Chopin was on his way from Warsaw to London but stopped off in Paris and loved it so much that he stayed. This was in 1830 after the November Uprising. Using connections from back home in Poland he quickly became part of the Polish community in exile and became their piano teacher.
Alan Graham divided his Recital into four parts, each with four or five piano pieces by Chopin. Some were Preludes, Studies, Polonaise, Nocturne, Waltz and Mazurkas. In between the sections he read to us an interesting paper about Chopin’s time in Paris in the 1830s.
A girl nine years younger he knew back in Warsaw had turned into a beauty when he met her in Paris. Marriage was proposed but her condition was such that Chopin stopped enjoying the late night Salons. He failed that test, but we heard the Waltz he wrote for Maria Wodzinska. He went on to a relationship with George Sand.
Alan Graham enjoys a considerable following. There were more than a hundred people to enjoy his well constructed exploration of a major part of Chopin’s short life.
Event: Thursday 12 August 2.30 pm.