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Fryderyk Chopin
Chopin was born 22nd February 1810 in Poland to French Parents and died on 17th October 1849 aged only 39.
He was a composer, virtuoso pianist and music teacher and was known as the poet of the piano. He came from a musical family and composed his first work aged only seven.
In 1830 an uprising was started in Poland to try to become independent of Russia. The rebellion failed and like many other Polish people, Chopin left his home country and settled in Paris.
He suffered with bad health from an early age and did not like giving performances in concert halls to large audiences and only ever did so 30 times in his life.
He did however give a few concerts in the UK in 1848. One of these performances was in the Gentlemen’s Concert Hall in Manchester on 28 August. He insisted on playing even though he was very ill at the time.
There are 230 known pieces of his work, the majority being solo compositions. He was considered by many to epitomise the Romantic style. Several of Chopin's pieces have become very well known—for instance the Revolutionary Étude (Op. 10, No. 12), the Minute Waltz(Op. 64, No. 1), and the third movement of his Funeral March Sonata No. 2 (Op. 35), which is often used as an iconic representation of grief. Chopin himself never named an instrumental work beyond genre and number.
Details taken from the following website http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fr%C3%A9d%C3%A9ric_Chopin
Chopin’s Centenery.
There were many events all over the world to celebrate Chopin’s bi-centenary and The Polish Heritage Society in Manchester conceived the idea of a monument. Manchester has had a large Polish community for a long time, which has increased significantly since Poland joined the European Union in 2004.
The bronze statue includes material dating from 1831, the year of the November Uprising by Poles against the Russian Empire. The 2.5 metre wide statue sits on a natural stone plinth two metres high.
It was sculpted by Polish sculptor Robert Sobocinski and shows Chopin playing at a Grand Piano whilst his lover Baroness Aurore Lucile Dupon looks on. The open lid of the piano is in the form of a battle scene from the uprising in 1830.
If you approach the statue from the rear then the back of the the figure of Baroness Dupon is actually in the shape of an Eagle. This is symbolic of the Eagle from Poland's coat of arms.
Although he lived half of his life outside Poland he still very much regarded himself as Polish. On the rear of the statue is a plaque commemorating his bi-centenary and a quote from Polish poet Cyprian Konstanty Norwid "He was a Varsovian by birth, a Pole by heart and a citizen of the world by his talent...". A Varsovian is a resident of Warsaw, the city where Chopin lived whilst he was still in Poland.
The statue was paid for by public subscription, the biggest benefactor being Bruntwood a firm of property developers well known for donating 10% of their profits to charity and the arts. It stands outside Centurion House on Deansgate, one of their properties.
The full text of the plaque at the rear of the statue reads.
Fryderyk Chopin 1810 – 1849
Varsovian by birt, Polish by heart, citizen of the world by talent... C. K. Norwid
This monument commemorates the bi-centenary of the birth of
Polish musical genius Frderyck Chopin.
It also marks the contribution of the Polish people who settled
In this city following tumultuous upheavals of the twentieth century
and acknowledges the warm welcome they received.
It celebrates the great friendship between the British and Polish
Communities in the Northwest.
“Rodem Warszuwlunin, servum Polak, a taleniem swiata obywatel...” C. K. Norwid
The plaque on the front of the plinth reads
Fryderyk Chopin
Born 1810, Zelawoza Wola, Poland Died 1849, Paris, France
Fryderyk Chopin was one of the world’s greatest musical composers.
His compositions combined elements of his beloved Polish culture
With universal ones, which gave his music wide international appeal.
He visited Manchester in the year before his death at the early age of 39.
On Monday, August 28th 1848 a gravely ill Freeryck Chopin gave
a Gala Concert before a rapturous audience of 1200
at the Gentlemen’s Concert Hall, which was situated at the corner of
Peter Street and Lower Mosley Street.
Despite serious ill-health he insisted that he would perform, a fact which
Endeared him to Mancunians and music lovers everywhere.