POLISH CITY FREDERIK CHOPIN
The brilliant composer Frederic Chopin was in many ways different from most of his predecessors and even contemporaries. He wrote works only for piano.
This unique creator did not leave us any opera, symphony or overture. That is why his compositional talent becomes so striking, because Chopin managed to become an innovator of piano music.
Crying to the sound of music
March 1, 1810 in a few dozen kilometers from Warsaw, in the village of Zhelyazova Volya, in the family of a Polish girl and a Frenchman, a boy was born, who was named Frederick. The family lived on the estate of the count. There, Chopin’s father worked as a teacher for his children. Soon Nicolas Chopin was offered to go to work in the Warsaw composer Frederic Chopenlitza, so the family moved to the capital.
Little Frederick grew up to the sound of music – dad played the flute and violin, and my mother sang beautifully and sometimes accompanied herself on the piano. Without uttering a single word, Chopin began to cry when he heard music or singing at home. Parents were upset, they believed that the child did not like the music. Very soon they were convinced of the opposite, because at the age of five Frederick was already very well performing light pieces, which were unlearned with her elder sister Ludvika. Known in the Polish capital, a musician from the Czech Republic, Wojciech Zivny, agreed to become a boy’s teacher. An experienced educator was able to instill in his talented pupil a love of classical music, especially the works of Johann Sebastian Bach.
Little Virtuoso Frederic Chopin
The debut of the little pianist took place in Warsaw. Then he was barely seven years old. The first concert was successful, and the news of the young talent quickly spread through the city. Chopin’s performing talent developed so rapidly that, at a very young age, Frederick was at the same level as composer Frederic Schopens, the best Polish pianists.
Teacher Alive even abandoned the lessons with a small virtuoso. He said that he could not teach Frederick anything. In parallel with his studies in music, Chopin received an excellent general education. He spoke fluently in French and German, studied the history of Poland and absorbed volumes of fiction. The young man painted well, was distinguished by a sharp mind, observation and amazing mimic talent, which could guarantee him a theatrical career. But since childhood, he chose for himself the only way – music.
At the same time, Frederic Chopin was especially interested in folk music. While walking around the outskirts of the city, he could stop at some home and listen with hope to the folk tunes coming from there. Folklore became similar to the essence of the composer himself and became inseparable from his work.
The best pianist of the country
After graduating from high school, Frederick enrolled in high school music. There, his development continued under the guidance of an experienced teacher and composer Joseph Elsner. composer Frederic ChopinTot quickly realized that before him was not just talent, but a real genius. He even wrote about this in the description given to the young performer. By this time, the young man had already been recognized as the best pianist of the country. During these years his composer talent became mature. This is confirmed by two concertos for piano and orchestra, written in 1829-1830. Now pianists from different countries invariably include these works in their repertoire.
Then Chopin first fell in love. He experienced tender feelings for the young singer Constantia Gladkovskaya from the Warsaw Conservatory. It was under the influence of this that Frederick created the song “Desire”.
Farewell to the motherland
The young musician visited Vienna, where he gave several concerts, which had success with the public. His relatives understood that the virtuoso pianist could go on a real concert tour. But Chopin did not dare to take this step for a long time. He had a bad feeling about him. It seemed to the composer that he was forever leaving composer Frederic Chopin’s homeland. After much deliberation in the autumn of 1830, Frederick left Warsaw, taking with him a cup donated by his friends with Polish soil.
Unfortunately, the premonitions did not deceive him. Chopin parted with his native lands forever. Remembering the wonderful reception that was given to him in Vienna, Frederick decided to start his tour from there. But, despite all the troubles, the musician did not manage to organize an independent concert, and the publishers were in no hurry to buy his works for publication.
Suddenly, alarming news came from Poland. Polish patriots organized an uprising against the Russian Tsarism. Frederick decided to suspend his tour and return to his homeland, but relatives insisted that he not come to avoid persecution. Reluctantly, Chopin obeyed his relatives and left for Paris.
On the way to the capital of France, Frederick was struck by another news: the uprising was brutally suppressed, its leaders were thrown into prisons and exiled to Siberia. He arrived in Paris with his famous etude, which was later called “revolutionary”. He spent the rest of his life there, although France could not become a second homeland for the composer.
