The City of Chopin
Fryderyk Chopin is the most famous Varsovian. He spent the first 20 years of his life in
the capital of Poland. It was here that he took music classes and at Warsaw salons he
gave first concerts and polished his manners. The child prodigy was all over the capital
city’s newspapers.
It is no wonder that, as requested by the composer, his heart was laid to rest in this very
city, at the Holy Cross church. It is also in Warsaw, at the Fryderyk Chopin Museum that
the world’s largest collection of Chopin memorabilia can be found, and all around the city
one can find a number of places associated with the composer.
a/ Chopin in Warsaw
Fryderyk Chopin was born on 1st of March 1810 in Żelazowa Wola near to Warsaw.
Soon after Fryderyk was born, his parents moved to Warsaw where – in academic and
artistic circles of the University of Warsaw – Fryderyk’s personality and sensitivity was
formed. Chopin revealed his musical talent very soon – he would improvise on the piano
and compose.
At that time, Warsaw was the capital of the Kingdom of Poland, a puppet state totally
controlled by Russia and the tsars were also using the title of the king of Poland.
The Grand Duke Constantine, the Russian viceroy, would often invite the young
Fryderyk to the Belweder Palace to humor him with his piano playing and to be his son’s
playmate. Those invitations were a great honor to little Freddie, and at the same time a
source of pride when it turned out that the music he played soothed the duke’s anger
attacks.
In 1825, Fryderyk, as the Warsaw Lyceum student, became the school organist which
meant that he would play the organ, every Sunday, at school masses at the Visitation
Order’s church. This organ dates back to the 18th century and still has a couple of pipes
left of those Chopin played.
From 1826 to 1829, Fryderyk Chopin was a student of the Warsaw Conservatory. In his
sophomore year, his teacher Józef Elsner, gave him a memorable year-end evaluation:
“a remarkable talent, musical genius”. Traditions of the Warsaw Conservatory are being
continued by the Fryderyk Chopin University of Music.
www.chopin.edu.pl
Fryderyk’s father – Mikołaj was a French man who had come to Poland where he
married a Polish woman - Justyna Krzyżanowska and settled. He spent nearly
whole his life as a teacher, long-time tutor at Warsaw Lyceum, he was highly
regarded by the Warsaw elite. Fryderyk’s parents ran in Warsaw a highly regarded
boarding house for Warsaw Lyceum’s students from landowner families. The artist
would stay friends with many of them throughout whole his life. The famous “Thursdays”
were attended by outstanding professors. A plaque with the composer’s portrait, placed
on the wall of the right-hand annex to the Kazimierz Palace which housed Warsaw
Lyceum and the University of Warsaw, points out that: “Fryderyk Chopin lived in this
building from 1817 to 1827”.
In the summer of 1827 the Chopin moved to an apartment at the annex to the Czapski
Palace, where Fryderyk lived until he left Poland in November 1830. Here is where he
composed several etudes, a number of waltzes, songs and mazurkas as well as
Concerto in E minor op. 11 and Concerto in F minor op. 21.
Fryderyk’s artistic successes made him decide in 1830 to go on a long foreign trip. The
tense political situation in Poland under the Russian rule never allowed him to go back to
Warsaw.
Through Dresden, Vienna, Salzburg and Munich, Chopin came to Paris where he spent
the second half of his life. Here is where his career took a new turn with Chopin giving
public concerts, composing, teaching and making friends with other composers – Liszt,
Rossini, and Mendelssohn. In 1836 he met the writer George Sand who had a major
impact on his life.
After Fryderyk Chopin’s death in 1849, his heart, in keeping with the composer’s last will,
was brought to Warsaw by his sister, Ludwika, and now rests at the Holy Cross church.
Other Chopin memorabilia – including autographs of his works, letters and personal
items as well as the grand piano on which he composed late in his life – are gathered at
the Fryderyk Chopin Museum.
www.nifc.pl
Varsovians also commemorated Chopin with a monument in the Royal Baths Park in
Warsaw. It represents a bronze-cast figure of the composer sitting under a stylized
Masovian willow tree. In May 1940, the Nazis occupying Poland blew up the monument
and then cut it into smaller pieces with flamethrowers and taken away into the void. After
the war an attempt was made to make a faithful replica of the destroyed original based
on surviving fragments of copies. The monument was reconstructed and unveiled again
in 1958.
At present, this is among the most recognizable Warsaw views. On summer Sundays at
12 o’clock and 4 p.m. Chopin concerts are held by the monument.
Poland’s largest airport (www.lotnisko-chopina.pl) is also named after Fryderyk Chopin.
Warsaw Fryderyk Chopin Airport handles nearly half of Poland’s international passenger
traffic. Airplanes departing from here take passengers to countries in America, Africa,
Asia and Europe. Apart from regular connections, Warsaw has an increasing number of
charter flights.
c/ Chopin events
The International Fryderyk Chopin Piano Competition
The International Fryderyk Chopin Piano Competition is one of the world’s oldest and
most prestigious music competitions. It is also in the small of monographic piano
competitions dedicated to interpretation of one composer’s music. The first Chopin
competition was held in 1927 in the Warsaw Philharmonic, initiated by an outstanding
Polish pianist, teacher and composer, Jerzy Żurawlew.
The original Chopin competition formula, great careers of many pianists that had their
beginnings there and the immense popularity of Chopin’s music – these are the reasons
why the piano competition has been enjoying its deserved renown for over 80 years
now. This is confirmed by the continuously growing number of submissions to new
competitions.
The upcoming sixteenth edition of the International Chopin Competition (October 2010)
is under the preparation by the Fryderyk Chopin Institute.
www.konkurs.chopin.pl
“Chopin and his Europe” International Music Festival
The purpose of the festival has been, invariably since 2005, to present Chopin’s work
not only in the context of the 19th century music but also the contemporary music. The
dominant feature of the festival is outstanding piano personalities.
www.nifc.pl
“In the Land of Chopin”
This is the name of the Summer Music Festival that combines the idea of family leisure
with a brilliant musical performance. All through the summer, tends of recitals, concerts
of organ, chamber and jazz music as well as numerous exhibitions and artistic
workshops are held in 20 towns around the Kampinos Forest.
International master classes in interpretation of Chopin works
The international master classes and courses of Chopin music interpretation are
organized in the summer. At each of them, young pianists from all over the world polish,
for several weeks, their skills in Chopin interpretation, guided by outstanding professors
of the Warsaw school of music. Several hundred pianists have already taken part in this
form of education, of which most were Japanese students. Some of them, the most
brilliant ones, have had and still are having a lot of success at many international piano
competitions.
www.chopin.edu.pl
The First Piano Competition for Amateurs
The competition in which non-professional musicians may present their skills is designed
as a part of the International Chopin Year celebrations. Its first edition was held in
September 2009, and the next ones will follow every three years.
www.konkurs.amator.chopin.pl