Frédéric Chopin

[[File:Tytus Woyciechowski ante 1970 (5565288) (cropped).jpg|thumb|upright=0.9|[[Tytus Woyciechowski]] before 1879]]{{Quote|text=I am going to wash now; don't kiss me, I'm not washed yet. You? If I were smeared with the oils of Byzantium, you would not kiss me unless I forced you to it by magnetism. There's some kind of power in nature. Today you will dream of kissing me! I have got to pay you out for the horrible dream you gave me last night.|sign=Frédéric Chopin to Tytus Woyciechowski (4.9.1830){{sfn|Chopin|1988|p=102}}}}

[[File:Tytus Woyciechowski ante 1970 (5565288) (cropped).jpg|thumb|upright=0.9|[[Tytus Woyciechowski]] before 1879]]{{Quote|text=I am going to wash now; don't kiss me, I'm not washed yet. You? If I were smeared with the oils of Byzantium, you would not kiss me unless I forced you to it by magnetism. There's some kind of power in nature. Today you will dream of kissing me! I have got to pay you out for the horrible dream you gave me last night.|sign=Frédéric Chopin to Tytus Woyciechowski (4.9.1830){{sfn|Chopin|1988|p=102}}}}

According to [[Adam Zamoyski]], such expressions "were, and to some extent still are, common currency in Polish and carry no greater implication than the 'love{{'"}} concluding letters today. "The spirit of the times, pervaded by the Romantic movement in art and literature, favoured extreme expression of feeling ... Whilst the possibility cannot be ruled out entirely, it is unlikely that the two were ever lovers."{{sfn|Zamoyski|2010|p=47}}

According to [[Adam Zamoyski]], such expressions "were, and to some extent still are, common currency in Polish and carry no greater implication than the 'love{{'"}} concluding letters today. "The spirit of the times, pervaded by the Romantic movement in art and literature, favoured extreme expression of feeling ... Whilst the possibility cannot be ruled out entirely, it is unlikely that the two were ever lovers."{{sfn|Zamoyski|2010|p=47}}

Chopin's biographer [[Alan Walker (musicologist)|Alan Walker]] considers that, insofar as such expressions could be perceived as homosexual in nature, they would not denote more than a passing phase in Chopin's life, or be the result{{snd}}in Walker's words{{snd}}of a "mental twist".{{sfn|Walker|2018|p=156}} The musicologist [[Jeffrey Kallberg]] notes that concepts of sexual practice and identity were very different in Chopin's time, so modern interpretation is problematic.{{sfn|Kallberg|2006|p=66}} Other [[Scholar|scholars]] argue that these are clear, or potential, demonstrations of homosexual impulses on Chopin's part.{{Cite journal |last=Pizà |first=Antoni |date=13 January 2022 |title=Overture: Love is a Pink Cake or Queering Chopin in Times of Homophobia |url=https://turia.uv.es//index.php/ITAMAR/article/view/23608/0 |url-status=live |journal=Itamar. Revista de investigación musical: Territorios para el arte |language= |issn=2386-8260 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230328121607/https://ojs.uv.es/index.php/ITAMAR/article/view/23608 |archive-date=28 March 2023 |access-date=1 July 2022}}{{Cite journal |last=Weber |first=Moritz |date=13 January 2022 |title=AKT I / ACTO I / ACT I Männer / Hombres / Men Chopins Männer / Los hombres de Chopin / Chopin's Men |url=https://turia.uv.es//index.php/ITAMAR/article/view/23609/0 |url-status=live |journal=Itamar. Revista de investigación musical: Territorios para el arte |language=de |issn=2386-8260 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230326031308/https://ojs.uv.es/index.php/ITAMAR/article/view/23609 |archive-date=26 March 2023 |access-date=1 July 2022}}

Chopin's biographer [[Alan Walker (musicologist)|Alan Walker]] considers that, insofar as such expressions could be perceived as homosexual in nature, they would not denote more than a passing phase in Chopin's life, or be the result{{snd}}in Walker's words{{snd}}of a "mental twist".{{sfn|Walker|2018|p=156}} The musicologist [[Jeffrey Kallberg]] notes that concepts of sexual practice and identity were very different in Chopin's time, so modern interpretation is problematic.{{sfn|Kallberg|2006|p=66}} Other [[Scholar|scholars]] argue that these are clear, or potential, demonstrations of homosexual impulses on Chopin's part.{{Cite journal |last=Pizà |first=Antoni |date=13 January 2022 |title=Overture: Love is a Pink Cake or Queering Chopin in Times of Homophobia |url=https://turia.uv.es//index.php/ITAMAR/article/view/23608/0 |url-status=live |journal=Itamar. Revista de investigación musical: Territorios para el arte |language= |issn=2386-8260 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230328121607/https://ojs.uv.es/index.php/ITAMAR/article/view/23608 |archive-date=28 March 2023 |access-date=1 July 2022}}{{Cite journal |last=Weber |first=Moritz |date=13 January 2022 |title=AKT I / ACTO I / ACT I Männer / Hombres / Men Chopins Männer / Los hombres de Chopin / Chopin's Men |url=https://turia.uv.es//index.php/ITAMAR/article/view/23609/0 |url-status=live |journal=Itamar. Revista de investigación musical: Territorios para el arte |language=de |issn=2386-8260 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230326031308/https://ojs.uv.es/index.php/ITAMAR/article/view/23609 |archive-date=26 March 2023 |access-date=1 July 2022}}

[[File:Maria Wodzińska.jpeg|thumb|left|upright=0.9|[[Maria Wodzińska]], self-portrait]]

[[File:Maria Wodzińska.jpeg|thumb|left|upright=0.9|[[Maria Wodzińska]], self-portrait]]

In the spring of 1834, Chopin attended the Lower Rhenish Music Festival in [[Aachen|Aix-la-Chapelle]] with Hiller, and it was there that Chopin met Felix Mendelssohn. After the festival, the three visited [[Düsseldorf]], where Mendelssohn had been appointed musical director. They spent what Mendelssohn described as "a very agreeable day", playing and discussing music at his piano, and met [[Friedrich Wilhelm Schadow]], director of the Academy of Art, and some of his eminent pupils such as [[Karl Friedrich Lessing|Lessing]], [[Eduard Bendemann|Bendemann]], [[Eduard Hildebrandt|Hildebrandt]] and [[Karl Ferdinand Sohn|Sohn]].{{sfn|Niecks|1902|loc= vol. 1, p. 274}} In 1835, Chopin went to [[Karlovy Vary|Carlsbad]], where he spent time with his parents; it was the last time he would see them. On his way back to Paris, he met old friends from Warsaw, the Wodzińskis, their sons, and their daughters, amongst which [[Maria Wodzińska|Maria]], whom he occasionally had given piano lessons in Poland.{{sfn|Walker|2018|p=279}} This meeting prompted him to stay for two weeks in Dresden, when he had previously intended to return to Paris via [[Leipzig]].{{sfn|Zamoyski|2010|pp=118–119}} The sixteen-year-old girl's portrait of the composer has been considered, along with Delacroix's, as among the best likenesses of Chopin.{{sfn|Szulc|1998|p=137}}

In the spring of 1834, Chopin attended the Lower Rhenish Music Festival in [[Aachen|Aix-la-Chapelle]] with Hiller, and it was there that Chopin met Felix Mendelssohn. After the festival, the three visited [[Düsseldorf]], where Mendelssohn had been appointed musical director. They spent what Mendelssohn described as "a very agreeable day", playing and discussing music at his piano, and met [[Friedrich Wilhelm Schadow]], director of the Academy of Art, and some of his eminent pupils such as [[Karl Friedrich Lessing|Lessing]], [[Eduard Bendemann|Bendemann]], [[Eduard Hildebrandt|Hildebrandt]] and [[Karl Ferdinand Sohn|Sohn]].{{sfn|Niecks|1902|loc= vol. 1, p. 274}} In 1835, Chopin went to [[Karlovy Vary|Carlsbad]], where he spent time with his parents; it was the last time he would see them. On his way back to Paris, he met old friends from Warsaw, the Wodzińskis, their sons, and their daughters, amongst which [[Maria Wodzińska|Maria]], whom he occasionally had given piano lessons in Poland.{{sfn|Walker|2018|p=279}} This meeting prompted him to stay for two weeks in Dresden, when he had previously intended to return to Paris via [[Leipzig]].{{sfn|Zamoyski|2010|pp=118–119}} The sixteen-year-old girl's portrait of the composer has been considered, along with Delacroix's, as among the best likenesses of Chopin.{{sfn|Szulc|1998|p=137}}

In October he finally reached Leipzig, where he met Schumann, [[Clara Schumann|Clara Wieck]], and Mendelssohn, who organised for him a performance of his own oratorio ''[[St. Paul (oratorio)|St. Paul]]'', and who considered him "a perfect musician".{{sfn|Zamoyski|2010|pp=119–120}} In July 1836 Chopin travelled to [[Marienbad]] and [[Dresden]] to be with the Wodziński family, and in September he proposed to Maria, whose mother Countess Wodzińska approved in principle. Chopin went on to Leipzig, where he presented Schumann with his [[Ballade No. 1 (Chopin)|G minor Ballade]].{{sfn|Zamoyski|2010|pp=126–127}} At the end of 1836, he sent Maria an album in which his sister Ludwika had inscribed seven of his songs, and his 1830 [[Nocturne in C-sharp minor, Op. posth. (Chopin)|Nocturne in C{{music|sharp}} minor, ''Lento con gran espresisione'']].{{sfn|Jachimecki|1937|p=423}}{{sfn|Walker|2018|p=299}} The anodyne thanks he received from Maria proved to be the last letter he was to have from her.{{sfn|Chopin|1962|p=144}}

In October he finally reached Leipzig, where he met Schumann, [[Clara Schumann|Clara Wieck]], and Mendelssohn, who organised for him a performance of his own oratorio ''[[St. Paul (oratorio)|St. Paul]]'', and who considered him "a perfect musician".{{sfn|Zamoyski|2010|pp=119–120}} In July 1836 Chopin travelled to [[Marienbad]] and [[Dresden]] to be with the Wodziński family, and in September he proposed to Maria, whose mother Countess Wodzińska approved in principle. Chopin went on to Leipzig, where he presented Schumann with his [[Ballade No. 1 (Chopin)|G minor Ballade]].{{sfn|Zamoyski|2010|pp=126–127}} At the end of 1836, he sent Maria an album in which his sister Ludwika had inscribed seven of his songs, and his 1830 [[Nocturne in C-sharp minor, Op. posth. (Chopin)|Nocturne in C{{music|sharp}} minor, ''Lento con gran espresisione'']].{{sfn|Jachimecki|1937|p=423}}{{sfn|Walker|2018|p=299}} The anodyne thanks he received from Maria proved to be the last letter he was to have from her.{{sfn|Chopin|1962|p=144}}

====Franz Liszt====

====Franz Liszt====

In May 1839, they headed to Sand's estate at [[Nohant-Vic|Nohant]] for the summer, where they spent most of the following summers until 1846. In autumn they returned to Paris, where Chopin's apartment at 5 rue Tronchet was close to Sand's rented accommodation on the rue Pigalle. He frequently visited Sand in the evenings, but both retained some independence.{{sfn|Samson|2001|loc=§4 ¶1}} (In 1842, he and Sand moved to the [[Square d'Orléans]], living in adjacent buildings.){{sfn|Samson|2001|loc=§4 ¶4}}

In May 1839, they headed to Sand's estate at [[Nohant-Vic|Nohant]] for the summer, where they spent most of the following summers until 1846. In autumn they returned to Paris, where Chopin's apartment at 5 rue Tronchet was close to Sand's rented accommodation on the rue Pigalle. He frequently visited Sand in the evenings, but both retained some independence.{{sfn|Samson|2001|loc=§4 ¶1}} (In 1842, he and Sand moved to the [[Square d'Orléans]], living in adjacent buildings.){{sfn|Samson|2001|loc=§4 ¶4}}

On 26 July 1840, Chopin and Sand were present at the dress rehearsal of Berlioz's {{lang|fr|[[Grande symphonie funèbre et triomphale]]}}, composed to commemorate the tenth anniversary of the [[July Revolution]]. Chopin was reportedly unimpressed with the composition.{{sfn|Samson|2001|loc=§4 ¶1}}

On 26 July 1840, Chopin and Sand were present at the dress rehearsal of Berlioz's {{lang|fr|[[Grande symphonie funèbre et triomphale]]}}, composed to commemorate the tenth anniversary of the [[July Revolution]]. Chopin was reportedly unimpressed with the composition.{{sfn|Samson|2001|loc=§4 ¶1}}

During the summers at Nohant, particularly in the years 1839–1843 (except 1840), Chopin found quiet, productive days during which he composed many works, including his [[Polonaise in A-flat major, Op. 53|Polonaise in A{{music|flat}} major, Op. 53]].{{sfn|Zamoyski|2010|p=197}} Sand compellingly describes Chopin's creative process: an inspiration, its painstaking elaboration – sometimes amid tormented weeping and complaining, with hundreds of changes in concept – only to return finally to the initial idea.{{sfn|Jachimecki|1937|p=424}}

During the summers at Nohant, particularly in the years 1839–1843 (except 1840), Chopin found quiet, productive days during which he composed many works, including his [[Polonaise in A-flat major, Op. 53|Polonaise in A{{music|flat}} major, Op. 53]].{{sfn|Zamoyski|2010|p=197}} Sand compellingly describes Chopin's creative process: an inspiration, its painstaking elaboration – sometimes amid tormented weeping and complaining, with hundreds of changes in concept – only to return finally to the initial idea.{{sfn|Jachimecki|1937|p=424}}

Chopin's music was used in the 1909 ballet ''[[Les Sylphides|Chopiniana]]'', choreographed by [[Michel Fokine]] and orchestrated by [[Alexander Glazunov]]. [[Sergei Diaghilev]] commissioned additional orchestrations{{snd}}from Stravinsky, [[Anatoly Lyadov]], [[Sergei Taneyev]], and [[Nikolai Tcherepnin]]{{snd}}for later productions, which used the title {{lang|fr|Les Sylphides}}.{{sfn|Taruskin|1996|pp=546–547}} Other noted composers have created orchestrations for the ballet, including [[Benjamin Britten]], [[Roy Douglas]], [[Alexander Gretchaninov]], [[Gordon Jacob]], and [[Maurice Ravel]],{{cite web |title=The Mystery of the Missing Music |work=SideBarre |publisher=[[American Ballet Theatre]] |url=https://www.abt.org/entry/the-mystery-of-the-missing-music/ |access-date=22 April 2021 |archive-date=6 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210106220926/https://www.abt.org/entry/the-mystery-of-the-missing-music/ |url-status=live }} whose score is lost.{{sfn|Zank|2005|p=266}}[[File:1937chopin competition.jpg|thumb|upright=1.5|[[III International Chopin Piano Competition|3rd International Chopin Piano Competition]], 1937]]Musicologist Erinn Knyt writes: "In the nineteenth century Chopin and his music were commonly viewed as effeminate, androgynous, childish, sickly, and 'ethnically other.{{'"}}{{sfn|Knyt|2017|p=280}} Music historian Jeffrey Kallberg says that in Chopin's time, "listeners to the genre of the piano nocturne often couched their reactions in feminine imagery", and he cites many examples of such reactions to Chopin's nocturnes.{{sfn|Kallberg|1992|pp=104–106}} One reason for this may be "demographic"{{snd}}there were more female than male piano players, and playing such "romantic" pieces was seen by male critics as a female domestic pastime. Such genderization was not commonly applied to other genres among Chopin's works, such as the scherzo or the polonaise.{{sfn|Kallberg|1992|pp=106–107}} The cultural historian [[Edward Said]] has cited the demonstrations by pianist and writer [[Charles Rosen]], in the latter's book ''The Romantic Generation'', of Chopin's skills in "planning, polyphony, and sheer harmonic creativity", as effectively overthrowing any legend of Chopin "as a swooning, 'inspired', small-scale salon composer".{{sfn|Said|1995}}{{sfn|Rosen|1995|pp=284–285, 358–359, 452–453}}

Chopin's music was used in the 1909 ballet ''[[Les Sylphides|Chopiniana]]'', choreographed by [[Michel Fokine]] and orchestrated by [[Alexander Glazunov]]. [[Sergei Diaghilev]] commissioned additional orchestrations{{snd}}from Stravinsky, [[Anatoly Lyadov]], [[Sergei Taneyev]], and [[Nikolai Tcherepnin]]{{snd}}for later productions, which used the title {{lang|fr|Les Sylphides}}.{{sfn|Taruskin|1996|pp=546–547}} Other noted composers have created orchestrations for the ballet, including [[Benjamin Britten]], [[Roy Douglas]], [[Alexander Gretchaninov]], [[Gordon Jacob]], and [[Maurice Ravel]],{{cite web |title=The Mystery of the Missing Music |work=SideBarre |publisher=[[American Ballet Theatre]] |url=https://www.abt.org/entry/the-mystery-of-the-missing-music/ |access-date=22 April 2021 |archive-date=6 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210106220926/https://www.abt.org/entry/the-mystery-of-the-missing-music/ |url-status=live }} whose score is lost.{{sfn|Zank|2005|p=266}}[[File:1937chopin competition.jpg|thumb|upright=1.5|[[III International Chopin Piano Competition|3rd International Chopin Piano Competition]], 1937]]Musicologist Erinn Knyt writes: "In the nineteenth century Chopin and his music were commonly viewed as effeminate, androgynous, childish, sickly, and 'ethnically other.{{'"}}{{sfn|Knyt|2017|p=280}} Music historian Jeffrey Kallberg says that in Chopin's time, "listeners to the genre of the piano nocturne often couched their reactions in feminine imagery", and he cites many examples of such reactions to Chopin's nocturnes.{{sfn|Kallberg|1992|pp=104–106}} One reason for this may be "demographic"{{snd}}there were more female than male piano players, and playing such "romantic" pieces was seen by male critics as a female domestic pastime. Such genderization was not commonly applied to other genres among Chopin's works, such as the scherzo or the polonaise.{{sfn|Kallberg|1992|pp=106–107}} The cultural historian [[Edward Said]] has cited the demonstrations by pianist and writer [[Charles Rosen]], in the latter's book ''The Romantic Generation'', of Chopin's skills in "planning, polyphony, and sheer harmonic creativity", as effectively overthrowing any legend of Chopin "as a swooning, 'inspired', small-scale salon composer".{{sfn|Said|1995}}{{sfn|Rosen|1995|pp=284–285, 358–359, 452–453}}

Chopin's music remains very popular and is regularly performed, recorded and broadcast worldwide. The world's oldest monographic music competition, the [[International Chopin Piano Competition]], founded in 1927, is held every five years in Warsaw.{{cite web|url=http://konkurs.chopin.pl/en/about/competition|title=About Competition|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20130707105707/http://konkurs.chopin.pl/en/about/competition|archivedate=7 July 2013|website=International Chopin Competition|accessdate=12 January 2014}}

Chopin's music remains very popular and is regularly performed, recorded and broadcast worldwide. The world's oldest monographic music competition, the [[International Chopin Piano Competition]], founded in 1927, is held every five years in Warsaw.{{cite web|url=http://konkurs.chopin.pl/en/about/competition|title=About Competition|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20130707105707/http://konkurs.chopin.pl/en/about/competition|archivedate=7 July 2013|website=International Chopin Competition|accessdate=12 January 2014}}

The [[Fryderyk Chopin Institute]] lists over eighty societies worldwide devoted to the composer and his music.{{cite web|url=http://en.chopin.nifc.pl/chopin/institutions/search/cat/1/page/1|title=Institutions related to Chopin{{snd}}Associations|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140106032942/http://en.chopin.nifc.pl/chopin/institutions/search/cat/1/page/1 |archivedate=6 January 2014|website=Fryderyk Chopin Institute|accessdate=5 January 2014}} The Institute site also lists over 1500 performances of Chopin works on YouTube {{as of|2021|March|lc=y}}.{{cite web|url=http://en.chopin.nifc.pl/chopin/youtube/search|title=Chopin on YouTube|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20131030120345/http://en.chopin.nifc.pl/chopin/youtube/search |archivedate=30 October 2013|website=Fryderyk Chopin Institute|accessdate=27 March 2021}}

The [[Fryderyk Chopin Institute]] lists over eighty societies worldwide devoted to the composer and his music.{{cite web|url=http://en.chopin.nifc.pl/chopin/institutions/search/cat/1/page/1|title=Institutions related to Chopin{{snd}}Associations|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140106032942/http://en.chopin.nifc.pl/chopin/institutions/search/cat/1/page/1 |archivedate=6 January 2014|website=Fryderyk Chopin Institute|accessdate=5 January 2014}} The Institute site also lists over 1500 performances of Chopin works on YouTube {{as of|2021|March|lc=y}}.{{cite web|url=http://en.chopin.nifc.pl/chopin/youtube/search|title=Chopin on YouTube|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20131030120345/http://en.chopin.nifc.pl/chopin/youtube/search |archivedate=30 October 2013|website=Fryderyk Chopin Institute|accessdate=27 March 2021}}

Chopin has figured extensively in Polish literature, both in serious critical studies and in fictional treatments. The earliest manifestation was probably an 1830 sonnet on Chopin by [[Leon Ulrich]]. French writers on Chopin (apart from Sand) have included [[Marcel Proust]] and [[André Gide]], and he has also featured in works by [[Gottfried Benn]] and [[Boris Pasternak]].{{cite web|author-first=Andrzej|author-last=Hejmej|translator-first=Philip|translator-last=Stoeckle|url=http://www.chopin.pl/chopin_literature.en.html|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20131122073940/http://www.chopin.pl/chopin_literature.en.html|archivedate=22 November 2013|title=Chopin and his music in literature|website=Chopin.pl|accessdate=28 March 2021}}

Chopin has figured extensively in Polish literature, both in serious critical studies and in fictional treatments. The earliest manifestation was probably an 1830 sonnet on Chopin by [[Leon Ulrich]]. French writers on Chopin (apart from Sand) have included [[Marcel Proust]] and [[André Gide]], and he has also featured in works by [[Gottfried Benn]] and [[Boris Pasternak]].{{cite web|author-first=Andrzej|author-last=Hejmej|translator-first=Philip|translator-last=Stoeckle|url=http://www.chopin.pl/chopin_literature.en.html|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20131122073940/http://www.chopin.pl/chopin_literature.en.html|archivedate=22 November 2013|title=Chopin and his music in literature|website=Chopin.pl|accessdate=28 March 2021}}

There are [[#Bibliography|numerous English-language biographies of Chopin]].

There are [[#Bibliography|numerous English-language biographies of Chopin]].

Possibly the first venture into fictional treatments of Chopin's life was a fanciful operatic version of some of its events: ''[[Chopin (opera)|Chopin]]'' (1901). The music{{snd}}based on Chopin's own{{snd}}was assembled by [[Giacomo Orefice]], with a libretto by {{ill|Angiolo Orvieto|it}}.{{sfn|Ashbrook|2002}}{{sfn|Lanza|2001}}

Possibly the first venture into fictional treatments of Chopin's life was a fanciful operatic version of some of its events: ''[[Chopin (opera)|Chopin]]'' (1901). The music{{snd}}based on Chopin's own{{snd}}was assembled by [[Giacomo Orefice]], with a libretto by {{ill|Angiolo Orvieto|it}}.{{sfn|Ashbrook|2002}}{{sfn|Lanza|2001}}

[[Category:University of Warsaw alumni]]

[[Category:University of Warsaw alumni]]

[[Category:Chopin family|Frederic]]

[[Category:Chopin family|Frederic]]

[[Category:19th-century male pianists]]