OTD in Music History: Legendary pianist-composer Frederic Chopin (1810 – 1849) makes his last public appearance on a concert platform at the Guildhall in London in 1848. As a patriotic gesture, he plays at a benefit held for Polish refugees; unfortunately, this proves to be both a futile and taxing mistake, since more of the attendees at this event are far more interested in dancing and imbibing refreshments than in listening to Chopin’s artistry, and the exertion leaves him feeling even more drained and weak than he was before. Chopin weighs less than 100 lbs and is already terminally ill from the tuberculosis that will kill him in less than a year…
PICTURED: A beautiful example of Chopin's "classic" full signature, dated in pencil by another contemporaneous hand – probably that of celebrated cellist August Franchomme (1808 – 1884). This example originates directly from the Franchomme estate. Franchomme was the most celebrated French cellist of his time, and he forged close friendships with both Chopin and Felix Mendelssohn (1809 - 1847). In 1833, Chopin and Franchomme collaborated to write a "Grand Duo concertant" for piano and cello, based on themes from Giacomo Meyerbeer's (1791 - 1864) hit 1831 opera, "Robert le diable". Franchomme also rewrote the cello parts for Chopin's "Polonaise Brillante" (Op. 3), and was the dedicatee of Chopin's Cello Sonata (Op. 65).
Based on comparison with other known examples, and taking into account both the date and the lined paper, it seems very likely that this example was cut from a receipt for royalties paid to Chopin by the Pleyel publishing firm for the sale of some of his original compositions. Assuming that the date written beneath this signature is accurate, Chopin had just met his lover Aurore Dupin (better known by her pen name “George Sand”) (1804 - 1876) for the first time at a party a few weeks before his put pen to paper here.
The original "Sand Man" is a horrifying story. The distance from this graceful ballet is great. Is it the magic of art? "Sand Man" is a horror novel by E.T.A. Hoffmann, in which the story of a young man's spiritual destruction is based on the keys to "eyeballs" and "eye sockets." As in the original, a beautiful girl doll with beautiful eyes appears, but using that as a motif, the story is wonderfully reorganized into a comedy, in which a man and a woman have a happy ending of marriage.
Here, a song I played without ever taking my eyes off the box elder bug on the window next to me because i was scared of him.
My favouritest Chopin mazurka, A minor, op. 68, no.2.
This is, (if you've read a renewal on an old love) the song Jason plays first. Not the one he wrote, because... uh... that song doesn't actually exist? There's more to this mazurka, a whole second page, but I didn't feel like playing the dumb key change so I didn't.
Chopin Piano Recital Chopin Concert Hall Kraków Poland
Frédéric Chopin Polish Composer and Pianist – pianobook.io
Saturday evening I enjoyed a Chopin piano recital at Chopin Concert Hall. The modest hall is located in a part of Kraków new to me, but near Main Market Square. It was easily accessible via tram, and I’ll return to explore the interesting area during daylight. It’s rich in cafés, theaters, and music venues, and home of the Krakow…
OTD in Music History: Immortal pianist-composer Frederic Chopin (1810 – 1849) dies in Paris.
Chopin’s health had been declining (almost certainly due to late stage tuberculosis) for years prior to his death; indeed, by the late 1840s, he was hardly able to play piano or compose at all because he usually lacked the energy to concentrate.
By October 1848, however, it was clear that he was finally on death’s door; nevertheless, he remained the stereotypically fashionable consumptive romantic genius artist right up until the very end. (His close friend, noted singer Pauline Viardot, sardonically remarked that “all the grand Parisian ladies considered it de rigueur to come faint in his room.”)
In his final days, some of Chopin's closest friends provided music at his request – among them famed cellist August Franchomme (1808 - 1884), who played for him several times while he lay gasping for breath on his deathbed. Just after midnight on October 17, Chopin’s attending physician leaned over him and asked whether he was suffering greatly: "No longer", he whispered. When he passed away two hours later, Chopin left behind a unique musical legacy that has never fallen out of either critical or popular favor at any time in the last century and a half.
PICTURED: A brief autograph note that Chopin scrawled on a scrap of paper in the Summer of 1833. This note, which is addressed to Franchomme, reads as follows:
“Mr. Franchomme est prie de venir dire bon jour a son ami Baudiot ne Cap (a la boule d’or)”
[“Mr. Franchomme is kindly requested to come and pay his morning respects to his friend Baudiot ne Cap (at the golden ball).”]