Exploring Chopin in Warsaw

Chopin was born on March 1, 1810 in Warsaw, Poland. At age seven he was already writing compositions and performing in salons. Later, he performed in Poland, Germany, Austria, and France and became friends with other now-famous pianists like Franz Liszt and Felix Mendelssohn. He spent a lot of his later years in Paris and died there on October 17, 1849.

We got to tour the Chopin Museum and see some of his belongings, including the last piano he played on. In the basement there were multiple different stations with different Chopin works that we could listen to. I loved learning more about Chopin in the city where he was born! A couple different nights we went to Chopin concerts. The first night was in the Chopin Salon, a little room that held about 30 people. We were in the first row, so I got a good view of the performer’s hands. This guy didn’t say anything, aside from introducing himself and the piece he was playing. The next night we heard a concert at Chopin Point. Similar idea, but this place was special because Chopin had performed here when he was 13! This performer played a bunch of Mazurkas and explained each of them. The only downside to learning about one of the greatest pianists ever was that it made me miss playing the piano even more. I am really excited to play Chopin again once I get back!