Mysterious, devilish, feminine, courageous, incomprehensible, everyone understands the tragic Chopin.
S. Richter

According to A. Rubinstein, “Chopin is the bard, rhapsodist, spirit, soul of the piano”. The most unique thing in Chopin's music is connected with the piano: its tremulousness, refinement, “singing” of all texture and harmony, enveloping the melody with an iridescent airy “haze”. The great Polish composer and pianist expressed all the multicolored romantic outlook, all that usually required monumental compositions (symphonies or operas) for their embodiment in piano music (works with other instruments, human voice or Chopin has very little orchestra). Chopin's contrasts and even polar opposites of romanticism were transformed into the highest harmony: fiery inspiration, heightened emotional "temperature" - and the strict logic of development, the intimate confidentiality of the lyrics - and the conceptual nature of symphonic scales, artistry brought to aristocratic sophistication, and next to it - the pristine purity of "folk pictures ". In general, the originality of Polish folklore (its modes, melodies, rhythms) permeated all the music of Chopin, who became musical classic Poland.

Chopin was born near Warsaw, in Zelazowa Wola, where his father, a native of France, worked as a home teacher in a count's family. Soon after the birth of Fryderyk, the Chopin family moved to Warsaw. Phenomenal musical talent manifests itself already in early childhood, at the age of 6 the boy composes the first piece (polonaise), and at the age of 7 he performs for the first time as a pianist. Chopin received his general education at the Lyceum, he also took piano lessons from V. Zhivny. The formation of a professional musician was completed at the Warsaw Conservatory (1826-29) under the direction of J. Elsner. Chopin's talent manifested itself not only in music: from childhood he wrote poetry, played in home performances, and painted remarkably. Chopin retained the gift of a caricaturist throughout his life: he could draw or even depict someone with facial expressions that everyone unmistakably recognized this person.

The artistic life of Warsaw gave many impressions to the beginning musician. The Italian and Polish national opera, tours of the greatest artists (N. Paganini, I. Hummel) inspired Chopin and opened new horizons for him. Often during the summer holidays, Frederick visited his friends' country estates, where he not only listened to the play of village musicians, but sometimes played an instrument himself. Chopin's first composer's experiments were poeticized dances of Polish life (polonaise, mazurka), waltzes, as well as nocturnes - miniatures of a lyric-contemplative nature. He also turns to the genres that formed the basis of the repertoire of the then virtuoso pianists - concert variations, fantasies, rondo. As a rule, themes from popular operas or Polish folk melodies served as the material for such works. met with a warm response from R. Schumann, who wrote an enthusiastic article about them. Schumann also wrote the following words: "... If a genius like Mozart is born in our time, he will write more Chopin's than Mozart's concertos." 2 concerts (especially in E minor) were the highest achievement early creativity Chopin, reflected all facets of the artistic world of the twenty-year-old composer. Elegiac lyrics, akin to the Russian romance of those years, are set off by the brilliance of virtuosity and spring-like light folk-genre themes. Mozart's perfect forms are imbued with the spirit of romanticism.

During a tour of Vienna and the cities of Germany, Chopin overtook the news of the defeat of the Polish uprising (1830-31). The tragedy of Poland became the strongest personal tragedy, combined with the impossibility of returning to his homeland (Chopin was a friend of some participants in the liberation movement). As B. Asafiev noted, "the collisions that worried him focused on various stages of love yearning and on the brightest explosion of despair in connection with the death of the fatherland." From now on, genuine drama penetrates into his music (Ballad in G minor, Scherzo in B minor, Etude in C minor, often called "Revolutionary"). Schumann writes that “... Chopin introduced the Beethoven spirit into concert hall". Ballad and scherzo are genres new to piano music. Ballads were called unfolded romances of a narrative-dramatic nature; Chopin has it major works poem type (written under the impression of A. Mickiewicz's ballads and Polish dumas). The scherzo is also rethought (usually part of cycle) - now it began to exist as an independent genre (not at all comic, but more often of spontaneous demonic content).

Chopin's subsequent life is connected with Paris, where he finds himself in 1831. In this ebullient center of artistic life, Chopin meets people of art from different countries Europe: composers G. Berlioz, F. Liszt, N. Paganini, V. Bellini, J. Meyerbeer, pianist F. Kalkbrenner, writers G. Heine, A. Mitskevich, Georges Sand, artist E. Delacroix, who painted a portrait of the composer. Paris of the 30s. XIX century - one of the hotbeds of a new, romantic art, asserted in the fight against academicism. According to Liszt, "Chopin openly joined the ranks of romantics, after all having written the name of Mozart on his banner." Indeed, no matter how far Chopin went in his innovation (even Schumann and Liszt did not always understand him!), His work was in the nature of an organic development of tradition, its kind of magical transformation. The idols of the Polish romantic were Mozart and especially J.S.Bach. Chopin generally disapproved of contemporary music. Probably, this was influenced by his classically strict, refined taste, which did not allow any harshness, rudeness and extremes of expression. For all his secular sociability and friendliness, he was restrained and did not like to open his inner world... So, about music, about the content of his works, he spoke rarely and sparingly, often disguised as some kind of joke.

In the sketches created in the early years of Parisian life, Chopin gives his understanding of virtuosity (as opposed to the art of fashionable pianists) - as a means that serves to express artistic content and is inseparable from it. Chopin himself, however, performed little in concerts, preferring the chamber, more comfortable atmosphere of a secular salon to the large hall. Concert income and sheet music lacked, and Chopin was forced to give piano lessons. At the end of the 30s. Chopin completes the cycle of preludes, which have become a real encyclopedia of romanticism, reflecting the main collisions of the romantic worldview. In the preludes - the smallest pieces - a special "density", concentration of expression is achieved. And again we see an example of a new attitude towards the genre. In early music, the prelude has always been the introduction to some work. For Chopin, this is an intrinsically valuable play, which at the same time retains some understatement of aphorism and "improvisational" freedom, which is so consonant with the romantic outlook. The cycle of preludes ended on the island of Mallorca, where Chopin undertook a trip with George Sand (1838) to improve his health. In addition, Chopin traveled from Paris to Germany (1834-1836), where he met Mendelssohn and Schumann, and in Carlsbad he met his parents, and to England (1837).

for piano:

Frederic Chopin, full name - Fryderyk Franciszek Chopin (Polish Fryderyk Franciszek Chopin, also Polish Szopen); full name in French transcriptions - Frédéric François Chopin (fr.Frédéric François Chopin) (March 1 (according to other sources, February 22) 1810, Zelazowa Wola village, near Warsaw, Duchy of Warsaw - October 17, 1849, Paris, France) - Polish composer and pianist. V mature years(from 1831) lived and worked in France. One of the leading representatives of Western European musical romanticism, the founder of the Polish national school of composition. Has had a significant impact on world music.

Origin and family

The composer's father, Nicolas Chopin (1771-1844), from a simple family, moved from France to Poland in his youth. From 1802 he lived on the estate of Count Skarbek Zhelyazov-Volya, where he worked as a teacher of the Count's children.

In 1806, Nicolas Chopin married a distant relative of the Skarbeks Tekla Justina Kshizhanovskaya (1782-1861). The genus of the Kshizhanovsky (Krzhizhanovsky) coat of arms Svinka dates back to the XIV century and owned the village of Kshizhanovo near Kostsyan. The Kshizhanovsky family included, among other things, Vladimir Krzhizhanovski, the nephew of Justina Kshizhanovskaya. According to surviving evidence, the composer's mother received a good education, spoke French, was extremely musical, played the piano well, had a beautiful voice. Frederick owes his mother his first musical impressions, instilled from infancy with a love for folk melodies.

Zhelyazova Wola, where Chopin was born, and Warsaw, where he lived from 1810 to 1830, during the Napoleonic Wars until 1813 were on the territory of the Duchy of Warsaw, vassal of the Napoleonic Empire, and after May 3, 1815, following the results of the Congress of Vienna, on the territory of the Kingdom Polish (Królestwo Polskie), vassal of the Russian Empire.

In the fall of 1810, some time after the birth of his son, Nicolas Chopin moved to Warsaw. In the Warsaw Lyceum, thanks to the patronage of the Skarbeks, he received a place after the death of the teacher Pan Mahe. Chopin was a teacher of French and German and French literature, contained a boarding house for pupils of the lyceum.

The intelligence and sensitivity of the parents united all family members with love and had a beneficial effect on the development of gifted children. In addition to Fryderyk, the Chopin family had three sisters: the eldest, Ludwika, married Endrzeevich, who was especially close to him devoted friend and the younger ones are Isabella and Emilia. The sisters had versatile abilities, and Emilia, who died early, was an outstanding literary talent.

Childhood

Already in childhood, Chopin showed extraordinary musical abilities. He was surrounded by special attention and care. Like Mozart, he amazed those around him with musical "obsession", inexhaustible fantasy in improvisation, innate pianism. His receptiveness and musical impressionability manifested themselves violently and unusually. He could cry while listening to music, jump up at night to pick up a memorable melody or chord on the piano.

In its January issue of 1818, one of the Warsaw newspapers published a few lines about the first piece of music composed by a composer who was still a student. primary school... “The author of this Polonaise,” the newspaper wrote, is a student who has not yet turned 8 years old. It - real genius music, with the greatest ease and exceptional taste performing the most difficult piano pieces and composing dances and variations that delight connoisseurs and connoisseurs. If this child prodigy was born in France or Germany, he would have attracted more attention. "

Young Chopin was taught music, pinning great hopes on him. The pianist Wojciech Zhivny (1756-1842), a Czech by birth, began studying with a 7-year-old boy. Classes were serious, despite the fact that Chopin, in addition, studied at one of the Warsaw schools. The boy's performing talent developed so quickly that by the age of twelve, Chopin was not inferior to the best Polish pianists. Zhivny refused to study with a young virtuoso, stating that nothing else can teach him.

Youth

After graduating from college and completing his five-year studies with Zhivny, Chopin began his theoretical studies with the composer Jozef Elsner.

The Ostrogski Palace is the seat of the Warsaw Chopin Museum.

The patronage of Prince Anton Radziwill and the Chetvertinsky princes introduced Chopin to high society, which was impressed by Chopin's charming appearance and refined manners. Here is what Franz Liszt said about this: “ General impression his personality was quite calm, harmonious and did not seem to require any additions in any comments. Chopin's blue eyes shone with more intelligence than they were covered with pensiveness; his soft and delicate smile never faded into bitter or sarcastic. The subtlety and transparency of his complexion enticed everyone; he had curly blond hair and a slightly rounded nose; he was short, fragile, and slender. His manners were refined, varied; the voice is a little tired, often deaf. His manners were full of such decency, they had such a stamp of blood aristocracy that he was involuntarily greeted and accepted as a prince ... Chopin introduced into society that evenness of mood of persons who are not worried about worries, who do not know the word "boredom", are not attached to no interest. Chopin was usually cheerful; his sharp mind quickly sought out the funny even in such manifestations that not everyone catches the eye. "

Trips to Berlin, Dresden, Prague, where he attended concerts of outstanding musicians, diligently attended opera houses and art galleries, contributed to its further development.

Mature years. Abroad

Chopin's artistic career began in 1829. He performs in Vienna, Krakow, performing his works. Returning to Warsaw, he leaves it forever on November 5, 1830. This separation from his homeland became the cause of his constant hidden grief - homesickness. In 1830, news arrived of the outbreak of an uprising for independence in Poland. Chopin dreamed of returning to his homeland and taking part in battles. The training camp was over, but on the way to Poland he was greeted by terrible news: the uprising was suppressed, the leader was taken prisoner. Having passed Dresden, Vienna, Munich, Stuttgart, he arrived in Paris in 1831. On the way, Chopin wrote a diary (the so-called "Stuttgart Diary") reflecting his state of mind during his stay in Stuttgart, where he was gripped by despair over the collapse of the Polish uprising. Chopin deeply believed that his music would help his native people achieve victory. "Poland will be brilliant, powerful, independent!" - so he wrote in his diary. During this period, Chopin wrote his famous "Revolutionary Etude".

Chopin gave his first concert in Paris at the age of 22. The success was complete. Chopin rarely performed in concerts, but in the salons of the Polish colony and the French aristocracy, Chopin's fame grew extremely quickly, Chopin gained a lot of loyal fans, both in artistic circles and in society. Kalkbrenner highly appreciated Chopin's pianism, who nevertheless offered him his lessons. However, these lessons quickly ended, but the friendship between the two great pianists lasted for many years. In Paris, Chopin surrounded himself with young talented people who shared with him a devoted love of art. Among his entourage were pianist Ferdinand Giller, cellist Frankomme, oboist Brodt, flutist Tulon, pianist Stamati, cellist Vidal, violaist Urban. He also maintained acquaintance with the largest European composers of his time, among whom were Mendelssohn, Bellini, Liszt, Berlioz, Schumann.

Over time, Chopin himself began to lead teaching activities; love of teaching piano was hallmark Chopin, one of the few great artists who devoted a lot of time to this.

In 1837, Chopin felt the first attack of lung disease (most likely, it was tuberculosis). In the late thirties, his love for Georges Sand (Aurora Dupin) brought him a lot of grief, in addition to parting with his fiancée. A stay in Mallorca (Mallorca) with George Sand negatively affected Chopin's health, he suffered from bouts of illness there. Nevertheless, many of the greatest works, including 24 preludes, were created precisely on this Spanish island... But he spent a lot of time in the countryside in France, where George Sand had an estate in Nohant.

A ten-year cohabitation with George Sand, full of moral trials, greatly undermined Chopin's health, and the break with her in 1847, in addition to causing him considerable stress, deprived him of the opportunity to rest in Nohans. Wanting to leave Paris in order to change the environment and expand his circle of acquaintances, Chopin went to London in April 1848 to give concerts and teach. This turned out to be his last trip. Frederic Chopin's last public concert took place on November 16, 1848 in London. Success, nervous, stressful life, the damp British climate, and most importantly, the periodically aggravated chronic lung disease - all this finally undermined his strength. Returning to Paris, Chopin died on October 5 (17), 1849.

Chopin was deeply grieved by the entire musical world. Thousands of fans of his work gathered at his funeral. According to the wishes of the deceased, at his funeral the most famous artists of that time performed the "Requiem" by Mozart - a composer whom Chopin placed above all others (and called his "Requiem" and the symphony "Jupiter" his favorite works), and also performed his own prelude No. 4 (E minor). In the Père Lachaise cemetery, Chopin's ashes rest between the graves of Luigi Cherubini and Bellini. The composer bequeathed that his heart be transported to Poland after his death. Chopin's heart was, according to his will, sent to Warsaw, where it was walled up in a column of the Church of the Holy Cross.

Creation

As noted in Encyclopedic Dictionary Brockhaus and Efron N. F. Soloviev,

“Chopin's music abounds with boldness, pictoriality, and nowhere suffers from quirkiness. If after Beethoven there was an era of novelty of style, then, of course, Chopin is one of the main representatives of this novelty. In everything Chopin wrote, in his wonderful musical contours one can see the great musician-poet. This is noticeable in completed typical sketches, mazurkas, polonaises, nocturnes, etc., in which inspiration pours over the edge. If there is a certain reflexivity in it, it is in sonatas and concerts, but nevertheless, amazing pages appear in them, such as, for example, the funeral march in the sonata op. 35, adagio in the second concert.

TO the best works Chopin, in which he put so much soul and musical thought, can be attributed to etudes: in them he introduced, in addition to the technique, which was the main and almost the only goal before Chopin, a whole poetic world... These sketches breathe either youthful impetuous freshness, such as ges-dur, or dramatic expression (f-moll, c-moll). In these sketches, he put melodic and harmonic beauty of the first class. You cannot read all the sketches, but the crown of this wonderful group is the cis-moll etude, which, in its deep content, reached Beethoven's height. How much dreaminess, grace, wonderful music are in his nocturnes! In piano ballads, the form of which can be attributed to Chopin's invention, but especially in polonaises and mazurkas, Chopin is a great national painter, painting pictures of his homeland. "

Author of numerous works for piano. He reinterpreted many genres in a new way: revived the prelude on a romantic basis, created a piano ballad, poeticized and dramatized dances - mazurka, polonaise, waltz; turned the scherzo into an independent work. Enriched harmony and piano texture; combined classical form with melodic richness and fantasy.

Among Chopin's works: 2 concertos (1829, 1830), 3 sonatas (1828-1844), fantasy (1842), 4 ballads (1835-1842), 4 scherzos (1832-1842), impromptu, nocturnes, etudes, waltzes, mazurkas , polonaises, preludes and other works for piano; as well as songs. In his piano performance, the depth and sincerity of feelings were combined with grace and technical perfection.

Chopin in 1849 is the only surviving photograph of the composer.

The most intimate, "autobiographical" genre in Chopin's work is his waltzes. According to Russian musicologist Isabella Khitrik, the connection between real life Chopin and his waltzes are exceptionally cramped, and the composer's collection of waltzes can be regarded as a kind of Chopin's "lyrical diary".

Chopin was distinguished by consistency and isolation, so his personality is revealed only to those who know his music well. Many famous artists and writers of that time worshiped Chopin: composers Franz Liszt, Robert Schumann, Felix Mendelssohn, Giacomo Meyerbeer, Ignaz Moscheles, Hector Berlioz, singer Adolphe Nurri, poets Heinrich Heine and Adam Mickiewicz, artist Eugene Delacroix, journalist Agathon many other. Chopin also met with professional opposition to his creative credo: so, one of his main competitors in his lifetime, Sigismund Thalberg, according to legend, went out into the street after Chopin's concert, shouted loudly and replied to the bewilderment of his companion: the whole evening was only piano, so now we need at least a little forte. (According to the testimony of his contemporaries, Chopin could not play forte at all; the upper limit of his dynamic range was approximately mezzo-forte.)

Artworks

For piano with ensemble or orchestra

• Trio for Piano, Violin and Cello Op. 8 g-moll (1829)
• Variations on a theme from the opera "Don Juan" Op. 2 B-dur (1827)
• Rondo a la Krakowiak Op. 14 (1828)
• "Great Fantasy on Polish Themes" Op. 13 (1829-1830)
• Concerto for piano and orchestra Op. 11 e-moll (1830)
• Concerto for piano and orchestra Op. 21 f-moll (1829)
• Andante spianato and the next Big Brilliant Polonaise, Op. 22 (1830-1834)
• Cello Sonata Op. 65 g-moll (1845-1846)
• Polonaise for cello Op. 3

Mazurkas (58)

• Op.6 - 4 Mazurkas: fis-moll, cis-moll, E-major, es-moll (1830)
• Op. 7 - 5 mazurkas: B major, a minor, f minor, A major, C major (1830-1831)
• Op.17 - 4 mazurkas: B major, e minor, As major, a minor (1832-1833)
• Op.24 - 4 mazurkas: g minor, C major, A major, b minor
• Op. 30 - 4 mazurkas: c minor, h minor, Des major, cis minor (1836-1837)
• Op.33 - 4 mazurkas: gis-minor, D-major, C-major, h-minor (1837-1838)
• Op.41 - 4 mazurkas: cis-moll, e-moll, H-major, As-major
• Op.50 - 3 mazurkas: G major, As major, cis moll (1841-1842)
• Op.56 - 3 mazurkas: H major, C major, c minor (1843)
• Op.59 - 3 Mazurkas: a-minor, As-major, fis-moll (1845)
• Op.63 - 3 Mazurkas: H major, f minor, cis minor (1846)
• Op.67 - 4 mazurkas: G major, g minor, C major, No. 4 a minor 1846 (1848?)
• Op.68 - 4 Mazurkas: C major, a minor, F major, No. 4 in f minor (1849)

Polonaises (16)

• Op. 22 Large brilliant polonaise Es-dur (1830-1832)
• Op. 26 No. 1 cis-moll; No. 2 es-moll (1833-1835)
• Op. 40 # 1 A-dur (1838); No. 2 c-moll (1836-1839)
• Op. 44 fis-moll (1840-1841)
• Op. 53 As-major (Heroic) (1842)
• Op. 61 As-major, "Fantasy Polonaise" (1845-1846)
• WoO. No. 1 d-moll (1827); No. 2 B-dur (1828); No. 3 in f-moll (1829)

Nocturnes (total 21)

• Op. 9 b-moll, Es-dur, H-dur (1829-1830)
• Op. 15 F major, Fis major (1830-1831), g minor (1833)
• Op. 27 cis-moll, Des-dur (1834-1835)
• Op. 32 H-major, As-major (1836-1837)
• Op. 37 g-moll, G-dur (1839)
• Op. 48 c-moll, fis-moll (1841)
• Op. 55 f-moll, Es-dur (1843)
• Op. 62 No. 1 H-dur, No. 2 E-dur (1846)
• Op. 72 e-moll (1827)
• Op. posth. cis-moll (1830), c-moll

Waltzes (19)

• Op. 18 "Big Brilliant Waltz" E-dur (1831)
• Op. 34 No. 1 "Brilliant Waltz" As-major (1835)
• Op. 34 No. 2 a-moll (1831)
• Op. 34 No. 3 "Brilliant Waltz" F-dur
• Op. 42 "Grand Waltz" A-dur
• Op. 64 No. 1 Des-dur (1847)
• Op. 64 No. 2 cis-moll (1846-1847)
• Op. 64 No. 3 As-dur
• Op. 69 No. 1 As-dur
• Op. 69 No. 10 H-moll
• Op. 70 No. 1 Ges-dur
• Op. 70 No. 2 f-moll
• Op. 70 No. 2 Des-dur
• Op. posth. e-moll, E-dur, a-moll

Piano Sonatas (total 3)

Music cover of Frédéric Chopin's Funeral March, released for the first time as a separate work under this title. Breitkopf & Härtel, Leipzig, 1854 (printed board Breitkopf & Härtel No. 8728)

• Op. 4 No. 1, c-moll (1828)
• Op. 35 No. 2 in b-moll (1837-1839), including the Funeral (funeral) march (3rd movement: Marche Funèbre)
• Or. 58 No. 3 h-moll (1844)

Preludes (total 25)

• 24 Preludes Op. 28 (1836-1839)
• Prelude cis-moll op "," 45 (1841)

Impromptu (total 4)

• Op. 29 As-major (circa 1837)
• Op, 36 Fis-dur (1839)
• Op. 51 Ges-dur (1842)
• Op. 66 "Impromptu Fantasy" cis-moll (1834)

Sketches (total 27)

• Op. 10 C major, a minor, E major, cis minor, Ges major, es minor, C major, F major, f minor, As major, Es major, c minor (1828 -1832)
• Op. 25 As major, f minor, F major, a minor, e minor, gis minor, cis minor, Des major, Ges major, h minor, a minor, c minor (1831 -1836)
• WoO f-moll, Des-major, As-major (1839)

Scherzo (total 4)

• Op. 20 h-moll (1831-1832)
• Op. 31 b-moll (1837)
• Op. 39 cis-moll (1838-1839)
• Op. 54 E-dur (1841-1842)

Ballads (total 4)

• Op. 23 g-moll (1831-1835)
• Op. 38 F-dur (1836-1839)
• Op. 47 As-dur (1840-1841)
• Op. 52 f-moll (1842-1843)

Other

• Fantasy Op. 49 f-moll (1840-1841)
• Barcarole Op. 60 Fis-dur (1845-1846)
• Lullaby Op. 57 Des-dur (1843)
• Concert Allegro Op. 46 A-dur (1840-1841)
• Tarantella Op. 43 As-dur (1843)
• Bolero Op. 19 C-dur (1833)
• Sonata for cello and piano Op. 65 g-moll
• Songs Op. 74 (total 19) (1829-1847)
• Rondo (total 4)

Arrangements and transcriptions of Chopin's music

• A. Glazunov. Chopiniana, suite (one act ballet) from the works of F. Chopin, op. 46. ​​(1907).
• Jean Francais. Orchestration of 24 Preludes by F. Chopin (1969).
• S. Rachmaninoff. Variations on a Theme by F. Chopin, Op. 22 (1902-1903).
• M. A. Balakirev. An impromptu on the themes of Chopin's two preludes (1907).
• M. A. Balakirev. Re-arrangement of F. Chopin's Concerto for Piano and Orchestra in e-moll (1910).
• M. A. Balakirev. Suite for orchestra from the works of F. Chopin (1908).

Memory

• Chopin is one of the main composers in the repertoire of many pianists. Recordings of his works appear in the catalogs of the largest record companies. Since 1927, the International Chopin Piano Competition has been held in Warsaw. Among its winners were outstanding pianists Lev Oborin, Yakov Zak, Bella Davidovich, Galina Cerny-Stefanska, Maurizio Pollini, Martha Argerich.
• In 1934, the Chopin University was founded in Warsaw, which was later transformed into the Society. Chopin. The society has repeatedly published works by Chopin and articles about his work.
• In 1949-1962. Polish musicologist Ludwik Bronarski published complete collection Chopin's works - “Fr. Chopin, Dzieła wszystkie ", PWM, Kraków.
• A crater on Mercury is named after Chopin.
• In 1960, a postage stamp of the USSR was issued, dedicated to Chopin.
• In 1998, the Moscow State College (then - a school) of musical performance, and in 2011 the Irkutsk College of Music began to bear the name of F. Chopin.
• In 2001, the Okecie airport (Warsaw) was named after Frederic Chopin.
• 2010 was declared the Year of Chopin by the Decree of the Seimas of the Polish Republic.
• On March 1, 2010, the Frederic Chopin Museum was opened in Warsaw after reconstruction and modernization. This event is timed to coincide with the 200th anniversary of the birth of the famous Polish composer and musician.
• In 2010, a memorial plaque was installed in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan and a street was named in honor of Frederic Chopin.
• December 2, 2010 in Alma-Ata at the Kazakh National Conservatory. Kurmangazy, the Polish Embassy in honor of the Year of Chopin opened a concert hall named after Frederic Chopin, and Kazpost released a commemorative postage stamp dedicated to the 200th anniversary of Frederic Chopin.
• In 2010, also in honor of the composer's 200th birthday, Russian pianist Rem Urasin performed all of Chopin's works in a cycle of 11 concerts.
• Monuments in honor of Chopin have been erected in many cities of Poland and the world (including Warsaw, Poznan, Zelazova Wola, Krakow, Paris, Shanghai, Tirana, Singapore, etc.)

Quote post Frederic Chopin | The genius of piano music. ("Chopin-Thirst for Love" (2002) Biographical film.)

Chopin's creativity is huge world extraordinary beauty. Listening to him you forget that you are listening to only one instrument - the piano. Endless expanses open before you, windows open to unknown distances, full of secrets and adventures. And I really want this new, newly discovered world to never leave you.

(Anna Herman - Letter to Chopin)

Frederic Chopin (Polish Fryderyk Chopin, born in the village of Zhelyazova Wola, near Warsaw) is a Polish composer and virtuoso pianist. Author of numerous works for piano. The largest representative of the Polish musical art... He reinterpreted many genres in a new way: he revived the prelude on a romantic basis, created a piano ballad, poeticized and dramatized dances - mazurka, polonaise, waltz; turned the scherzo into an independent work. Enriched harmony and piano texture; combined classical form with melodic richness and fantasy.

Fryderyk Chopin was born near Warsaw, the capital of Poland, in the town of Zelazowa Wola.

Justyna Chopin (1782 - 1861), mother of the composer.Nicola Chopin (1771 - 1844), father of the composer

Chopin's mother was Polish, his father was French. Chopin's family lived on the estate of Count Skarbek, where his father served as a home teacher.

After the birth of his son, Nikolai Chopin received a teaching position at the Warsaw Lyceum (secondary educational institution), and the whole family moved to the capital. Little Chopin grew up surrounded by music. His father played the violin and flute, his mother sang well and played a little piano. Still unable to speak, the child began to cry loudly as soon as he heard his mother singing or his father playing. Parents believed that Frederick did not like music, and this greatly upset them. But they soon became convinced that this was not at all the case. By the age of five, the boy was already confidently performing simple plays learned under the guidance of his elder sister Ludwika. Soon, the well-known Czech musician Wojciech Zhivny became his teacher.

Wojciech Zhivny (1782 - 1861), the first teacher who taught Fryderyk Chopin to play the piano

A sensitive and experienced educator, he instilled in his student a love for the music of the classics and especially for the works of I.S. Bach. Bach's keyboard preludes and fugues were subsequently always kept on the composer's desk. The first performance of the little pianist took place in Warsaw, when he was seven years old. The concert was a success, and all of Warsaw soon recognized Chopin's name. At the same time, one of his first works was published - a polonaise for piano in G minor. The boy's performing talent developed so quickly that by the age of twelve, Chopin was not inferior to the best Polish pianists. Zhivny refused to study with the young virtuoso, declaring that he could not teach him anything else. Simultaneously with music lessons, the boy received a good general education. Already in childhood, Fryderyk was fluent in French and German, was keenly interested in the history of Poland, read a lot of fiction. At the age of thirteen he entered the Lyceum and after three years he successfully graduated. During the years of study, the versatile abilities of the future composer were manifested.

The young man was good at drawing, he was especially good at caricatures. His mimic talent was so bright that he could become theater actor... Already in his youth, Chopin was distinguished by his sharpness of mind, observation and great curiosity. From childhood, Chopin developed a love for folk music. According to the stories of his parents, during country walks with his father or comrades, the boy could stand for a long time under the window of some hut, from where folk tunes could be heard. While on vacation in the summer on the estates of his companions from the lyceum, Frederic himself took part in the performance folk songs and dancing.

Singer Angelica Catalani (1780 - 1849) presented F. Chopin with a gold watch with the inscription “Madame Catalani (Fryderyk Chopin is ten years old) in Warsaw. 3.1.1820 "

Over the years, folk music has become an integral part of his work, akin to his being. After graduating from the Lyceum, Chopin entered the Higher School of Music. Here his studies were supervised by an experienced teacher and composer Joseph Elsner. Elsner soon realized that his student was not only talented, but genius. Among his notes, there is a brief description he gave to the young musician: “Amazing abilities. Musical genius ". By this time, Chopin had already been recognized as the best pianist in Poland. Has reached maturity and his talent as a composer. This is evidenced by two concertos for piano and orchestra, composed in the years 1829-1830. These concerts are invariably performed in our time and are the favorite works of pianists of all countries. At the same time, Fryderyk met the young singer Konstanzia Gladkovskaya, who was studying at the Warsaw Conservatory. Gladkovskaya was destined to become Frederick's first love. In a letter to his friend Voitsekhovsky, he wrote:
“... I, perhaps, unfortunately, already have my own ideal, which I have faithfully served, without speaking to him for six months, which I have been dreaming of, the memory of which became the adagio of my concert, which inspired me to write this morning this waltz sent to you. "

Konstanzia Gladkowska (1810 - 1889) was a singer at the National Theater in Warsaw. Miniature of Anna Chamets, made in 1969 after a drawing by Wojciech Gerson

It was under the influence of this youthful feeling of love that Chopin composed one of best songs"Desire" or "If I shone like a sun in the sky." In 1829 the young musician made a short trip to Vienna. His concerts were a huge success. Chopin, his friends and family realized that he should go on a long concert tour... Chopin could not decide on this step for a long time. He had bad feelings. It seemed to him that he was leaving his homeland forever. Finally, in the autumn of 1830, Chopin left Warsaw. Friends gave him a goodbye cup filled with Polish soil. His teacher Elsner said goodbye to him touchingly.

Joseph Elsner (1769-1854), Fryderyk Chopin's teacher of music theory and composition

On the outskirts of Warsaw, where Chopin passed, he, together with his students, performed a specially written by him for this occasion choral piece... Chopin was twenty years old. The happy youthful time, full of searches, hopes, successes, is over. Chopin was not deceived by forebodings. He parted with his homeland forever. Keeping in mind the good reception given to him in Vienna, Chopin decided to start his concerts there. But, despite the intensified efforts, he did not manage to give an independent concert, and the publishers agreed to print his works only free of charge. Suddenly, disturbing news came from home. An uprising against the Russian autocracy, organized by Polish patriots, began in Warsaw. Chopin decided to interrupt his concert tour and return to Poland. He knew that among the rebels were his friends, perhaps his father. Indeed, in the days of his youth, Nicola Chopin took part in the popular uprising led by Tadeusz Kosciuszko. But family and friends insistently advise him not to come in letters. People close to Chopin are afraid that the persecution may affect him. Better to let him remain free and serve his homeland with his art. With bitterness, the composer resigned and went to Paris. On the way, Chopin was overtaken by news that shocked him: the uprising was brutally suppressed, its leaders were thrown into prisons, exiled to Siberia. Chopin's most famous etude, which was named “Revolutionary”, created even before his arrival in Paris, was directly connected with thoughts about the tragic fate of his homeland. He embodied the spirit of the November uprising, as well as anger and sorrow. In the fall of 1831, Chopin arrived in Paris. Here he lived until the end of his life. But France did not become the composer's second homeland. Both in his affections and in his work, Chopin remained a Pole. And even after death, he bequeathed to take his heart to his homeland. Chopin "conquered" Paris first as a pianist. He immediately impressed the audience with his peculiar and unusual performance.

Friedrich Kalkbrenner (1788 - 1849). From the lithograph by G. Richardi. German pianist, composer and teacher. From 1824 he lived in Paris, where he was considered the most outstanding teacher of piano playing.

At that time, Paris was flooded with musicians from all over the world. The most popular were virtuoso pianists: Kalkbrenner, Hertz, Giller.

Ferdinand Giller (1811 - 1885) - German pianist, composer, conductor, musician. theorist, music historian and critic; founder of the Cologne Conservatory. He was associated with F. Chopin by an ardent friendship (there is a bronze medal, which depicts Chopin and Giller)

Their play was distinguished by technical perfection, brilliance that stunned the audience. That is why Chopin's very first concert performance sounded such a sharp contrast. According to the memoirs of contemporaries, his performance was surprisingly spiritual and poetic. The memory of the famous Hungarian musician Franz Liszt, who also began his brilliant career as a pianist and composer at that time, has survived about Chopin's first concert: enthusiasm in the face of talent, which, along with happy innovations in the field of his art, opened a new phase in the development of poetic feeling. "

F. Liszt (1811-1886)

Chopin conquered Paris, as Mozart and Beethoven once conquered Vienna. Like Liszt, he was recognized as the best pianist in the world. At the concerts, Chopin mostly performed his own compositions: concertos for piano and orchestra, concert rondos, mazurkas, etudes, nocturnes, Variations on a theme from Mozart's opera Don Giovanni. It was about these variations that the outstanding German composer and critic Robert Schumann wrote: "Down with hats, gentlemen, you are a genius."

Chopin's music, like his concert performances, aroused general admiration. Only music publishers were waiting. They published Chopin's works, but, like in Vienna, for free. Therefore, the first editions did not bring Chopin any income. He was forced to give music lessons for five to seven hours every day. This work provided him, but took too much time and effort. And even later, being a world-famous composer, Chopin could not afford to stop these so much exhausting classes with his students. Along with the growing popularity of Chopin as a pianist and composer, the circle of his acquaintances is expanding.

F. Chopin among famous pianists his time (1835). From left to right: standing - T. Deller, J. Rosenghein, F. Chopin, A. Draishok, S. Thalberg; sitting - E. Wolf, A. Hanselt, F. Liszt.

Among his friends is Liszt, an outstanding French composer Berlioz, French artist Delacroix, German poet Heine. But no matter how interesting new friends were, he always gave preference to his compatriots. For the sake of a guest from Poland, he cheated strict order his working day, showing him the sights of Paris. For hours he could listen to stories about his homeland, about the life of family and friends.

With youthful gluttony, he enjoyed Polish folk songs, and often wrote music to his favorite poems. Very often these poems, turned into songs, ended up back in Poland, became the property of the people. If a close friend, the Polish poet Adam Mickiewicz, came, Chopin immediately sat down at the piano and played for him for hours. Forced, like Chopin, to live far from his homeland, Mickiewicz also yearned for her. And only Chopin's music slightly eased the pain of this separation, carried him there, far away, to his native Poland. It was thanks to Mickiewicz, the ecstatic drama of his "Konrad Wallenrod", that the First Ballad was born. And Chopin's Second Ballad is associated with images of Mickiewicz's poetry. Meetings with Polish friends were especially dear to the composer because Chopin did not have his own family.

His hope of marrying Maria Wodzińska, the daughter of one of the wealthy Polish nobles, did not come true. Maria's parents did not want to see their daughter married to a musician, even world famous, but earning a living by labor. For many years he linked his life with the famous French writer Aurora Dudevant, who appeared in print under the pseudonym Georges Sand.

Judging by " musical portraits”Konstanzia Gladkowska and Maria Wodzińska, Chopin above all appreciated in them the charm of purity created by his imagination. In Georges Sand one could find anything but this. By that time, she enjoyed a scandalous reputation. Chopin could not help but know this. But Liszt and his friend Marie d'Agu highly appreciated the literary talent of Georges Sand, and this is what they talked about with Chopin and Mickiewicz, emphasizing that they value her primarily as a writer. They also contributed to the appearance of Georges Sand at musical evenings with Chopin.

Georges Sand

It must be said that there is not much reliable information about the history of Chopin's relationship with George Sand. Not everyone agrees with Georges Sand herself, who portrayed Chopin's guardian angel in front of his friends and described to them her “self-sacrifice” and “maternal cares” about the composer. Liszt, in a book published during Georges Sand's lifetime, very unequivocally accused her of being the cause of his untimely death. Wojciech Grzymala, one of Chopin's closest friends, also believed that George Sand, “who poisoned his entire existence,” was the culprit of his death. Wilhelm Lenz, a student of Chopin, called her a "poisonous plant", who was deeply indignant at how arrogantly, arrogantly and disdainfully George Sand treated Chopin even in the presence of strangers. Over the years, Chopin gave concerts less and less, limiting himself to performing in a narrow circle of friends.

He devoted himself entirely to creativity. His sonatas, scherzos, ballads, impromptu acts, a new series of etudes, the most poetic nocturnes, preludes and still beloved mazurkas and polonaises appeared. Along with light lyric pieces more and more often from under his pen came out works full of dramatic depth, and often of tragedy. Such is the Second Sonata, with a funeral march, which belongs to the highest achievements of the composer, of all Polish music and romantic art in general. Józef Chominsky, characterizing the first two parts of the sonata, said: "After the heroic struggle, the funeral march is, obviously, the last act of the drama." Chopin viewed the funeral march as an emotional outcome, dramatically completing the development of images. We have the right to call this drama, the images of which unfold in Chopin's sonata, a national tragedy. Chopin's Funeral March recognized as the most outstanding piece this genre... This march took a special, exclusive place not only in musical literature, but also in the life of mankind, for it is difficult to find a more sublime, more beautiful and more tragic embodiment of the feeling of sorrow. Chopin's life in Paris was, if not happy, then favorable for creativity. His talent reached the top.

The publication of Chopin's works no longer meets any obstacles, it is considered a great honor to take lessons from him, and to hear his play is a rare happiness available to a select few. Last years the composer's lives were sad. His friend Jan Matuszynski died, followed by his beloved father. The quarrel and break with George Sand made him completely lonely. Chopin was never able to recover from these brutal blows. Lung disease, which Chopin suffered from a young age, worsened. The composer has written almost nothing for the last two years. His funds have run out. To improve his difficult financial situation, Chopin undertook a trip to London at the invitation of his English friends. Gathering his last strength, the patient, he gives concerts and lessons there. The enthusiastic reception at first pleases him, instills cheerfulness. But England's damp climate quickly took its toll. A restless life, full of secular, often empty and meaningless entertainment, began to tire him. Chopin's letters from London reflect his gloomy mood, and often his suffering:
"I am no longer able to worry or rejoice - I have completely ceased to feel anything - I just vegetate and wait for it to end as soon as possible."

Chopin gave his last concert in London, which turned out to be the last in his life, for the benefit of Polish emigrants. On the advice of the doctors, he hastily returned to Paris. The last piece the composer was a mazurka in F minor, which he could no longer play, he wrote down only on paper. At his request, his elder sister Ludwika arrived from Poland, in whose arms he died.

Chopin's composing technique is very unconventional and in many ways deviates from the rules and techniques adopted in his era. Chopin was an unsurpassed creator of melodies, he was one of the first to introduce Slavic modal and intonational elements unknown to Western music into Western music and thus undermined the inviolability of the classical harmonic system that had developed by the end of the 18th century.

Fryderyk Franciszek Chopin is a Polish composer and pianist who lived and worked in France for a long time (therefore, the French transcription of his name was fixed). Chopin is one of the few composers who composed almost exclusively for the piano. He did not write an opera or a symphony, he was not attracted by the chorus, and there is not a single string quartet in his legacy. But his numerous piano pieces in the most different forms- mazurkas, polonaises, ballads, nocturnes, etudes, scherzos, waltzes, etc. - these are all recognized masterpieces. Chopin was a true innovator, often deviating from the classical rules and regulations. He created a new harmonic language and discovered forms designed to accommodate new, romantic content.

Life. Fryderyk Chopin was born in 1810, probably on February 22, in Zelazowa Wola near Warsaw. His father Nichol (Mikolaj) Chopin, a French émigré, served as a tutor and school teacher; mother was brought up in a noble family. As a child, Chopin showed vivid musical talent; at the age of 7 he began to learn to play the piano, and in the same year a small polonaise in G minor, composed by him, was published. He soon became the darling of all the aristocratic salons of Warsaw. In the wealthy houses of the Polish nobility, he acquired a taste for luxury and an emphasized sophistication of manners.

In 1823 Chopin entered the Warsaw Lyceum, continuing to study music privately with Joseph Elsner, director of the Warsaw Conservatory. In 1825 he was invited to speak before Russian emperor Alexander I, and after the concert he received an award - a diamond ring. At the age of 16, Chopin was admitted to the conservatory; its completion in 1829 formally completed Chopin's musical education. In the same year, seeking to introduce his art to publishers and the public, Chopin gave two concerts in Vienna, where critics praised his work, and the ladies - excellent manners. In 1830, Chopin played three concerts in Warsaw, and then went on a trip to Western Europe... While in Stuttgart, Chopin learned about the suppression of the Polish uprising. It is believed that the fall of Warsaw was the reason for composing a C minor etude, which is sometimes called "revolutionary". This happened in 1831, and after that Chopin never returned to his homeland.

In 1831 Chopin settled in Paris. He loved to perform in the homes of his friends and patrons, although he often spoke of them with irony. He was highly regarded as a pianist, especially when he performed his own music in small household gatherings. In his entire life, he gave no more than three dozen public concerts. His performing style was very peculiar: according to the reviews of contemporaries, this style was distinguished by an extraordinary rhythmic

freedom - Chopin was, so to speak, a pioneer of the rubato, he articulated a musical phrase with great taste, prolonging some sounds at the expense of others.

In 1836 Chopin went to Bohemia to see his parents. While in Marienbad, he became interested in the young Polish woman Maria Wodzińska. However, their engagement was soon broken off. In the autumn of the same year, in Paris, he met an outstanding woman - Baroness Dudevant, about whose life there was a lot of gossip in Paris and who by that time had acquired wide literary fame under the pseudonym Georges Sand. Chopin was then 28 years old, Madame Sand - 34. Their union lasted eight years, and most this time they spent at the family estate of the writer in Nohant. Chopin's nightmare, who was never in good health, was the winter of 1838-1839, lived with George Sand in Mallorca (Balearic Islands). The combination of bad weather with a mess in household, apparently, had a disastrous effect on his lungs already affected by tuberculosis. In 1847, Chopin's relationship with George Sand finally deteriorated as a result of the musician's interference in the relationship of his girlfriend with her children from her first marriage. This circumstance, together with a progressive illness, plunged Chopin into a state of black melancholy. Last time he spoke in Paris on February 16, 1848. Eight days later, a revolution broke out that overthrew King Louis Philippe. Friends of the composer took him to England, where, already very ill, he played with Queen Victoria and gave several concerts - the last of which took place on November 16, 1848. A week later he returned to Paris. No longer able to give lessons, Chopin was forced to accept generous help from his Scottish admirer Jane Stirling. The composer's sister, Ludwika, came from Poland to take care of the patient; his French friends did not leave him alone. Chopin died in his Paris apartment on the Place Vendome on October 17, 1849. In accordance with his wishes, at the funeral service in the church of St. Madeleine sounded fragments of Mozart's Requiem.

Music. Chopin's composing technique is very unconventional and in many ways deviates from the rules and techniques adopted in his era. Chopin was an unsurpassed creator of melodies, he was one of the first to introduce Slavic modal and intonational elements unknown to Western music into Western music and thus undermined the inviolability of the classical harmonic system that had developed by the end of the 18th century. The same goes for rhythm: using the formulas of Polish dances, Chopin enriched Western music with new rhythmic patterns. He developed purely individual - laconic, self-contained musical forms, which are the most

best suited the nature of his equally distinctive melodic, harmonic, rhythmic language.

Small piano pieces. These pieces can be roughly divided into two groups: predominantly "European" in melody, harmony, rhythm, and distinctly "Polish" in color. The first group includes most of the etudes, preludes, scherzos, nocturnes, ballads, impromptu, rondos and waltzes. Specifically Polish are mazurkas and polonaises.

Chopin composed about three dozen etudes, the purpose of which is to help the pianist overcome specific artistic or technical difficulties (for example, in performing passages in parallel octaves or thirds). These exercises belong to the composer's highest achievements: like Bach's Well-Tempered Clavier, Chopin's etudes are, first of all, brilliant music, moreover, brilliantly revealing the capabilities of the instrument; didactic tasks fade into the background here, often they are not even remembered.

Although Chopin first mastered the genres of piano miniature, he was not limited to them. So, during the winter spent in Mallorca, he created a cycle of 24 preludes in all major and minor keys. The cycle is built on the principle "from small to large": the first preludes are laconic vignettes, the last are real dramas, the range of moods - from complete serenity to violent impulses. Chopin wrote 4 scherzos: these large-scale pieces, full of courage and energy, occupy an honorable place among the masterpieces of world piano literature. He penned more than twenty nocturnes - beautiful, dreamy, poetic, deeply lyrical revelations. Chopin is the author of several ballads (this is his only programmatic genre); impromptu, rondo are also presented in his work; his waltzes are especially popular.

"Polish" genres. Chopin impressed Paris with his original mazurkas and polonaises, genres that reflected the Slavic dance rhythms and a harmonic language typical of Polish folklore. These charming, colorful pieces first introduced the Slavic element to Western European music, which gradually but inevitably changed those harmonic, rhythmic and melodic schemes that the great classics of the 18th century. left to their followers. Chopin composed more than fifty mazurkas (their prototype is a Polish dance with a three-beat rhythm, similar to a waltz) - small pieces in which typical melodic and harmonic turns sound Slavic, and sometimes something oriental is heard in them. Like almost everything written by Chopin, mazurkas are very pianistic and require from the performer great art- Yes

if they do not contain obvious technical difficulties. Polonaises are larger than mazurkas both in length and texture. A fantasy polonaise and a polonaise known as "military" would be enough to secure Chopin one of the first places among the most original and skillful authors of piano music.

Large forms. From time to time, Chopin turned to major musical forms... Perhaps his highest achievement in this area should be considered an excellently constructed and very convincing in terms of dramaturgy fantasy in F minor, composed in 1840-1841. In this work, Chopin found a model of form that fully corresponded to the nature of the thematic material he had chosen, and thus solved a problem that was beyond the power of many of his contemporaries. Instead of following classic designs sonata form, it allows the idea of ​​the composition, the melodic, harmonic, rhythmic features of the material to determine the structure of the whole and the ways of development. In the Barcarole, Chopin's only work of this genre (1845–1846), the whimsical, flexible melody in the 6/8 meter, characteristic of the songs of Venetian gondoliers, varies against the background of an unchanging accompaniment figure (in the left hand).

Chopin created three piano sonatas... The first, in C minor (1827), is a youthful piece that is now rarely performed. The second, in B minor, appeared a decade later. Its third movement is a world-famous funeral march, and the finale is a vortex of octaves, like "the wind howling over the graves." Considered unsuccessful in form, the Second Sonata, performed by the great pianists, appears as a strikingly integral piece. Chopin's last sonata, B-flat minor (1844), has a continuous structure uniting its four movements, and is one of Chopin's highest achievements.

Other compositions. Chopin also owns a number of works for piano and orchestra and a few chamber pieces. For piano and orchestra, he created Andante spianato and polonaise in E flat major, two concertos (E minor and F minor), fantasy on a Polish theme, rondo-Krakowiak, and variations on a theme of Mozart La ci darem la mano (aria from the opera Don Juan). Together with cellist O. J. Franschomme, he composed the Grand Concert Duet for cello and piano on themes from Meyerbeer's opera Robert the Devil, a sonata in G minor, an introduction and a polonaise for the same composition, as well as a trio in G minor for piano, violin and cello. Chopin composed a number of songs for voice and piano to Polish texts. All compositions with an orchestra reflect the author's inexperience in instrumentation, and almost always changes are made to the score during performance.

Justyna Kzhizhanovska (1782-1861),
mother of Polish composer Frederic Chopin

Justyna Kzhizhanovska came from a family of impoverished gentry. She lost her parents early. The family of Countess Ludvika Skarbek, who was related to the Kzhizhanovskys, took the orphaned girl to their upbringing. In the house of the Skarbeks, Justina received an excellent education. According to surviving testimonies, Chopin's mother spoke French and German, was extremely musical, played the piano perfectly, and had a beautiful voice. Having matured, Justina began to help the countess run a large household on the estate of Gileza-Volya.

Chopin's father was a French émigré Nicolas Chopin, the son of a winegrower. His letter to his French relatives has survived, from which it follows that he emigrated to Poland to evade conscription. In Poland, Nicolas allegedly ended up in the rebel army of Tadeusz Kosciuszko. However, it is known that he actually worked in a tobacco factory. During his stay in Poland, he managed to master the Polish language. Noticing that French was in great fashion among the Polish gentry, he started teaching it.

Countess Ludvika Skarbek had five children. It was to these children that Nicolas Chopin was invited as a French teacher. Biographers wrote about Chopin's father that he was thorough and economical, neat and efficient - “ good teacher French, but without much brilliance. " “His attitude to art was mundane. Later, he (Nicolas) would make an attempt to master the violin, but in no case could he be called an artistic person. "

Returning to Justina's acquaintance with the future father of Frederic Chopin, it should be noted that their marriage took place only four years later. For a long time, Nicolas looked closely at the "lady majorord," as Justina's family jokingly called him. She was a modest girl, but with exquisite manners, ugly, but charming and reasonable. Their wedding took place in 1806. The bride was 24 years old, the groom 35.

The relationship between Nicolas and Justina was not built on passionate love, but on deep respect for each other. Countess Skarbek allocated one of the outbuildings to the newlyweds in her estate. In 1807, they were born eldest daughter Ludwik, and on February 22, 1810, a boy appeared - the future great composer. Frederick was born a weak and sickly child. With his helplessness, he immediately riveted all the attention of his mother.

By this time, the sons of the Skarbeks had grown up and it was time to send them to an educational institution. Countess Ludwika, with the help of her acquaintances, found a job for Nicolas as a French teacher at the Warsaw Lyceum. And Justina, with the countess's money, opened a boarding school for boys from noble families. Among the first six boarders were Ludwika Skarbek's two sons. Pension Justiny was famous in Warsaw as the best. Accommodation fees were very high. Chopin's mother created excellent conditions not only for the residence of young aristocrats, but also for them. comprehensive development... Justina took care of the leisure of her pets. The boys were constantly busy with music, painting and home theater.

Justina is a strong, intelligent, talented woman who was completely devoted to her husband and children. She surrounded little Frederick with special attention and care. Due to frequent illnesses, the boy was deprived of outdoor games and activities inherent in his age, and so that he would not get bored, his mother entertained him with music and reading books. Justyna gave her son a happy childhood, filled him with wonderful Polish music and singing. The sounds of the polonaise and mazurka evoked indescribable delight in Frederick. Unfamiliar feelings overwhelmed his soul when he listened to his mother singing. His emotions alternately changed from violent expressions of joy to heartbreaking crying. So, through boundless love and music, Justina opened her soul little son... At the age of four, she began teaching Frederick to play the piano.

Chopin owed his mother both the first musical impressions, and the love for folk melodies instilled from infancy, and the first piano lessons. By the age of five, little Chopin was already confidently performing simple pieces learned with Justina, and he was happy to play duets with his older sister Ludwika. In addition to Frederick, the family had three daughters: Ludvika, Emilia and Isabella.

Justina is an outstanding personality, a tireless worker and a loving mother, who took care of the financial situation of the family and diligently revealed the talents of children. All the daughters in the Chopin family, like Frederic, under the guidance of Justyna received an excellent education at home, played the piano superbly. However, the son was central to the mother's life. Only sons could have a career and recognition in society; daughters, even very talented and educated, were prepared by their parents for marriage and successful motherhood.

In 1817, at the age of seven, the first performance of the little pianist took place. Biographers, as it were, reproach Chopin's mother for not being present at this concert. Although it is known that at this time she was seriously ill. A wise mother handed Frederick a talisman so that he was calm and confident in her love. Justina sewed a wide lace collar for his debut suit with her own hands. This snow-white imposing detail favorably distinguished him from other young talents, dressed in standard black suits with short trousers and white socks. The impressionable boy experienced real euphoria from his outfit. As Chopin himself recalled, on this day he enjoyed happiness not because of his admiration for his piano playing, but because of compliments about his beautiful collar. He enthusiastically described these compliments for hours. So Justyna opened another wonderful world to Chopin - the world of haute couture, which in the future will play an important role in his career.

Unfortunately, as Yaroslav Ivashkevich, who published one of the best biographies of F. Chopin, said, “... we know least of all about his mother, although we should have known the most. The mother's influence on Frederick was obviously the most significant. " According to the memoirs of contemporaries, “Chopin's house was extremely pleasant, and his soul was the mother of Frederic Chopin, a charming and gentle woman, which, incidentally, she passed on to her only son. From her he inherited a talent for music. " (E. Kostselskaya).

As was customary at all times, few researchers paid attention to the biographies of the mothers of great people. According to the general conviction that existed until the 21st century, the cause of a person's genius could only be his innate feature or a genetic predisposition inherited from his father, grandfather or great-grandfather, exclusively through the paternal line. The idea that human genius is the result of the creativity of the mother of genius has never been visited by historians or researchers. For this reason, today we know almost nothing either about the genealogies of mothers of great people, or about the life of the most influential women in the world - Genius Mothers.

But the fathers of great people were often attributed to nonexistent merit and merit. For example, Chopin's father, who first picked up a violin at the age of forty, felt like a new Leopold Mozart. He began to take Frederick to perform at parties, secular salons, and sometimes in palaces - there were more than enough people who wanted to hear the play of "Polish Mozart".

It was the time when in Europe and Russia after the phenomenon of Amadeus Mozart there was a "fashion" for young talents... The ruling elite has ordered the public to high art and paid well for it. Poor parents were exhausted, collecting their last money to buy a musical instrument and hire a teacher for their child. While the fathers drilled their children (Mozart), and sometimes beat them (Paganini, Beethoven), Genius Mothers with love and tenderness revealed the souls of geniuses in their children, created the destinies of great people. Actually, fathers began to notice a gifted child among their sometimes numerous offspring, when he was already 5-7 years old. Thanks to the Mothers of Genius, a whole constellation of great musicians, artists, poets and writers illuminated Europe and Russia in the 19th century. For these reasons, all the greatest artists were born at about the same time, in the same places.

It is quite obvious that all "miracle children" were not born to be genius musicians, artists or poets. They were just more fortunate: they became the favorites of their mothers from the first minutes of their birth. Some - because they were born after the death of a brother or even two (Shakespeare, Mozart, Beethoven, Gogol, Glinka, Kuprin), others - because they were first-borns or only sons (Raphael, Chopin, Pasteur, Picasso), others - because they were born premature and unviable (Kepler, Newton, Voltaire), the fourth - because they were the youngest (Wagner, Mendeleev, Mahatma Gandhi).

And this Mother's love turned out to be that omnipotent creative force that, as it were, unsealed, revealed the potential of the child. The stronger the love and the more powerful the personality of the mother, the more grandiose her creation. None of the geniuses, having fallen into the "Mowgli" situation as an infant, could not even speak. Revealed children can become great with equal success in any of the arts and sciences, where their souls could express themselves. In the case of Frederic Chopin, the environment in which he was immersed from birth, which, again, was created for him by his mother, played a role.

Nobody has ever studied this childhood of geniuses, and they themselves, like ordinary people, do not remember anything about this period of their lives and are sure that they were already born that way.
As for Chopin, we can only guess what colossal work was done by Justina Kzhizhanovskaya.

At the age of 13, Frederic entered the Lyceum, which he graduated after three years. There he showed all his versatile abilities. He spoke and read fluently in French and German, drew beautifully, he was especially good at caricatures. His artistic talent was so flamboyant that he could have become an excellent theatrical actor.

After the lyceum, Frederick entered the conservatory, and from that time he began his artistic career. Chopin began giving concerts in Vienna and Krakow. On November 1, 1830, he left Warsaw, and, as it turned out, forever. At the beginning, Frederick arrived in Dresden, then lived a little in Vienna, and finally decided to leave for England, passing through Paris. Subsequently, when Chopin finally settled in Paris, he often joked: "I am here only passing through."

In 1832, Frederic Chopin was already one of the most popular Parisian pianists. “I move in the highest society - among princes and ministers. How I got to them, I myself do not know: it happened somehow by itself ”(From a letter from Chopin to a friend).

In Paris, Frederic gained real fame. His virtuoso playing on the piano, exquisite manners and a slightly weary voice made a tremendous effect on the spoiled French. His inimitable style of dress: silk raincoats, lamb leather gloves in a light lavender color, known as Chopin's color - all this created not only a unique image brilliant composer, but also gave rise to a whole trend in Parisian fashion. Chopin's fate seemed to be extremely happy: he, an aristocrat on the maternal side, a great musician, was received and greeted as a prince. He gave numerous concerts, entered into lucrative contracts with publishers. His piano lessons were the most expensive, people signed up for him. Frederic Chopin quickly and with a rare ease for a musician entered the select circle of people in the arts.

In August 1835, the most joyful event for Chopin took place: in Karlsbad (now Karlovy Vary), his long-awaited meeting with his parents took place. “Our joy is indescribable. We hug - what else can you do? We walk together, lead mommy by the arm ... We caress and shout at each other ... Now it has come true, this is happiness, happiness and happiness. " (From a letter to her sister's husband). This happiness lasted almost a month. Having said goodbye to his parents, Chopin never saw them again.

Everything in Frederick's life happened the way his Brilliant Mother intended. She taught him to love music, revealed him Creative skills... Everything was foreseen by Justina. Even the fact that Chopin was brought up and made friends with boys from noble families living in her boarding house, even a lace collar, which became the beginning of his unique image - everything was her creation. And everything came true. Besides happiness ...

In February 1837, Justyna Kzhizhanowska wrote from Warsaw to Paris to her son Fryderyk: “There is no such happiness on earth that I would not wish you, dear Frytsko. My heart is overflowing with feelings ... Pani Wodzynska told me that you promised her to go to bed early, which I am very glad, as it is necessary for your health; however, you did not keep the word given to her. This is especially important now that the flu is rampant. Write to us often, because, believe me, as soon as a month passes and there is no letter from you, then each of us begins to deceive others, looking for reasons explaining your silence, and calming each other, while thinking differently to ourselves. Do not worry about us, take care of your health - it is most important for our happiness. I embrace you with all my heart, infinitely attached Mother. "

Separation from his mother and homeland became the cause of constant latent longing for the composer. Truly Frederic Chopin was calm and happy only next to his mother. To the longing for home and family was added love for George Sand, which brought more grief than happiness, and undermined Chopin's already poor health. He dreamed of his family and an impeccable woman, completely devoted to her husband and children, who would be like his mother. As Georges Sand said about Frederic Chopin, "his mother was his only passion and the only woman he really loved."