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Interesting Questions, Facts and Information
- There are a total of 50 general entries. We are selecting 30 for display.
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 Interesting Questions, Facts, and Information
 Chopin
Piano. Throughout the 19th century, the piano was undergoing radical developments. These included increases in its tonal range and sustaining power.
Tuberculosis. Actually, tuberculosis had been plaguing his poor health throughout his short life. When news of his decease spread, it was greeted by an outpour of mourning from Parisians. At his funeral, the funeral march from his "Sonata in B Flat Minor" was played.
Scotland. The trip was made immediately after his breakup with George Sand. Therefore, it is understandable that Chopin was in a state of grief and depression. While in Scotland, Chopin wrote in order to express his emotions: "What has become of my art? And my heart, where have I wasted it?"
The brutal Russian suppression of a Polish uprising.. Interestingly enough, during Chopin's lifetime, Poland was not the independent state that it is today. Rather, it was under the jurisdiction of the Russian tsar, Nicholas I. In the 1830's, the Poles, seeking independence, revolted against their Russian overlords. Immediately, the Russians captured Warsaw and suppressed the rebellion. The ensuing reprisals were ruthless; members of Chopin's family and some of his friends were slaughtered. To express his grief and defiance, Chopin wrote the Revolutionary Etude.
George Sand. It was Franz Liszt who introduced him to Aurore Dudevant, "the lady with the somber eye", better known by her pen name of George Sand. The two first met each other in 1838. Sand was greatly impressed by Chopin's creative ability. Their relationship lasted eight years, during which Chopin spent his summers at her estate in Nohant. Eventually, however, their friendship turned into bitter hostility, and they parted.
No. He never relinquished his Polish heritage, however, and remained a proud Pole until his death. At some points during his career in Paris he was deeply homesick. This urge to return home is apparent because many of his compositions included aspects of Polish folk music.
Paris. Paris was the center of a new movement known as Romanticism in the 1830's. It was a bustling mecca for famous novelists, composers, and painters of the period. Chopin went to Paris hoping to attain fame.
Warsaw. He was not born at Warsaw, though many believe he was. His hometown was Zelazowa Wola, a small, picturesque village on the Ultrata River roughly 50 kilometers west of Warsaw.
1810. He lived a very short life, dying at the age of thirty nine in 1849. Franz Schubert, one of the earliest Romantic composers, was born in 1797; 1809 was the year of Felix Mendelssohn's birth, while 1811 marked the birth of piano virtuoso Franz Liszt.
Francois. Although Chopin is hailed today as the national composer of Poland, he was ethnically half-French, which explains why he had a French name. His father was a Frenchman who emigrated to Warsaw to teach the French language to children of the nobility.
Funeral March. One of Chopin's most famous compositions and the piece of music which is most often used as an iconic representation of grief.
Père Lachaise. Some other famous people buried in Père Lachaise include: Sarah Bernhardt, Maria Callas, Delacroix (who painted one of the most famous portraits of Chopin), Edith Piaf, and, of course, Jim Morrison.
George Sand. Originally Chopin was not interested in Sand. In a letter to his family in Poland he said about her, "Something about her repels me." Maybe he should have listened to his instincts? :-)
mazurka. Chopin's mazurkas are considered to be the cornerstone of Polish Nationalistic classical music.
21. Most recordings only feature 19 nocturnes, as the remaining two were not considered to be "genteel" enough by 19th century standards.
November Revolution. Chopin would eventually end up in Paris, where he would die on 17 October 1849.
French. Chopin's father, Nicolas, eventually adopted Poland as his homeland when he moved there in 1787.
1810. This is also the same year that German composer Robert Schumann was born and Beethoven composed "Für Elise".
| Chopin was buried at the Père Lachaise Cemetery in Paris, but his sister Ludwika took his heart and brought it back to Poland. Where is his heart buried? | Fryderyk Chopin
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a pillar in a church. Chopin's heart was sealed in a pillar of the Holy Cross Church on Krakowskie Przedmieoecie. Above lies the inscription of Matthew 6:21, "For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also." It remains there to this day.
I hope you enjoyed my quiz!
| Throughout his life, Chopin suffered from an incurable disease, which he finally succumbed to on October 17, 1849, at the age of 39. What is the name of this disease that many people attribute Chopin's death to? | Fryderyk Chopin
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tuberculosis. Several of Chopin's sisters had previously died from tuberculosis. Around his death bed, Auguste Clésinger made a cast of his face and his hands. Very few people were present at the time of his death, but they included former pupil Adolf Gutmann, Thomas Albrecht, and Chopin's sister Ludwika. His funeral was held on October 30, 1849 at the Church of the Madeleine in Paris. It wasn't until 2008 that scientists hypothesized that the cause of Chopin's death may have been cystic fibrosis, but the Polish government denied them the right to analyze Chopin's DNA samples.
| Which famous author did Fryderyk Chopin have a long romantic relationship with? | Fryderyk Chopin
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George Sand. Chopin did have a love interest in Delfina and Maria, but complications such as Chopin's health prevented him marrying either of the two. When Chopin was first introduced to George Sand by Franz Liszt, he was struck with shock and repulsion. Like many of her counterparts, George Sand was a pseudonym for Amandine Aurore Lucille Dupin, whose status as a female prevented her from becoming a famous and prolific author. Sand dressed like a man, and even smoked cigars. After Chopin's initial shock died down, the two struck up a close friendship, which then became a loving relationship. It was in that 10-year relationship with Sand that many of Chopin's pieces were written, including his 24 Preludes. When Chopin's health began to decline, the 2 gradually drifted apart. When the two finally ended their relationship in 1847, Chopin was left heartbroken, penniless, and extremely sick.
| In which era of music is Fryderyk Chopin usually categorized? | Fryderyk Chopin
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Romantic. The Romantic Era took place roughly from 1815 to 1910, and was categorized by more expressive and passionate music, often more exciting than its Classical counterparts. Instead of the strict rules governing music such as those of the Classical Era, composers such as Franz Liszt, Robert Schumann, and Richard Wagner fused the structural harmonic planning with chromatic inventions, achieving greater fluidity and contrast. Ludwig van Beethoven was the bridge between the Classical Era and the Romantic Era.
| When Fryderyk was a young child, he would often listen to his sister Ludwika(Louisa) play the piano, and showed aptitude in music. When he was just 7 years old, he composed his first piece - a polonaise. In what key was this polonaise written in? | Fryderyk Chopin
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B-flat Major. The first few measures of this piece include broken octaves in the left hand synchronizing with the right hand. Chopin also wrote the Polonaise in g minor, a little bit of time after the B-flat Major polonaise was published.
Zelazowa Wola. Fryderyk Chopin was born on March 1, 1810, in the small village of Zelazowa Wola, some 50 miles away from Warsaw. A church document discovered in 1892 said that he was born on February 22, 1810, but Chopin as well as his mother claimed that he was born on March 1.
Polish. Frederyk Chopin's mother, Justyna Krzy¿anowska, was of Polish descent. She married Mikolaj(Nicholas) Chopin, a Frenchman who immigrated to Poland. Mikolaj Chopin served as a tutor to the children of the aristocrat Count Skarbek, who also had a son named Fryderyk.
| Chopin was buried with a small silver urn. What did it contain? | Chopin
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Soil from his homeland. This soil was given to him in 1830 when he first left Warsaw. One of his teachers, Joseph Elsner, gave him this gift.
| Whose "Requiem" was played at Chopin's funeral? | Chopin
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Mozart. Dying on October 17th, 1849, Chopin was buried at Pere-Lachaise cemetery. All of Paris turned out for the lavish funeral.
| In 1838 Chopin started a love affair with the love of his life. Who was this person? | Chopin
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George Sand. George Sand, the pen name of Aurore Dudevant. During this often strained relationship, Chopin wrote some of his most beautiful music. George, who was married, ended the affair in 1845. After this time, Chopin wrote almost nothing.
| What type of music was Chopin noted for that evoked the nighttime and was romantic and dream-like in nature? | Chopin
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Nocturne. Chopin wrote several sets of Nocturnes over a period of twenty years. They were published in small sets of two or three at a time. They are perhaps his best known works.
| What country was the source of inspiration for most of Chopin's music? | Chopin
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Poland. Chopin used the songs and dance music of Poland to inspire many of his greatest works including his mazurkas, waltzes, and polonaises.
| Always in frail health, what disease did Chopin have? | Chopin
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Tuberculosis. Chopin moved to Spain for a time hoping the climate would improve his health. The tuberculosis became a reoccurring event in Chopin's life.
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