1809 - Felix Mendelssohn is born February 3 in Hamburg (Germany)
1810 - Frédéric Chopin is born March 1 in Żelazowa Wola, Poland (Beethoven is 39).
Chopin's parents Nicolas and Justyna were musical.
In October, his family soon moves to Warsaw where Chopin grows up.
1810 - Robert Schumann is born June 8 in Zwickau, Saxony (now in Germany).
1811 - Franz Liszt is born October 11 in Raiding, Austria.
1817 - Chopin, age 7, composes two polonaises and gives public performances.
- He plays for Grand Duke Konstantin Pavlovich of Russia.
1824 - 1828 - Chopin spends his summers in Szafarnia where he encounters rural Polish
folk music for the first time.
1826 - 1829 - Chopin studies music theory and composition under Silesian composer
Józef Elsner at the Warsaw Conservatory.
1825 - Plays for Tsar Alexander I of Russia and gets praised in the Leipzig
(Germany) music magazine Allgemeine Musikalische Zeitung.
1827 - Chopin, 17, composes his Variations on Là ci darem la mano, Op. 2
(variations on a duet from Mozart's opera Don Giovanni) for piano
and orchestra.
- Ludwig van Beethoven dies at age 56. Franz Schubert dies the following year
- Ludwig van Beethoven dies at age 56. Franz Schubert dies the following year
Là ci darem la mano. The debut is a great success.
1830 - Chopin premiers his Piano Concerto No. 2 in F minor, Op. 21 on March 17.
Chopin returns to Vienna in November just before the "November Uprising"
of the Warsaw Poles against their Russian overlords. The uprising is crushed.
Chopin heads to Paris in September, 1831 never to return to Poland.
Early 1830s - Chopin befriends other Polish emigrants including poet Adam Mickiewicz.
He also befriended composers Hector Berlioz, Franz Liszt, Ferdinand
Hiller, Friedrich Kalkbrenner, Charles-Valetin Alkan, poets Heinrich Heine
and Alfred de Vigny, painter Eugène Delacroix, and the piano manufacturer
Camille Pleyel, for whom Chopin would promote Pleyel's pianos.
(Liszt did the same for Érard pianos).
1831 - In a December 8 review of Chopin's Op. 2 variations, composer and music
critic Robert Schumann wrote "Hats off, Gentlemen, a genius!"
Chopin finishes his Grande polonaise brillante in E-flat for piano and orch-
On December 7, Chopin gave his Paris debut concert at Pleyel's salon, earning
high praise. Chopin, who disliked playing for large audiences, seldom played
public concerts, instead preferring to play at salon gatherings or for friends
in his apartment. By 1832 Chopin earned enough from publishing his music
and teaching piano to be independent from his father's support.
1835 - Chopin visit his parents in Bohemia (now the Czech Republic) and travels to
Germany where he meets Felix Mendelssohn and Robert and Clara Schumann.
1836 - 1837 - Failed engagement to Maria Wodzińska.
1838 - 1839 - In late June, Chopin begins an nine year relationship with the French writer
Amantine Dupin, known by her pen name George Sand. At times it would be
a troubled relationship. In November they go to Mallorca for a few months
where it was cold and rained a lot. Chopin gets very sick. But he composes
the bulk of his 24 Preludes, Op. 28 masterwork there.
1842 - 1847 - Chopin is increasingly ill and his composing output declines sharply. He also
loses many of his piano students and starts having financial problems. After
After increased altercations, Chopin and Sand end their relationship in 1847.
He publishes his last important work, the three Waltzes, Op. 64 which contains
two famous waltzes, the "Minute Waltz" and the Waltz in C# minor.
1848 - In February 1848, with the cellist Auguste Franchomme, he gave his last Paris
concert, which included three movements of his Cello Sonata Op. 65
In April, during the Revolution of 1848 in Paris, he left for London, where he
performed at several concerts and numerous receptions in great houses, one
where he performed for Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. An admirer, Jane
Stirling arranged a stay and some performances for him in Scotland. He re-
turned to Paris in November where he remained sick throughout the winter.
1849 - In June, Chopin's eldest sister and her family come to Paris to care for him
as his health declines even more. By October he is extremely ill and he dies
1830 - Chopin premiers his Piano Concerto No. 2 in F minor, Op. 21 on March 17.
Chopin returns to Vienna in November just before the "November Uprising"
of the Warsaw Poles against their Russian overlords. The uprising is crushed.
Chopin heads to Paris in September, 1831 never to return to Poland.
Early 1830s - Chopin befriends other Polish emigrants including poet Adam Mickiewicz.
He also befriended composers Hector Berlioz, Franz Liszt, Ferdinand
Hiller, Friedrich Kalkbrenner, Charles-Valetin Alkan, poets Heinrich Heine
and Alfred de Vigny, painter Eugène Delacroix, and the piano manufacturer
Camille Pleyel, for whom Chopin would promote Pleyel's pianos.
(Liszt did the same for Érard pianos).
1831 - In a December 8 review of Chopin's Op. 2 variations, composer and music
critic Robert Schumann wrote "Hats off, Gentlemen, a genius!"
Chopin finishes his Grande polonaise brillante in E-flat for piano and orch-
estra. It is his sixth, and final, work for piano and orchestra. The solo piano
introduction, Andante spianato, is added three years later. His Cello Sonata
compose after this.
On December 7, Chopin gave his Paris debut concert at Pleyel's salon, earning
high praise. Chopin, who disliked playing for large audiences, seldom played
public concerts, instead preferring to play at salon gatherings or for friends
in his apartment. By 1832 Chopin earned enough from publishing his music
and teaching piano to be independent from his father's support.
1835 - Chopin visit his parents in Bohemia (now the Czech Republic) and travels to
Germany where he meets Felix Mendelssohn and Robert and Clara Schumann.
1836 - 1837 - Failed engagement to Maria Wodzińska.
1838 - 1839 - In late June, Chopin begins an nine year relationship with the French writer
Amantine Dupin, known by her pen name George Sand. At times it would be
a troubled relationship. In November they go to Mallorca for a few months
where it was cold and rained a lot. Chopin gets very sick. But he composes
the bulk of his 24 Preludes, Op. 28 masterwork there.
1842 - 1847 - Chopin is increasingly ill and his composing output declines sharply. He also
loses many of his piano students and starts having financial problems. After
After increased altercations, Chopin and Sand end their relationship in 1847.
He publishes his last important work, the three Waltzes, Op. 64 which contains
two famous waltzes, the "Minute Waltz" and the Waltz in C# minor.
1848 - In February 1848, with the cellist Auguste Franchomme, he gave his last Paris
concert, which included three movements of his Cello Sonata Op. 65
In April, during the Revolution of 1848 in Paris, he left for London, where he
performed at several concerts and numerous receptions in great houses, one
where he performed for Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. An admirer, Jane
Stirling arranged a stay and some performances for him in Scotland. He re-
turned to Paris in November where he remained sick throughout the winter.
1849 - In June, Chopin's eldest sister and her family come to Paris to care for him
as his health declines even more. By October he is extremely ill and he dies
on October 17.
Chopin's funeral was held at the Church of the Madeleine in Paris, on October
Chopin's funeral was held at the Church of the Madeleine in Paris, on October
30th. Entrance was restricted to ticket holders, but over 3,000 people arrived
without invitations, from as far as London, Berlin and Vienna, and were
excluded. Mozart's Requiem was sung at the funeral. Chopin was buried in
Père Lachaise Cemetery, the Funeral March from his Piano Sonata No. 2 was
played at his graveside.
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