Chopin and Sand is a love story. Chopin and georges sand - great melodies of love

They say that in a family there can be only one genius, and the lot of the second is to live in his shadow. However, it also happens in another way. He was a fragile, romantic, almost biblical beauty composer, and she was not only a scandalous writer, but also a woman whose confusion shocked Europe. Nevertheless, Frederic Chopin and Georges Sand joined their fates in a novel that lasted ten years.

In the photo: dolls by George Sand and Frederic Chopin, Valldemossa, Mallorca

After death Frederic Chopin in 1849, a small envelope was found under the cover of his diary. The letters inscribed on it read "ZhF" (Georges and Frederic), and inside there was a lock of hair Georges Sand... Chopin idolized Sand... She was his nanny, companion, muse and lover.

Amandine Aurora Dupin, this is the name given Georges Sand at birth, she was a writer and a harbinger of feminism, almost always shown in public in a man's suit and with a cigar. She married the phlegmatic Baron Dupin when she was only 19 years old, and left him nine years later to surrender to her romantic passions.

Georges Sand and Frederic Chopin met at a dinner with Franz Liszt's mistress, Countess d'Agu. The young composer entertained the guests by playing the piano. The hostess of the house decided that it might be interesting for two creative personalities to get to know each other. But for Chopin, this meeting left only an unpleasant aftertaste. “What is this disgusting woman - George Sand? - he told his friend. "And is she a woman at all?" It is not surprising that Chopin, with his refined manners, with his sense of beauty, was shocked by the boring behavior of the writer in public and her appearance... But Georges Sand from the first meeting was amazed by this Polish virtuoso.

Fate later brought them together more than once. And after close communication, they were imbued with mutual sympathy... At first, Chopin and Sand met in secret, but in 1838 all Paris was making noise about this novel. In the winter of the same year, the lovers, together with their two children Sand, daughter Solange and son Maurice, go to the Spanish island of Mallorca. In those years Frederic Chopin suffered from tuberculosis and constant bouts of coughing, and the choice of a place to travel was also determined by the fact that the mild climate might help Chopin to improve his health.

They arrive there as a real family, but their happiness did not last long. Although Georges Sand looked after Chopin every day, his health in Spain only worsened. And as soon as the owner of the house found out that the young composer was ill, he immediately ordered them to get out. According to the laws of that time, all things and furniture touched by a patient with tuberculosis were supposed to be burned. Chopin and Sand had to pay the cost of the missing property. They tried hard to find new housing, but no one agreed to help them. Therefore, the only refuge in which their family could not be denied was the monastery. Although there long time the temper of Georges Sand could not stand. For the monastery walls, a woman dressed in a man's dress and smoking was too much of a shock.

The couple decides to return to Paris. But how many did not beg Georges Sand, none of the ships wanted to take the patient on board. Still, Sand and Chopin managed to persuade one of the captains, although the brilliant composer, the brilliant writer and two children were given a cabin next to the pig pen. Georges Sand silently endured all the inconveniences, but Chopin later recalled that these pigs had conditions much better than his.

In the spring of 1841 Georges Sand and Frederic Chopin return to France. Lovers receive Heine, Balzac, Delacroix. Chopin likes this sophisticated society, and besides, all famous guests are in awe of his music. Georges Sand is proud of his Chopette or Shopinsky, as she jokingly calls him. It was a period of their happiness, when feelings in a comfortable atmosphere flashed with new strength... In winter, the lovers live in Paris, for the summer they leave for the village of Noan. Georges Sand writes the novel "Consuelo" with the main character, the singer, and Chopin helps his beloved as a musical consultant.

Georges Sand and Frederic Chopin, Eugene Delacroix

But Chopin's health is only getting worse. In the spring of 1844, he had to be carried in his hands on the stairs of the house. Georges Sand realized that she would have to take full custody of the whole family, since Chopin was ill and completely immersed in his thoughts, he lived in his own separate world. The whole family settled in the estate Georges Sand... There were still many rumors about their relationship. Many accused Sand of killing Chopin, while others, on the contrary, called the composer an "evil genius" and Sand's "cross". The writer herself was still madly in love with Chopin, therefore, trying in every possible way to help him, she reduced their relationship to purely friendly. But myself Chopin perceived such a situation as offensive, and was constantly jealous, believing that Sand had new lovers.

“If any woman could inspire him with complete confidence, it was me, but he never understood this ... I know that many people accuse me - some for having exhausted him with the unbridledness of my feelings, others for that I drive him to despair with my tomfoolery. It seems to me that you know what the matter is. And he, he complains to me that I am killing him with refusals, while I am sure that I would kill him by acting differently ... ", - she wrote Georges Sand Chopin's friend, Albert Grzhimale.

For children Georges Sand their mother's infatuation was not to her liking either. Son Maurice was constantly jealous of his mother for Chopin. And in 1946, after a violent quarrel with Maurice, Frederic Chopin declares his firm decision to leave their home. Sand takes the side of his son and does not hold back his partner. “This could not be, it should not have been, Chopin could not bear my interference in all this, although it was necessary and legal. He lowered his head and said that I stopped loving him. What blasphemy after eight years of maternal selflessness! But the poor, offended heart was unaware of its madness, ”Sand later writes.

But the already matured daughter Sand, Solange, on the contrary, turned the composer against Sand. According to some rumors, she herself was in love with Chopin. This is evidenced by their close friendship until the very end. Frederic Chopin... Solange in her letters constantly told Chopin about new passions Georges Sand pushing them further apart. Later, Sand writes to Chopin: “... she hates her mother, slanders her, denigrates her most sacred motives, desecrates her with terrible speeches native home! You like to listen to all of this and maybe even believe it. I will not enter into such a struggle, it terrifies me. I prefer to see you in a hostile camp than to defend myself against an adversary who has been fed by my breast and my milk. "

Monument to Chopin and Georges Sand in Paris

Gradually the correspondence between Chopin and Georges Sand ceased, and they completely lost touch. We met after that only by chance in March 1848. Sand wrote about this meeting: “I thought that a few months of separation would heal the wound and restore peace to friendship, and justice to memories ... I shook his cold, trembling hand. I wanted to talk to him - he disappeared. Now I could tell him, in turn, that he stopped loving me. " She still had cool memories of him.

In the novel Georges Sand"Lucrezia Floriani", which came out in 1947, many saw clear parallels with the relationship between the writer and the composer. The madly in love Lucretia is Sand herself, but the object of her love Karol, the charming egoist who caused her death, is written off from Chopin. Although myself Frederic Chopin always refused to recognize himself in this hero.

But Sand's predictions did not come true. She survived Chopin by 27 years. And everything indicates that Chopin continued to love Georges Sand for the rest of his life. This is evidenced by the envelope found in his diary, and the words that he uttered a few days before his death: "She promised that I would die in her arms."

Relationship with Sand for Chopin have always been difficult. Heinrich Heine wrote about the great composer as follows: “This is a man of extraordinary sensitivity: the slightest touch to him is a wound, the slightest noise is a thunderclap; a person who recognizes a conversation only face to face, has gone into some kind of mysterious life and only occasionally manifests himself in some irrepressible antics, charming and funny. " Despite how difficult it was for Chopin to live in an atmosphere of shocking and constant strain, many researchers nevertheless agree that their best works he wrote precisely during the period of their life together.

Frederic Chopin, 1849

Georges Sand, 1865

They were different people, their creativity also differed, both of them brought each other a lot of suffering. But, despite this, their ten-year romance is still considered one of the most incredible. The attraction that held them together can be explained by their joint engagement in work. Chopin never wrote better than in the years he spent with Georges Sand in Noan: he fiddled the keys all day, while she wrote all night. And, in the end, we have incredible music and novels that tell about what it was like to be a woman in the days of Sand. Therefore, despite all the complexity, no one can call their relationship a mistake.

Chopin and Georges Sand - Great Melodies of Love

XIX century ... Special historical era, which gave the world a huge number of discoveries and scientific achievements. This is the heyday of literature, music, painting, culture. And most importantly, this is a time of delightful, mesmerizing love stories.
XIX century ... A century of beautiful music, literary drawing rooms and secular salons. Age of charming, romantic women and noble, determined men.
luxurious smoke
from the golden age
two people



The love story of Georges Sand and Frederic Chopin is considered perhaps the most romantic of all, known to the century nineteenth. And doubly attractive because characters, as if mocking the standards of the era, as if ahead of time by more than a hundred and a half years, they reversed their roles in such a mirror-like manner. Courageous and determined Georges Sand and gentle romantic Chopin. So, in any case, many then thought ...
scattering of feelings
Parisian duo
hammers

Aurora-Lucille Dupin, Baroness Dudevant, better known as Georges Sand, was born on July 1, 1804.
By the time of their meeting with Chopin, George Sand was already 33 years old. The writer was 6 years older than him. She managed to survive an unsuccessful marriage and have two children. Perhaps it is unsuccessful marriage made of Aurora Dupin (that was the real name of the writer) Georges Sand. At the age of eighteen, Aurora married a young artillery lieutenant Casimir Dudevant, who was by no means distinguished by the subtlety of nature. He remembered his young wife only when he went to the bedroom. However, Aurora shared a place in his bed with numerous maids and maids. “First we are brought up in holiness, and then we are given to our husbands like young mares,” she wrote in her diary. Such marital relations more and more often forced Aurora to think about the injustice of the "male world" and as a result, in her own words, turned her into "Spartacus among the slaves." Constant quarrels between spouses did their job. Their marriage was falling apart before our eyes, and 12 years after the wedding, 30-year-old Aurora Dudevant left with her children to Paris. The husband did not oppose her decision and agreed to a divorce.
thin fingers
delicate perfume scent
subtle feelings

In the capital, Aurora decided to start writing. In 1832, under the pseudonym Georges Sand, her novel "Indiana" was published, which immediately brought fame to the writer. The personality of the author of the work contributed a lot to the popularity. Arriving in Paris, Aurora began to walk the streets in a man's suit, shocking the audience with statements of a feminist persuasion. Despite the man's suit, which the writer did not paint at all, George Sand had no shortage of admirers. Men in her bedroom replaced one another, and at the same time Georges Sand admitted that most of them evoke maternal feelings in her.
music ... word ...
one heart for two
beats with art

The 26-year-old Polish musician Frederic Frantisek Chopin, who had already begun to gain European fame, appeared in Paris in 1836 and immediately became a welcome guest of the most refined aristocratic Parisian salons. Exalted ladies of the world rapturously admired the polonaises, mazurkas and waltzes of the young genius.
if only art
you can keep your hearts
would love forever ...



The son of a Polish mother and a French father, Chopin, by birthright, did not belong to the aristocracy and always worshiped people with titles. He did not like large audiences, preferring to play in saloons - for the elite.
His blue eyes were more soulful than dreamy, a smile thin and soft, but never bitter. The complexion is gentle and transparent, blonde hair silky, the nose is expressively curved. He was of medium height and delicate build, and his movements were graceful. Chopin behaved with such nobility that he was involuntarily treated like a prince. It was a symbol of innate grace and male chastity.
The real heyday of talent will fall in 1838-1847, it was then that he will create his best works, and one of the most famous and scandalous women of his time, the writer Georges Sand, will enter his life.
the lines of the novel
impromptu chords
touches

Some considered her a shameless and dissolute woman, others admired her talent, intelligence, courage of behavior. The male name as a pseudonym and the male outfits, cigars and casual looks shocked many. But, be that as it may, they met ...
pa to the rhythm of a waltz ...
ornate plot
vitality

Autumn prevailed over Paris heavy rains... I had to go somewhere, it was getting harder and harder to fight the blues alone. Chopin remembered that Countess K. had a journal on that day, and since the clock was at the beginning of ten, he went there without hesitation. Something unusual enveloped him as he climbed the stairs. It was the subtlest scent of violets. Entering the salon, sitting in the corner, not far from the fireplace, began to examine the hostess's guests. Gradually, some of them dispersed, only the closest friends remained at home. Chopin warmed up, cheered up and, sitting down at the piano, began to improvise.
Light transparent, like crystal, sounds of music filled the hall. Having finished his musical tale he looked up from the keyboard. In front of him, leaning on a snow-white beautiful hand about the instrument, there was just a dressed lady and attentive dark eyes looked at him. She smelled of violets, and she looked as if she was trying to penetrate Chopin right into the soul.
notes-keys
music of love soars
candle flame

After a while, getting ready to leave, she approached him with Liszt and told him compliments.
Chopin was flattered, but he did not like her at all: “What an unsympathetic woman, this Sand! And is she a woman? I am strongly inclined to believe that it is not! " Soon after this meeting, he even wrote to his parents: “I met a great celebrity, Madame Dudevant, known as Georges Sand; but her face is unsympathetic to me and I did not like it at all. There is even something about him that turns me off. "
... Just before leaving the house of Countess d "Agu Chopin again ran into George Sand. This time the conversation lasted quite a long time. At the same time, Chopin was surprised to find that this woman no longer seemed unattractive to him. But George Sand had a different opinion on this matter. She was literally fascinated by the young composer. Soon their meetings became frequent - the writer tried to visit the same places as Chopin. To understand that he could no longer imagine life without this woman, Frederic Chopin took a year and a half.

But a woman wins not by beauty alone! In the character of George Sand, in her ability to stay with men, there was probably something so attractive that even those who clearly did not sympathize with her and did not love her could not resist. There is no better proof than Chopin's love.
the smell of hugs
in the Champs Elysees
Polish wormwood

They were very different. Intelligent, somewhere even timid Chopin and hot-tempered, prone to outrageous Georges Sand. He was disgusted by her man's suit - in the company of Frederick, Georges Sand tried to wear dresses. He was the only person in all of Paris who called the writer by her real name. She did not like his conservatism and indecision. In addition, Chopin was sometimes unbearably capricious - his health really left much to be desired (from a young age the composer suffered from consumption). Sometimes his suspiciousness crossed all boundaries. He could lie on the bed all day in a warm nightcap and with leeches around his neck.
moonlit midnight
waltz of wheat hair
with left pedal

In 1838, in order to improve Chopin's health, Georges Sand decided to leave for Spain - the healing climate of Majorca is good for the lungs. However, Mallorca met the lovers with torrential rains. Chopin felt very bad. From beloved George Sand turned into a nurse. Soon the owner of the house, which was rented by a loving couple, found out about Chopin's illness. The owner demanded that Chopin move out immediately. At the same time, it was necessary to pay for furniture, dishes, linen and whitewashing of walls - according to Spanish laws, things used by an infectious patient were required to be immediately burned. It was almost impossible to find new housing - the news of the composer's illness spread throughout the city and the inhabitants shied away from Frederick as from a plague victim.












The lovers found shelter in a remote monastery. At the same time, Chopin could not part with his piano, and George Sand had to hire a whole company of soldiers to drag the instrument along the mountain path to one of the cells. Monastic life did not add health to Chopin. Georges Sand tried not for a minute to leave him alone, but even the most careful care did not help. It was decided to return to France. However, not a single ship wanted to take on board a sick passenger. Georges rushed about the port city, begging the captains to take pity on the unfortunate composer. In the end, one of the ship's owners agreed. True, Chopin and Sand were provided with the most disgusting cabin with terrible furniture - it is expensive to burn good things. The other passengers on the ship were a hundred pigs. At the same time, Chopin complained that the captain provided the pigs with better conditions than him.
In the person of Georges Sand, Chopin found a faithful understanding friend, a person who subtly feels his work. She once said about two of his waltzes: "They are worth all my novels." And she did not flatter or cunning - she really thought and felt so.
music of love
oh, "Impromptu Fantasy"!
eternal theme ...

They spent wonderful evenings together and created, created, created. Aurora Dudevant's creativity acquired everything great depth, Chopin's waltzes and mazurkas amazed with the power of their feelings. Truly, this closeness was good for both of them.
Toulouse de Lautrec
yes his chansonnets,
you never dreamed of!

It was here that the composer wrote one of his masterpieces - Opus 28, and 24 preludes were also written here. Georges Sand republished Lelia, worked on a new novel, Spiridon, and wrote an essay entitled Winter on the Island of Mallorca. Although it was much more difficult for her to concentrate on creativity: the sick Chopin (at that time he was already sick with tuberculosis) was capricious, could not get used to the local cuisine, she cooked for the whole family, went to the shops, raised children. The woman, “wrapped in words,” as she was called, had no time for a romantic spleen.
Montmartre paints
smeared Delacroix
piano cover

In early February 1839, the travelers decided to return to their homeland. At this time, Chopin was already seriously ill with tuberculosis. He will spend winter and autumn in Paris, and spring and summer at Georges Sand's estate in Nohans. And Georges will become for Frederic a caring nurse, a friend, a fan of his talent, but now this is no longer a love affair that ended after arriving from Mallorca, but a friendly one.
Upon returning to France in February 1839, the lovers settled in the estate of George Sand. Frederick's health gradually improved. But soon after an unsuccessful trip to Spain, Georges Sand almost refused the composer in carnal love. The duties of a nurse did not contribute to ardent feelings, moreover, Georges convinced herself that bodily pleasures were harmful to Chopin. However, evil tongues said that the writer was simply tired of her lover - she admitted more than once that in bed Frederick behaves like an old sick woman. But one way or another, the lovers continued to be together. Sand sometimes said that she lives with her three children - she called Chopin the third child. They were often seen on walks - Georges raced through the fields with the children, and Chopin followed them astride a donkey, dressed as for a dinner party. They lived together for another 8 years.
mill of feelings
the noise of the millstones of the Moulin Rouge
to the beat of Krakowiak

Chopin highly appreciated the musical taste of Georges Sand and, performing his new works in front of her, listened attentively to her comments. For his part, he also helped Georges with advice. When she was working on the novel Consuelo, main character of whom she was a singer, it was Frederick who acted as a music consultant
Their house attracted many like a magnet outstanding people... Balzac, Heine, Delacroix, Liszt were frequent guests. In the evenings, Frederick's virtuoso performance was admired by the most brilliant ladies of the Parisian world. It was to them, the Duchess of Württemberg, Countesses of Esterhazy and Potocka, Baroness Rothschild, flattered Chopin dedicated his works. He never dedicated a single thing to her. Perhaps this was due to his painful shyness and unwillingness to advertise their relationship. However, who knows?
linseed polka
swims away into the distance in winter
sorrowful sonata

Chopin's health continues to deteriorate. Slightest exercise stress causes shortness of breath, and in the winter of 1843-1844 it had to be carried up the stairs own home... The year 1844 seems to be a relief, and friends hope that his health will improve. But these are just hopes.
For 9 years, Georges selflessly looked after Chopin. And he was one of the difficult patients. Needed careful care, but made scenes when concern became too obvious. Even more, he could not stand the neglect of his needs. When he was irritated by something, he could sulk all day. Sometimes he showed purely childish stubbornness and resentment, but he could also be sharp, sarcastic, even rude.
Georges learned not only to endure his antics, but also to extinguish them quickly enough. In general, Sand from the very beginning treated Chopin more like a mother than a lover. She is always by his side, but in August 1847 Georges Sand will break off relations with the composer
passion ballad
sigh with Notre Dame de Paris
to Rzeczpospolita

They broke up in 1847, 10 years after they first met. Perhaps their relationship would have lasted longer if the composer had not spoiled his relationship with the son of the writer Maurice. Chopin tried to educate a grown-up young man. Maurice was angry, George Sand always sided with him. At the same time, Chopin's attitude to Georges Solange's daughter was completely different - during disputes with his mother, Chopin invariably supported Solange. Georges at one time even suspected that Frederic was secretly in love with her daughter. Quarrels began. Chopin settled separately. He stopped responding to George Sand's letters, believing her to be the culprit of the break
the sound faded
fingers on the keys slipped
"Where are you, Goddess?"

“Farewell, my friend,” she wrote. “Rather get well from all your ailments. I have every reason to believe that it will be so. In this case, I can only thank God for such a strange outcome of friendship, which for nine years consumed both of us without a trace. "
Their last chance encounter took place in early March 1848 at the home of a mutual friend. The meeting amazed both of them. George Sand, full of remorse, wanting to make peace with him, came up and held out his hand. He turned pale, staggered back and left the hall without a word.
There was always a lock of her hair in his notebook, which he transferred from an old book to a new one. He will put this curl in the notebook of 1849, the last year of his life.
And illness draws the last strength from Chopin. There is a complete collapse of the body, and neither the music nor the composer's courage is no longer able to help him. Chopin destroys everything he has created in the last period, admitting that he can no longer write a single note. Only two mazurkas have survived.
breathing grows cold
the rose will fall on the coffin
last sound

Georges Sand no one reported Frederic's last illness and death. In his bedroom, littered with flowers, his bouquet was not. However, this is probably how it should be. Those who hid from him that she was ready to fly to him on wings were right. She would not forgive herself if the excitement of their meeting had shortened his life by a day or even an hour.
In 1849, a year before his 40th birthday, Frederic Chopin passed away. His last words there was a phrase: "She promised me that I will die in her arms."
Frederic Chopin's heart will stop beating at three o'clock in the morning on November 17 ...

Frederic François Chopin is a great romantic composer, founder of the Polish pianistic school. Throughout his life, he did not create a single piece for a symphony orchestra, but his compositions for piano are the unsurpassed pinnacle of world pianistic art.

The future musician was born in 1810 in the family of the Polish teacher and tutor Nicolas Chopin and Tekla Justyna Krzyzhanowska, a noblewoman by birth. In the town of Zhelyazova Wola, near Warsaw, the Chopin surname was considered a respected intelligent family.

Parents raised their children in love for music and poetry. Mother was a good pianist and singer, she spoke fluent French. In addition to little Frederick, three more daughters were brought up in the family, but only the boy showed really great ability to play the piano.

The only surviving photo of Frederic Chopin

Possessing great psychic sensitivity, little Frederick could sit for hours at the instrument, choosing or learning the pieces he liked. Already in his earliest childhood, he amazed others with his musical ability and love of music. The boy began performing with concerts at almost 5 years old, and at the age of 7 he entered the class of the famous Polish pianist of that time Wojciech Zivny. Five years later, Frederick turned into a real virtuoso pianist, who was not inferior to adults in technical and musical skills.

In parallel with his piano lessons, Frederic Chopin began taking composition lessons from the famous Warsaw musician Józef Elsner. In addition to education, the young man travels a lot throughout Europe, visiting opera houses in Prague, Dresden, Berlin.

Thanks to the patronage of Prince Anton Radziwill, the young musician became a part of high society. The talented young man also visited Russia. His performance was noted by Emperor Alexander I. As a reward, the young performer was presented with a diamond ring.

Music

After gaining impressions and first composing experience, at the age of 19, Chopin began his pianist career. The concerts that the musician conducts in his native Warsaw and Krakow bring him immense popularity. But the very first European tour, which Frederick undertook a year later, turned out to be a parting from his homeland for the musician.

While in Germany with speeches, Chopin learns about the suppression of the Polish uprising in Warsaw, of which he was one of the supporters. After such news, the young musician was forced to stay abroad in Paris. In memory of this event, the composer wrote the first opus of etudes, the pearl of which was the famous Revolutionary Etude.

In France, Frederic Chopin performed mainly in the homes of his patrons and high-ranking acquaintances. At this time, he composed his first piano concertos, which he successfully performed on the stages of Vienna and Paris.

An interesting fact in Chopin's biography is his meeting in Leipzig with the German romantic composer Robert Schumann. After listening to the performance of a young Polish pianist and composer, the German exclaimed: "Gentlemen, take off your hats, this is a genius." In addition to Schumann, his Hungarian follower Ferenc Liszt became an admirer of Frederic Chopin. He admired the work of the Polish musician and even wrote a large research work on the life and work of his idol.

The flowering of creativity

The thirties of the 19th century became the heyday of the composer's work. Inspired by the poetry of the Polish writer Adam Mickiewicz, Fryderyk Chopin creates four ballads dedicated to his native Poland and his feelings about its fate.

The melody of these works is filled with elements of Polish folk songs, dances and recitative lines. These are peculiar lyric-tragic pictures from the life of the people of Poland, refracted through the prism of the author's experiences. In addition to ballads, 4 scherzos, waltzes, mazurkas, polonaises and nocturnes appeared at this time.

If the waltz in Chopin's work becomes the most autobiographical genre, closely connected with the events of his personal life, then mazurkas and polonaises can rightfully be called a piggy bank of national images. Mazurkas are represented in Chopin's work not only by famous lyrical works, but also by aristocratic or, conversely, folk dances.

The composer, in accordance with the concept of romanticism, which primarily appeals to the national consciousness of the people, uses sounds and intonations characteristic of Polish folk music to create his musical compositions. This is the famous bourdon that imitates the sounds of folklore instruments, it is also a sharp syncope, which is skillfully combined with the dotted rhythm inherent in Polish music.

Frederic Chopin also discovers the nocturne genre in a new way. If before him the name of the nocturne first of all corresponded to the translation "night song", then in the work of the Polish composer this genre turns into a lyric-dramatic sketch. And if the first opuses of his nocturnes sound like a lyrical description of nature, then recent works they are getting deeper and deeper into the sphere of tragic experiences.

One of the heights of the mature master's work is considered to be his cycle, consisting of 24 preludes. It was written in the critical years for Frederick of first falling in love and breaking off relations with his beloved. The choice of the genre was influenced by Chopin's passion for the work of J.S. Bach at that time.

Studying the immortal cycle of preludes and fugues by the German master, the young Polish composer decided to write a similar work. But among the romantic, such works received a personal touch of sound. Chopin's preludes are, first of all, small but deep sketches of a person's inner experiences. They were written in the manner of a musical diary popular in those years.

Chopin the teacher

Chopin's fame is due not only to his composing and concert activities. The talented Polish musician also proved to be a brilliant teacher. Frederic Chopin is the creator of a unique pianistic technique that has helped many pianists to achieve true professionalism.

Adolph Gutmann was a student of Chopin

In addition to talented students, Chopin taught many young ladies from aristocratic circles. But only Adolf Gutmann, who later became a pianist and music editor, became truly famous of all the composer's wards.

Chopin's portraits

Among Chopin's friends one could meet not only musicians and composers. He was interested in the work of writers, romantic artists, and novice photographers fashionable at that time. Thanks to Chopin's versatile connections, there are many portraits painted by different masters, the most famous of which is the work of Eugene Delacroix.

Chopin's portrait. Artist Eugene Delacroix

The portrait of the composer, painted in a romantic manner unusual for that time, is now kept in the Louvre Museum. At the moment, photos of the Polish musician are also known. Historians count at least three daguerreotypes, on which, according to research, Frederic Chopin is captured.

Personal life

Frederic Chopin's personal life was tragic. Despite his sensitivity and tenderness, the composer did not really experience a sense of full-fledged happiness from family life. Frederick's first choice was his compatriot, young Maria Vodzińska.

After the engagement of the young people, the bride's parents put forward the requirement for a wedding not earlier than a year later. During this time, they hoped to get to know the composer better and be convinced of his financial solvency. But Frederick did not live up to their hopes, and the engagement was terminated.

The moment of parting with his beloved musician was very acute. This was reflected in the music he wrote that year. In particular, at this time from under his pen appears the famous second sonata, the slow part of which was called "Funeral March".

A year later, he was fascinated by the emancipated person whom the whole of Paris knew. The Baroness's name was Aurora Dudevant. She was a fan of nascent feminism. Aurora, without hesitation, wore a man's suit, she was not married, but was fond of free relationship... With a refined mind, the young lady wrote and published novels under the pseudonym Georges Sand.

The love story of 27-year-old Chopin and 33-year-old Aurora developed rapidly, but the couple did not advertise their relationship for a long time. In none of his portraits, Frederic Chopin is depicted with his women. The only painting depicting the composer and George Sand was found torn in two after his death.

The lovers spent a lot of time in the private property of Aurora Dudevant in Mallorca, where Chopin's illness began, which later led to sudden death. The humid island climate, tense relationships with his beloved and their frequent quarrels provoked tuberculosis in the musician.

Many acquaintances who watched the unusual couple noted that the strong-willed countess had a special influence on the weak-willed Frederick. However, this did not stop him from creating his immortal piano works.

Death

Chopin's health, which was deteriorating every year, was finally undermined by a break with his beloved Georges Sand in 1847. After this event, mentally and physically broken, the pianist begins his last tour of Great Britain, on which he went with his student Jane Stirling. Returning to Paris, he gave concerts for some time, but soon fell ill and no longer got up.

Close people who were next to the composer all the last days, became his favorite younger sister Ludwika and French friends. Frederic Chopin died in mid-October 1849. The cause of his death was complicated pulmonary tuberculosis.

Monument at the grave of Frederic Chopin

According to the composer's will, his heart was taken out of his chest and taken home, and his body was buried in a grave in the French cemetery of Pere Lachaise. The cup with the composer's heart is still walled up in one of the Catholic churches in the Polish capital.

Poles love Chopin so much and are proud of him that they rightfully consider his work as a national treasure. Many museums have been opened in honor of the composer; in each city there are monuments to the great musician. Frederic's death mask and a cast from his hands can be seen in the Chopin Museum in elazowa Wola.

Facade of Warsaw Chopin Airport

Many musical educational institutions are named in memory of the composer, including the Warsaw Conservatory. Since 2001, the Polish airport has been named after Chopin, which is located on the territory of Warsaw. It is interesting that one of the terminals is called "Etudes" in memory of the immortal creation of the composer.

The name of the Polish genius is so popular among music connoisseurs and ordinary listeners that some modern music bands take advantage of this and create lyrical compositions stylistically reminiscent of Chopin's works, and attribute his authorship to them. So in the public domain you can find musical pieces entitled "Autumn Waltz", "Waltz of the Rain", "Garden of Eden", the real authors of which are the group "Secret Garden" and composers Paul de Senneville and Oliver Tusen.

Artworks

• Concerts for piano and orchestra - (1829-1830)
• Mazurkas - (1830-1849)
• Polonaises - (1829-1846)
• Nocturnes - (1829-1846)
• Waltzes - (1831-1847)
• Sonatas - (1828-1844)
• Preludes - (1836-1841)
• Sketches - (1828-1839)
• Scherzo - (1831-1842)
• Ballads - (1831-1842)

Love stories of one of the most strange women the literary world, which many considered rude and heartless, to which they attributed numerous relationships with men and even women, which was reproached for incest (hinting at physical intimacy with their own son), all her love stories, according to the overwhelming number of researchers of the life of George Sand (1804- 1876), in fact, were manifestations of a hidden maternal instinct, which the world famous writer tried to embody in relations with everyone who met on her life path a man. And there were too many men - so many that, remembering the life he had lived in old age, George Sand confessed: “I have experience in love, alas, very complete! If I could start life over again, I would be chaste! " Contemporaries who knew her describe the writer as a woman of short stature, a dense and stocky build, with huge brown eyes against the background of rather rough facial features. Some considered Sand original and even beautiful. Others insisted that she was too masculine to be attractive. Her manners of moving and speaking were notable for harshness, her too frank conversations confused modest ladies, and the man's suits, which Sand preferred to women, completely hid something feminine and graceful in her. Men’s hats and a cigarette in her hand also remained unchanged in her appearance. Nevertheless, men were attracted to her. A woman with intelligence, unusual humor, who understood many problems better than men, a witty interlocutor, she repeatedly forced fans to give up everything for the sake of living with her and suffer, being abandoned by her.

Aurora Dupin - the real name of Georges Sand - was born on July 1, 1804 in the small town of Noan near Paris. Her grandmother - Aurora of Saxony - the daughter of the famous marshal and adventurer Moritz of Saxony, was a highly educated and well-bred lady. After the death of her first husband, she married an elderly poor employee Dupin, with whom she was happy for the rest of her life. Her son Moritz, who served in the Napoleonic army, met an actress of a traveling theater and, having fallen in love with her, secretly married a windy lover whom his family, especially his mother, did not want to recognize. Soon after the wedding, a girl was born to the young, named after their grandmother Aurora. However, the elder Aurora did not want to recognize either her daughter-in-law or her legitimate granddaughter even after that. Madame Dupin adopted a child only when one day a four-year-old girl was forcibly given into her arms. Seeing huge dark eyes, the grandmother recognized her son in the features of the tiny girl and softened.

Nevertheless, the quarrels with the daughter-in-law continued. Aurora Sr. reproached the former actress for her frivolous behavior and debauchery. The daughter-in-law defended herself, and once, having collected her things, announced that she would not return to the house while her mother-in-law was alive, and left for Paris.

Little Aurora was very upset about the separation from her mother, but she was replaced by her grandmother, who instilled in her granddaughter a love of music and literature, taught her good manners and the ability to behave in a secular society. At the same time, the elderly aristocrat considered that this was not enough, and gave the girl to be raised in a boarding school at the Augustinian women's monastery, where girls from the most noble and wealthy families in France were brought up. In the monastery, the future writer received an excellent education and self-confidence. Grandma died when Aurora was sixteen years old. By will, the estate in Noan passed to the granddaughter.

Immediately after the death of my grandmother, my mother returned. On the advice of the abbess of the monastery, she took Aurora home. The fact is that the nuns began to often notice the girl looking at the faces of saints - men - at the icons, and saw in this a riot of carnal passion. Later it turned out that they were right - Aurora really fell in love with St. Augustine.

The former actress, barely returning to Noan, immediately set out to marry her daughter to a man who was so unpleasant to Aurora that the shocked girl stopped eating and, without getting up, lay in bed, hiding in her room. To get rid of the unloved person, she agreed to marry another man - Casimir Dudevant, who at first seemed to her to be an understanding and kind friend. In addition, Dudevant did not limit her freedom: Aurora could go hunting, meet and communicate with friends and girlfriends, be interested in completely unfeminine things.

Eighteen-year-old Aurora plunged into family life, ran a household, and in 1823 gave birth to her first child, Moritz. A year later, daughter Solange was born. Children became for the young woman joy and consolation from the beginning of the discord in the family and the misunderstanding between the spouses. There was a constant lack of money, and Aurora started translating and writing her first novel, and after a while she decided to leave for Paris. The husband did not oppose the departure of his wife and released Aurora with her daughter.

In the capital, Madame Dudevant settled in an attic and took up literary work. Every day she wrote several pages in dense, neat handwriting, and she kept this habit until the end of her life. At the same time, the aspiring writer decided to dress in a man's suit: and since then, a dark long coat has become her unchanged outfit, Felt hat and heavy men's boots.

Aurora began to sign her novels male name- Georges Sand, and talking about yourself is only masculine. After a while, Sand filed for divorce, deciding to break off all relations with her husband. “A woman cannot surrender herself like a thing! - she said after the divorce. - Even the very idea of ​​rapprochement without love is disgusting!

The novel by Georges Sand "Indiana" was unexpectedly successful for many, it took a little time - and the works of Sand became popular throughout France.

The creative elite of Europe drew attention to the extravagant and original writer. She has a lot of fans and admirers. The number of her lovers exceeded three hundred, and many of them were famous writers, musicians, and artists. Especially prominent among them are Prosper Merimee and Franz Liszt.

Again, Sand had motherly feelings for all her lovers. The great Polish composer Frederic Chopin (1810-1849) was no exception. He was six years younger than Sand and suffered from tuberculosis, which made him look pale and weak. Chopin's contemporaries describe him as a man with chivalrous manners, a beautiful, slender figure, aristocratic features. Fragile and gentle, the young man liked Sand, and she decided at all costs to win his heart.

When they first saw each other in the house of mutual acquaintances, Chopin did not pay any attention to the writer. A couple of days later he asked his friend: “What kind of disgusting woman is this Sand? And is she a woman at all? " In addition, Chopin was already engaged, but his bride, the beautiful Maria Vodzinskaya, soon broke off the engagement, stating that the groom is not the man who can make her life calm and happy. The impressionable composer was very worried about breaking up with his bride, but he quickly found consolation in the arms of another woman: Sand, experienced in love affairs, knew how to find a way to the composer's heart. “She looked me so deeply in the eyes! .. - Chopin recalled. - I was defeated! This relationship lasted for nine whole years.

Initially, Chopin settled in a house next to Sand. Their meetings were secret, and if they had to meet with mutual acquaintances, lovers perfectly played the role of barely familiar people. A few months later, it was decided to rent an apartment for two in a quiet Parisian area. At first, no one knew about their life together, and even when collecting guests, Chopin kept in their common house with George Sand as a simple guest, was kind and attentive to the writer.

A man with a very complex nature, the composer was restrained and cold with everyone, but still, against his will, every time he found himself in the center of attention. He was always asked to play something, the pianist's improvisations enjoyed the greatest success, and the ability to imitate others in caricature delighted the guests.

In the fall of 1838, Sand went to rest in Mallorca in the company of, as she put it, “two children” - with her son Moritz and “baby Chopin”. Calm and favorable climate helped the ailing composer to heal his health. After returning from Mallorca, the lovers moved to Noan. Sand, who treated Chopin like a sick boy, demanded that everyone treat him carefully. In addition, she was convinced that abstinence was necessary for Chopin's full recovery. Very quickly, their relationship grew into a platonic one, and Sand complained: “... many people accuse me that I tormented him with the unbridledness of my feelings. And he complains to me that I am killing him with my refusals ... "

Always admiring the composer's genius, Sand, constantly encouraged his desire to work and created all the conditions for this. It is precisely the years spent with George Sand that Chopin's biographers consider the most fruitful in his work. Chopin's illness so weakened that all the family troubles in Nohans lay on the shoulders of George Sand alone. At the same time, the native children of the writer were categorically against this connection. The son was constantly jealous of his mother for her lover; the capricious and selfish daughter provoked more and more quarrels in the house. Often she even flirted with Chopin, turning him against her mother.

The composer, being an extremely impressionable person, could not endure the difficult atmosphere in the estate for a long time. He was tired of constant quarrels, the evil antics of the capricious Solange, Moritz's unhealthy jealousy. And once, having informed his beloved that he wanted to visit his homeland, Chopin left Noan forever. George Sand did not try to persuade and stop him.

For some time, the lovers corresponded, but constantly meeting Chopin in Paris, the evil Solange continued to tell the composer spicy and sometimes just fictional stories about her mother's supposedly numerous love affairs. As a result, Chopin came to hate former lover and ended any relationship with her. He did not answer her letters, avoided chance encounters... The caring Georges Sand was only interested in one thing - the health of her “third child”.

The last time they saw each other was in 1848. Sand wanted to talk to Chopin, who turned away and walked away. A year later, the composer was gone.

After the death of her beloved, the aging Sand calmed down. The time of her numerous novels is over. Until her death, for fifteen years, she lived with her last lover, Alexander Manso. Her life was completely devoted to caring for her son, housekeeping and work, which George Sand never changed.

Georges Sand and Frederic Chopin. Dream of love

"Truth lives only in an open soul."
Georges Sand

“The woman's heart will remain a refuge of love, selflessness, patience and mercy. In a life full of coarse feelings, it is she who must save the spirit of mercy. A world in which a woman did not play this role would be very miserable. "
Georges Sand

O. Charpentier. Georges Sand... 1838 g.

On the evening of July 1, 1804, a girl was born to Maurice Dupin, an aristocrat from an old family whose ancestors were even kings, and Sophia-Victoria Delabord, the daughter of a bird-catcher. She was named after the grandmother, beloved mother of Maurice - Aurora.

Maria Aurora of Saxony, grandmother Georges Sand

But society looked at such unequal marriage... Maurice's mother did not accept her daughter-in-law, and Aurora's childhood passed between two fires - grandmother and mother.
Sophie did not receive any education, but she was naturally poetic and had an innate sense of beauty. Being "of the people", she considered herself better than all the aristocrats in the world. And Aurora will inherit this mother's trait - the owner of aristocratic manners, a lady of high society, she will always emphasize her origin, not considering it humiliating.
Four years later, Maurice Dupin died, and the grandmother took the little granddaughter to her, in the estate of Noan. Sophie didn't mind, not wanting to deprive her daughter of a better future.

Aurora Dupin at the age of 6.

Aurora loved rural life. She enjoyed running with the village children, caring for the lambs, listening to the stories of the hemp crusher. True, the aristocratic grandmother did not like it very much: she wanted, first of all, to raise a sophisticated society lady from her granddaughter. It was impossible to subdue Aurora, but instilling a love for music and literature was not difficult.
And yet she dreamed of returning to her mother, she was not afraid of poverty, in which she would have to live. Aurora Dupin the elder tried to convince her granddaughter that her mother “ dead woman". The girl rebelled. And then my grandmother sent her to study at a monastery.
Aurora with early childhood asked questions: “Why do I exist? Why all this light? Why old countesses? "
Later she will say: “Since I did not belong to the world either in my actions or in my thoughts, since ... I could not and did not want to act differently than by virtue of the law, which is higher than generally accepted customs and opinions, I need was to find in God the answer to the riddle of my life, the indication of my true duty, the approval of my innermost feelings. "
In the women's Augustinian monastery she was nicknamed " notebook"- even then she gladly kept entries in the diary:" Alas! My dear father Villel, I often got dirty with ink, put out the candle with my fingers ... I fell asleep in the lessons of the Law of God, I snored at Mass, I said that you are ugly ... During this week I made at least 15 gross mistakes in French and 30 in English ... This is my sin, this is my sin, this is my gravest sin. "

"When a human being, be it a man or a woman, rises to the understanding of perfect love, it is no longer possible for him and, let's say, he is no longer allowed to return to the past, that is, to purely animal relationships."
Georges Sand

Georges Sand... 1825 g.

Time passed. Aurora turned 15 years old, from an imp, unexpectedly for everyone, she turned into an angelic obedient girl. Once, walking through the covered gallery of the monastery, the young novice went into the church to look closely at the nuns who had come to pray. “It seemed to me that a star, as if inscribed in a stained-glass window, lost in an immense space, was looking at me attentively. The birds were singing. There was peace, charm, reverent concentration, a mystery about which I never had an idea ... My head was spinning ... Tears flowed from my eyes ... "She decided that being a nun was her calling, and began to think about joining a monastery. With the desperation so characteristic of her character, Aurora began to work until she was completely exhausted, was ready to sweep the cemetery, take out the trash, did whatever she was told, and literally did not sleep or eat.
This alarmed everyone. “You have become sad, gloomy, a kind of frenzied enthusiastic ... - Abbot de Premor told her. "As a punishment, I will tell you to return to games, to the innocent entertainment inherent in your age." The abbot, seeing in the girl an enthusiastic, poetic soul, understood that on the way of the nun she would not find happiness.
Once again becoming the instigator of all the games in the monastery, returning the attention of her friends and nuns, in the depths of her soul, Aurora firmly decided that she would not give up her desire to take tonsure. But her grandmother's letter changed everything - Madame Dupin urged her granddaughter to return to Nohant: "My daughter, I must give you in marriage sooner, I will die soon."

"A soul that has never suffered cannot comprehend happiness."
Georges Sand

In 1822, Aurora Dupin became the wife of Casimir Dudevant. The marriage did not bring her happiness. They were different. Casimir took pleasure in hunting, was interested in politics and loved to drink, he did not understand Aurora's attraction to books. And she thirsted for knowledge, read philosophers, studied with interest natural Sciences... Her natural sense of beauty was manifested in her understanding of music, in drawing, poetry.
Even the children whom they loved very much could not keep this union.
In 1831, Aurora left her family and went to Paris, left without money, without a home, without support. With her hands in her pockets, hungry, she wandered around Paris in search of work. And she firmly knew that she would not return to Noan.
She was accepted as a journalist for the satirical magazine Figaro. Its editor Latouche, a man who "created more authors than works," was Balzac's teacher, Charles Nodier.
Aurora wrote her first novel, Rose and Blanche, with Jules Sandot. Having met Jules, Aurora again felt the taste of life, from which she was tired and endured only because of the children. They were brought together by interests, daydreaming, poetry. All they needed to feel happy: two burgers and cheese, an attic overlooking Notre Dame and the river, work to pay for housing and food. But this union was not long - Jules and Aurora parted. “My dreams were always too lofty ...” she says. However, a pseudonym remained with her forever. Georges Sand, by which she became known not only in France.
She continues to work a lot, tirelessly, releasing a novel a year. Once Aurora dreamed of at least seeing Hugo, Balzac, and now they are talking about her talent. She meets famous writers, musicians and poets. Here are just a few names: Alfred de Musset, Franz Liszt, Gustave Flaubert, Charles Saint-Beuve, Eugene Delacroix, Prosper Mérimée, Pauline Viardot, Ivan Sergeevich Turgenev ...
However, her blood “froze from eternal work at the table”, left alone, deprived of the joy of giving her love, she forgot that she was still young, and her soul seemed to fall asleep ...

"I would like to belong to a religion that would not allow people to hate and fear each other, and equally harm each other."
Georges Sand

Frederic Chopin... 1849 g.

Georges Sand and Frederic Chopin met in 1837 in Paris. She immediately drew attention to the young musician, impressionable, subtle and talented. After this meeting, he noted: "What an unsympathetic woman this Sand is!" In many ways, their tastes diverged, but beauty, music united two beautiful souls.
Chopin found in George Sand a strength that attracted him and helped him; Aurora could appreciate him, inspire him, give advice and did not demand anything for herself.
Heinrich Heine, a friend of their family, admired both of them. “How beautiful is George Sand and how safe she is even for angry cats, caressing her with one paw and scratching her with the other; even for dogs who bark at her in the most ferocious manner; like the moon, she meekly contemplates them from a height ... "About Chopin, he said:" A man of extraordinary sensitivity; a person who recognizes a conversation only face to face, who has gone into some kind of mysterious life. "
In 1841, the family moved from Paris to Nohant. There they spent five unforgettable years.
From morning to evening, explosions of music from Chopin's room, mingling with the scent of roses and the singing of birds, reached Georges, who worked in her office on the top floor. Mozart and Bach did not leave the music stand. Delacroix, for whom a workshop was equipped in Nohant, Chopin, son of Aurora Maurice, already a 20-year-old boy, started talking about art, and she listened. During this time, Georges was working on the novel Consuelo. Pauline Viardot, a talented singer and family friend, served as the prototype for the heroine.
They created their own theater. They acted out scenes, danced comic ballets. In a word, everyone loved and created their masterpieces ...
One evening, Georges Sand was telling Chopin about the silence of the countryside, the wonders of nature. "How wonderful everything that you have told!" Chopin exclaimed. "You find? she replied. - Well, then translate into the language of music. This is how his shepherd's symphony was born.
Aurora's eyes are clouded. They only shine when I play; then the world is bright and beautiful. My fingers glide softly over the keys, her nib flies rapidly across the paper. I want to live only for you; for you I want to play gentle melodies ... "
Chopin loved Georges; she felt tender motherly love for him. She admired the genius of the musician; he respected the great writer. But the most sacred and dear to the heart feelings are easily vulnerable, they are fragile, and the slightest mistrust can destroy them. "Well-wishers" began to turn Frederic against Georges. And they succeeded ... "I forgive you and from now on I will not send you a single reproach ..." - she wrote in her last letter Chopin.

"Love is the happiness that is given to each other."
Georges Sand

Georges Sand... 1865 g.

Georges Sand's life was not ideal, but it was illuminated by a deep faith in the Ideal. The craving for love, for beauty, for nature, for God was reflected in her life and literary creations. The novel "Consuelo" by André Maurois called an incomparable example of "what every woman wants to be, in which every man will understand what he should look for and love in a woman."
But Georges Sand always treated her work with humility, not attaching great importance to it, the main thing was to love. And at the end of her life, she, grandmother, gave her ardent love to her grandchildren ...
Was she happy? Undoubtedly, after all, very little is needed for this. “I had to work hard enough to remain kind and sincere. But here I am very old ... I am completely calm, my old age is as chaste in my mind as in my deeds, not the slightest regret about my youth, no desire for fame, no desire for money, except to leave it to my children and grandchildren .. I feel I can be of service more personally, more directly. I have achieved, I don’t know how, great prudence ... As always, I am a believer, infinitely believing in God. They are mistaken, thinking that in old age everything starts to decline. "

Elena Fetisova