Five major events in Chopin's life

A Brief Introduction to Chopin's Life (Xiang)

Friedrich Chopin (18 10- 1849) was born in Zheriazova Walia, a suburb of Warsaw. His father, nicolas chopin, was originally French, and later moved to Poland. In 1794, he participated in the uprising against the invaders led by Polish national hero Kosciushko (1746- 18 17). After the failure of the uprising, he lived in Warsaw and made a living by teaching and other jobs. Later, he opened a boarding school at home. From then on, he stopped participating in politics and just sought a peaceful life. However, he kept close contact with the cultural circles in Warsaw, which had an impact on Chopin's ideological growth.

Chopin showed a special musical talent from an early age, not only playing the piano, but also composing music. At the age of seven, he published his first work-Polish Dance in G minor. At the age of eight, he made his first public performance. From then on, Chopin played the piano as a "prodigy" and was often invited by the nobles in Warsaw to play, and became the darling of aristocratic salons for a while. 1825, Russian czar Alexander I, who came to Warsaw to attend the Polish Parliament, also attended a concert by Chopin and gave Chopin a diamond ring. These experiences of Chopin's childhood and adolescence are in sharp contrast with his later experiences.

When Chopin was a teenager, he was also exposed to Polish folk music in urban and rural areas and the progressive ideas of many Polish patriots. From 65438 to 0826, Chopin officially became a student of the Conservatory of Music, interacting with many progressive teachers and students. These years, Zheng Xiao often goes to the countryside for holidays. He enjoys the natural scenery of the motherland, listens to farmers' songs and plays music, and participates in country dances and weddings. The culture and national music of the motherland, like seeds, are planted in Chopin's heart.

/kloc-Poland from the end of 0/8th century to the middle of 0/9th century is a disaster-stricken country and an epic nation. 1772, 1793, 1795, Russia, Prussia and Austria divided the weak Poland three times. They carved up the territory of Poland, enslaved the Polish people, and tried to stifle their national consciousness in order to rule for a long time. However, as a Polish patriotic song sings: "Poland will not perish!" The Polish people have always adhered to the indomitable patriotic struggle. /kloc-Poland's progressive and national romantic literature and art greatly promoted this struggle in the first half of the 0/9th century. At that time, a group of patriotic thinkers, writers and artists emerged in Poland. They advocate that literature and art should have distinctive national characteristics, have ideological content of loving people and freedom, and have rich emotional color. These thoughts had a profound influence on Chopin. Chopin's friend, Polish poet Witwicky, wrote in his letter to Chopin: "As long as you always remember nationality, nationality, and finally nationality ..... just like Poland has the nature of the motherland and the melody of the motherland. Mountains and rivers, forests, rivers and grasslands all have their own inner voice of the motherland, although not every heart can hear it. " He repeatedly told Chopin to "for the people, through the people!" Chopin's teacher Elsner also said to Chopin, "You are a genius. Written for the people, written with people's nature and nationality. " All these have brought profound influence to Chopin's later ideological development.

1830, the July Revolution broke out in France. It not only attacked the feudal rule of the reactionary "Holy Alliance" in Europe, but also promoted the revolutions of European countries. At this time, Polish patriotic forces revived and secret patriotic organizations became active. They ignored the arrest and repression of the reactionary authorities and are brewing a new uprising. It is in such a turbulent situation that Chopin's relatives, teachers and friends urged Chopin to go abroad for further study and win glory for his motherland through his music creation and performance. Therefore, Chopin is in a fierce ideological struggle, and patriotism makes him nostalgic; His career made him want to leave again. He wrote: "I am still here, I can't decide the date of departure." I feel that if I leave Warsaw, I will never go back to my hometown. I am convinced that I will bid farewell to my hometown forever. Ah, how sad it is to die where you were not born! " The pain of parting and the premonition of farewell tormented him, but the encouragement, persuasion and expectation of relatives and friends inspired him, making him realize that he has the responsibility to go abroad and praise the motherland and the nation with art, and he was excited about it. He wrote: "I am willing to sing all the voices inspired by anger and unrestrained emotions, so that my works (at least some of them) can be regarded as John Sobiesky,/Kloc-the king of Poland's besieged city in the 0/7th century. He defeated the Turkish invaders, recovered the territory of the motherland, expelled the Turks from Vienna and Hungary, and made him famous in Europe. ) The battle song sung by the troops. Warsongs are dead, but their echoes will still ripple on both sides of the Danube. "

1830165438+1October 2, the bleak cold wind added autumn to Warsaw and added the pain of parting. Farewell friends reminded Chopin who was leaving:

"No matter where you stay or wander, may you never forget your motherland, never stop loving it, and use a warm and loyal heart."

Chopin accepted a silver cup filled with the soil of the motherland presented by a friend, symbolizing that the motherland will always accompany him in a foreign country. What moved Chopin even more was that when relatives and friends saw him off to Valia, the birthplace of Chopin on the outskirts of Warsaw, his teacher Elsner and some students from Warsaw Conservatory of Music were already waiting there, and they sang a chorus composed by Elsner to bid him farewell:

"Your talent comes from our country. May it be fully developed anywhere ... show the glory of the motherland through your music and the voices of our Mazubek and Krakowiak."

Such a farewell scene and such exciting words made Chopin feel mixed feelings and burst into tears when he boarded the journey.

A few weeks after Chopin went abroad, an uprising broke out in Warsaw and was successful. It is said that Chopin was very excited when he heard the news of the Warsaw Uprising and planned to return to China. It is his close friend titus who is trying, and he doesn't want to go back. When Titus left for home to take part in the uprising, Xiao hired a post car to catch up with him and prepare to return home with him. As a result, he failed to catch up and returned to Vienna. At this time, Zheng Xiao wrote in a letter to Warsaw's good friend Matusinski: "Why can't I be with you? Why can't I be a drummer! ! ! "

1830165438+10 Warsaw Uprising once won a brilliant victory, drove away the Russian aggressors and established Poland's own regime. This heroic achievement of the Polish people shocked the whole of Europe and was a glorious page in the history of European revolution. However, less than a year after the victory, the achievements of the uprising were destroyed by the betrayal of Polish big noble. The Russian invaders captured Warsaw again, and the Warsaw uprising was suppressed. Another cold day, Chopin heard the news that Warsaw had fallen again during his trip to Paris. At this point, he was filled with indignation and grief. In a letter to Titus, he expressed great resentment against the invaders: "... Oh, God, you really exist! Existence without giving them retribution! You don't care about crimes in Moscow, or, or you are from Moscow! My poor father! My noble father, maybe he is starving, and he has no money to buy bread for his mother! My sister may be ravaged by wild scum in Moscow! Pass Kevic (Pass Kevic is the commander-in-chief of the Russian army who captured Warsaw. ), Mo tomb Lev this bitch has occupied the residence of the first-class monarchy in Europe! ? Moscow will be the coordinator of the world? ..... ah! Why can't I even kill a Moscow guy! " Although Chopin's father repeatedly advised him not to give up Russian nationality (all Polish residents under Russian rule were Russian nationality at that time), Chopin never extended his Russian passport in Vienna, but was willing to give up Russian nationality and become a stateless Polish exile. At the same time, Chopin did not use the letter of introduction written by Archduke Constantine, the reactionary leader of Russian occupation of Warsaw, to the Russian ambassador in Vienna, and made a clean break with the Russian rulers. The Polish national independence movement marked by the Warsaw Uprising, like a patriotic university, has trained countless Polish national fighters and a number of Polish national artists. When he first left Warsaw, Chopin, who was twenty years old, was quite naive. But Chopin, who was 21 years old after the Warsaw Uprising, has been tempered by the disaster of the motherland. His love for the motherland and hatred for the enemy have also become stronger.

When Chopin 183 1 arrived in Paris, France was in the "July Dynasty" with constitutional monarchy. The dynasty represents the interests of the financial bourgeoisie, and money rules everything in society. Paris is the political, economic and cultural center of France. It has a long tradition of culture and art and has become one of the cultural and artistic centers in Europe. However, as Chopin said in Paris, "There is the most splendid luxury here. Have the lowest, the greatest sorrow and the greatest sin; Every action and speech is related to the flower willow; Shouts, shouts, rumbles and filthy noises are unimaginable, which makes you feel at a loss in this paradise. That is to say, no one asks how a person lives ... "In order to gain a foothold in Paris, Chopin made friends with upper-class people. Environment determines that he "must live in this circle." /kloc-at the beginning of 0/833, Chopin wrote in a letter to Duzeranovsky: "I entered the highest society and interacted with ambassadors, dukes and ministers ... because it is said that noble taste begins here; If someone has heard of you in the British or Austrian embassy, you will soon have greater talent; If the Duchess of Valdmont protects you, you will play better. " Chopin was not satisfied with his success in Paris. The luxury and hypocrisy of the upper class cannot comfort the painful soul of an exile full of hatred of national subjugation. At the end of 1832, he wrote a letter to the Minister of Fine Arts in Paris: "A Polish who can't stand the tragic fate of his motherland any longer has been in Paris for nearly a year-this is all I can use to introduce myself to you-and humbly requests you to use the hall of the Conservatory of Music to hold his 1 20th concert ...". This letter clearly shows Chopin's position in Paris and his mood. Contact with high-level people has made him feel more and more that "the wig covers up a huge emptiness." Only when he is with overseas Chinese in Poland will he feel cordial. He enthusiastically and selflessly helped exiled Polish compatriots, often talked with them, recalled them and played tirelessly for them. 1836, known as "Paganini of Poland" (Paganini was the most outstanding violinist in Italy at that time and was famous all over Europe. When violinist Pinski came to Paris to perform, Chopin actively prepared for him. The only requirement is that he should hold a concert for Polish expatriates. At first, Pinski agreed, but later he refused because he was going to perform in Russia. If he plays for Polish expatriates in Paris, it will arouse the resentment of the Russians. This pretentious "reason" angered Chopin, who broke off his friendship with Pinski angrily. 1837, the Russian ambassador to France wooed Chopin in the name of the czar's court and asked him to accept the position and title of "Chief Pianist of His Majesty the Russian Emperor", saying that this was because Chopin did not participate in the Warsaw Uprising in 1830. Chopin flatly refused and righteously replied, "Although I didn't take part in the 1830 revolution, my heart was with those revolutionaries because I was too young." This firm answer and arrogant contempt gave the northern tyrant a loud slap in the face. From this series of performances, we can see that Chopin did not live up to the expectations and instructions of his relatives, friends and teachers, and he always maintained a loyal heart to his motherland.

Chopin soon became famous in Paris. He won people's high respect through his creation, performance and piano teaching. In Paris, "entertainment has become debauchery, and gold, filth and blood are mixed together." Although Chopin was disgusted with the upper class in Paris, his activities were mostly confined to the salons of the upper class, and he gradually lived a superior life, which inevitably had a certain impact on his ideological system and made him lack due understanding and sympathy for the bourgeois democratic revolution and social reform, which was closely related to him and many Polish nobles and their children. 183 1 After the failure of the Warsaw Uprising, there were thousands of Polish exiles, two thirds of whom were in France, and most of them were intellectuals of noble birth. Politically, these people can be roughly divided into two factions, conservatives and Democrats. Conservatives tend to be constitutional monarchy, but are not keen on social reform; Democrats, on the other hand, advocate the immediate liberation of peasants and oppose the autocratic system. Chopin didn't know any Polish Democrats in Paris. Ideologically, Chopin is more conservative. Therefore, Chopin was quite indifferent to the bourgeois-democratic revolution that broke out in France in 1830 and 1848. These are the reflections of class limitations on Chopin.

Chopin has lived in Paris since then, only occasionally traveling abroad. 1835, I once went to Carlsbad, Germany to meet my parents briefly. In the same year in Dresden, I met Maria, the daughter of Polish aristocrat Wojinsky, and fell in love with her. The following year, Chopin proposed to her, but Maria's father refused because Chopin was not a nobleman, but a "musician" and unsociable. 1at the end of 836, Chopin met the French woman writer george sand. About a year later, I lived together until 1847 broke up. Chopin often associates with famous writers and artists from all over the world gathered in Paris, such as Polish poet Mitchevici, French writers Hugo and Balzac, German poet Heine, French painter Delacroix, Hungarian composer and pianist Liszt, Italian composer Bei Lini and French composer Berlioz. Although these writers and artists often have different styles and personalities, their interaction inspires each other in thought and creation, which is a comfort to Chopin's spiritual life. However, the years Chopin spent in Paris in the second half of his life are still full of loneliness that is hard to get rid of. Being in a foreign country and feeling unaccompanied always makes him sad. Since the mid-1930s, Chopin has been often ill and quite weak. Holding public concerts can bring money and honor, but Chopin doesn't like it. His greatest pleasure is to be with his Polish compatriots. He said, "Just as I can't refuse to give medicine to patients, I never refuse to play the piano for Mickey Kevin and Novid. No matter which one of them comes, I will sit down and play the piano, sometimes without saying a word. My music made them cry more than once. Isn't this the highest cross (meaning reward) for national artists? " 184 1 year, Chopin wrote in a letter to a friend: "Will we ever return to our motherland? ! Or are you completely crazy? ! I am not worried about Mizkevin and Sobanski-these are strong heads, and these heads will not lose their reason and strength after several exiles. " From these words, we can see that Chopin's suffering in a foreign country is a kind of "voluntary political exile". However, he would rather bear the pain than return to Poland to be a "submissive" under foreign rule.

1848 was invited to visit and perform in England and Scotland. Although he was warmly welcomed, he was very disgusted that "the British judge everything by pounds, and they like art only because it is luxurious." When he was in England, he wrote: "In my heart, I don't want to do anything ... I feel sad, but I anesthetize myself ... I feel dull pain ... I have never experienced real happiness. I don't feel anything. I just live like a plant and wait patiently for my end. " Chopin's later years thus ended his personal tragedy. But Chopin has always been obsessed with the motherland and the future rejuvenation of the motherland. 1846 Krakow Uprising broke out in Poland. After the defeat, there was a peasant uprising in Galicia. These events aroused Chopin's enthusiasm, and he cheered in his letter: "things in Krakow are going very smoothly"; "Farmers in Galicia set an example for Warren and Puerto Rican farmers; Terrible things are inevitable, but in the end, Poland will be a strong and beautiful Poland. In short, Poland. " 1848 March, Poznan Principality uprising, suppressed by Prussia in April. Chopin also expressed great regret for this: "I ... know all the terrible news about the Principality of Poznan. Except misfortune, it is misfortune. I am desperate. " Deeply concerned about the fate of the motherland and ardent longing for the future of the motherland reflect Chopin's unswerving love for the motherland. It was this love that made Chopin express his last wish: "I know that Pas Kevic will never allow me to transport my body back to Warsaw, so at least bring my heart back." 1849, after Chopin's death, his body was buried in the tomb of Pierre Rushtz in Paris, next to the tomb of his beloved composer Jane Lini. In the silver cup brought from Warsaw, the soil of the motherland was scattered on his grave. Chopin's heart was transported back to his yearning motherland and buried in the motherland where he grew up. Chopin's creation