonaise Op. 3, sonata Op. 65, and duet for pf. and 'cello represent chamber music, and even here Franc homme rearranged probably the 'cello parts. In the two coircertos for pf. and orch., Op. 11 in E minor and Op. 21 in F minor, the orchestration is so thin that later composers and editors have rewritten it. But in his own field of solo piano music, between 1833-47, he effected a real and permanent revolution, and it is interesting to note that this accomplishment was deliberate and self-conscious, and moreover recognized by his contemporaries. Schumann's review of Op. 2 m 1831, with the phrase “ Hats off, gentlemen! a genius! " started the vogue in 67 CHORLEY Germany, and in Paris admiration for him and his music was decidedly deeper than meie fashion His music shows thororc^ knowledge of construction, and m v'.s.'-i!>.