2. Chopin was born
on March 1st.,
1810 in Zelazowa
Wola, Poland. He
died in Paris on
October 17, 1848.

3. Here, Chopin lived
the first few months
of his life. His family
moved to Warsaw
where his father
worked as a college
professor.

4. In Warsaw Chopin was
considered a "second Mozart."
By the age of 7 he had
composed two polonaises. The
child prodigy was featured in
the Warsaw newspapers, and
"little Chopin" became the
attraction at receptions given in
the aristocratic salons of
Warsaw. Chopin gave his first
piano recital at the age of 8.

5. The Warsaw Concert Hall, where
Chopin gave his first concerts.

6. Maria Wodzinska was Chopin’s
student; she painted this portrait
and gave it to him. They became
engaged, but her family
convinced her to break the
engament, due to Chopin’s poor
health. Chopin was devasted,
and always kept her letters with a
hadwritten note of his saying
“My Sorrow”.

7. Chopin preferred more intimate settings for a recital, like the home of Count and
Countess Radziwil, as he didn’t like large concert halls.

8. While visiting Vienna, he
heard about an uprising in
Warsaw, and decided not to
return to Poland. He stayed
in Vienna for a few more
months before visiting
Munich and Stuttgart,
Germany, where he learned
of Poland's occupation by
the Russian army.
1830

9. Chopin moved to Paris in
1830. He was 20 years old and
had already composed many
works for the piano, including
his two concertos and some of
his Études Opus 10.
Church of Notredame guardian of the night. Paris.

10. Notredame Cathedral.
In Paris, Chopin formed personal friendships with the artists Franz Lizst, Hector
Berlioz, Felix Mendelssohn, and Vincenzo Bellini. Robert Schumann wrote: "Hats
off, gentlemen! A genius.

11. Chopin formed a strong
friendship with Camille Pleyel,
owner of the Pleyel piano
factory. From that time on,
Chopin’s pianos where
manufactured by Pleyel.
Often Chopin would go to the
piano factory, to explain how
he wanted his new piano.

12. In 1838 his friend Eugène
Delacroix painted this
portrait. Chopin was
already very ill with
tuberculosis, and had to
give private classes and
perform in public, to support
himself, having little time for
what he really wanted to do,
compose for the piano.

13. In 1836, at a party hosted by
Countess Marie d'Agoult,
fiancée of composer and close
friend Franz Liszt, Chopin met
Amandine-Aurore Dupin,
Baroness Dudevant, better
known by her pseudonym
George Sand, a writer.
Franz Lizst

14. Baroness Dudevant fell in love with
Chopin, and wanted to take care of him,
so that his health would improve, so
that he would dedicate more time to
composing . Finally, he said “Yes.”
They spent long summers in her
country state, “Nohant.” Very often,
she invited several of his friends to
spend weekends with them. Frequent
visitors were Franz Lizst, and Eugène
Delacroix (1).

15. Chopin spent long periods of time in Nohant, from 1838 to 1847, where his health
improved markedly.

16. In 1845 problems
emerged in Chopin's
relationship with
Aurore at the same time
of a further
deterioration in his
health. These problems
finally brought an end
to their relationship in
1847.
Aurore by Eugène Delacroix.

17. Jane Stirling, Chopin’s student from England, helped him to get
settled in a new apartment located in the Place Vendôme, Paris.

18. In his new apartment, Chopin composed his last play.

19. Place Vendôme, place of Chopin’s last residence.

20. In 1847 Chopin gave concerts in
England and Scotland with Jane
Stirling, although he was
severely ill. He returned to Paris
in 1848, but was unable to teach
or perform. His sister Ludwika
came from Poland to take care
him at his home in Paris; he
died there on October 17, 1848.

21. Chopin being cared for by his sister, his doctor, and closest friends.

22. Chopin requested that Mozart's Requiem be sung at his funeral, at the Church of
the Madeleine, and attended by nearly 3,000 people; this church didn’t allow
female singers in its choir,and the funeral was delayed for almost 2 weeks, until
the church finally granted Chopin's final wish. The female singers remained
behind a black velvet curtain.

23. Chopin is buried in the Père
Lachaise cemetery in Paris; at
his own request, his heart
was removed and sent, in an
urn, to Warsaw, where it is
sealed in a pillar in the
Church of the Holy Cross. His
grave attracts many visitors
and is always decorated with
flowers, even during winter.

24. The Church of the Holy Cross in 1945,
after Warsaw was bombed by the Allies,
to free Poland from the Nazis. The pillar
where Chopin’s heart rests remained The Church of the Holy Cross after
intact. reconstruction.

25. This is the pillar in the
Church of the Holy
Cross in Warsaw where
the urn with Chopin’s
heart is sealed. The
exact spot is the small
niche at the bottom,
where the little flower
bouquet is placed.