The Washington herald., 1909-03-07

composition His variations on Mozart s
Ia Ct Darem." trio for piano and
strings. the rond0 for two pianos. sonata
Op- 4. z minor n0cturne. and the polo
naises in c minor. D minor. and fat
date from this period.
His First Romance.
In 1S2S Chopin went 70 Berlin. where hs
saw a number OF celebrities IN the musi-
cal world among them AIendelsshOn and
SpOntini. but the young Pole was too shy
20 make their acquaintance. Then. in 1S2s.
he journeyed 10 Vienna. where his Ia Ct
Darem" variations we're about 10 be pub
iished- While there he was prevailed up
on 10 give a concert al which his success
was so great as 10 justify a second con-
cert during the following week.
AT this time came the first o. the long
series OF romance IN CnOpin's life Con-
stantia GladkOwskas q pupil al the War
saw COnseryaIOrium. aroused IN the young
man feelings so tender as 10 inspire some
Of his compositions
His success 81 the Vienna concerts de-
/ termined ChOpiR 10 adopt the Hfe OF a
virtuOsO IN earnest He announced q fare
wei 10 Warsaw concert. at which the au-
dience was SO large and enthusiastic that
Chopin had 70 give a second and then n
third farewell concert before the Warsaw
public allowed him 20 leave. although al
I first he had not succeeded IN pleasing
them 70 any great extent Chopin made a
/ speciality al these concerts OF impTovisa-
tons. often based on weIl-known Polish
tunes At the third concert. which took
/ place October . 1S30. the fair COlstantia
GlaGkOwska was one OF the singers To
Z her may have been due entirely or parti-
+ ally the fact that this concert was the
! most successful OF The series.
Finances at Low EBb.
Chopin left Warsaw on November !.
4 $50. headed for Paris. On the way ne
played az Breslau. Dresden. Prague VI
/ enna. Munich, and Stuttgart The tour
was not financially successful His VI
| euna publisher. catering 10 the popular
/ taste. refused to publish anything but the
young Polish composers waItzes. though
/ his compositions al this time already in
1 cluded a considerable number Of polo
7 .'aises. etUdes. nOctUrnes. and mazurkas.
/ However, ie had the advantage OF hear
/ ing famous musicians Ike ThaI6erg, Mos
/ cheles. and Czerny. concerning whom he
made interesting comments IN letters
/ home. While at Stuttgart he heard OF the
/ capture OF Warsaw by the Russians. al
l event which IS supposed 20 have Inspired
the melancholy etude IN c minor, Op. "a,
/ No. Z
Chopin was not n a very happy frame
I Of mind when he finally got 70 Paris and
his finances were az a low ebb. but he
must have been cheered by the enthusiss-
/ tic reception given him by the Parisiaus.
IL was a peculiarly auspiciOUs moment Tor
him 20 make his appearance a. the French
capital. for al that time there was great
sympathy in France for the Poles in their
struggle against the Russians
Chopin gave his first concert in Paris on
February 3, IS22. playing his Ia q Da-
rem variations and r minor concerto.
He also took part in a duet with the ceIe-
brated kalkbrenrer. calling forth enthu-
siastic applause from no less a pe-sonaEa
than AIendeIssohn himself
Music Making Strides.
He was soon a friend Of many OF ths
great musical lights IN Professionalism,
Bellini BerliOz- 0Ieyerbeer. Hitler. and
others. But IN spite OF TIE satisfaction
which acquaintanceship with such celeb
rites must have given him. he speaks II
letters Of his troubles. mostly OF a fnan-
cial nature. among which the necessity %
keeping up appearances and living beyond
his meager income in order 10 get patrons
and pupils was the most annoying Nor
E
QualntauceS entirely 70 influence his Opil-
ion Of them. He disapprOVed somewhat q
Lists work, and remarked OF Berlioz-s
compositions that they were such as ID
justify any mans breaking with him.
! This may have inspired BerliOzs remark.
after ChOpin's death that the latter had
been dying all his life
ChOpln's music made steady strides for
; ward in public favor. HIS fame soon be-
, came such that the publication Of his
works brought good returns Schumann.
) In Germany. was especially enthusiasts
5 n praise OF the young Polish composer
: Hats or. gentlemen, A genius he said
OF Chopin in an article on the latter
b music
But in proportion as Chopin advanced
as composer ne began more and more
20 give Up his appearance as a pianist.
Prom the very start OF his career there
p had been critics who objected 10 his PLAY
? Ing. or the score that IL was toe delicate
5 70 be effective IN the vegUlar concert
halls About IS5 ne definitely retired
from the field as a professional virtuoso.
sporadic appearances subsequent 20 that
d2Se-iD l>il l>l2. and iS4S-were primarily
Tor the purpose ~ personally making new
compositions known 20 the public
Surpassed Ia DeIicacy.
But the very qualities tnat made his
, piano ploying IN large concert halls inef-
{ festive seem 10 have added TO its valus
when CHOPIN played 20 small GATHERINGS
of friends Many Of those privileged %
hear him on such occs sions considered
Thar De surpassed al other pianists in
lIShtucss and delcacy OF touch
In The summer OF 1915 Chopin went %
S Carlsbad. Dresden. and Leipzig. Al the
E latter place MendeIssohn introduced him
20 Schumann- II 1885 he made a trip 10
Marienbad. on eourtship bent, but the oh
/. ject o. his affections, Nile. Maria Wod-
zinski. rejected him.
, In July. iSs- Chopin visited England for
, the first time. During his sojourn there
! he showed the first SYMPTOMS OF con-
! sumption soon after his return 10 France
, came the most famous event in Chopln's s
lile-his acquaintance with the French
: authoress known as George sand The
r literature on the subject Of this laisoa
Z Is more noteworthy for quantity than re-
? liability Shortly after meeting Mule
sand. Chopin decided 10 go with her 20
Palma on the island or BIaJcrcs. IN the
Mediterranean. where al first the pair led
5 an tdyllic existence. which eliminated.
however, in an Unfriendly separation.
His Death in Paris.
Since he first showed symptoms OF pull
- monary trouble in England and az Ma
q jorca until the time Of his death Chopin's
r health failed steadily In October. ISf7.
2 the last Of his compositions was published
z the sonata for piano and viOlonceTo. in
= Q minor. Op s.. On February Is. 1873. he
= gave his last r0upnrr In Paris Than v-I,..,