(Above) The original manuscript of Chopin's Mazurka in F sharp minor, op. 59, no. 3. © British Library
Exhibition: Chopin - The Romantic Refugee, British Library, London, until May 16 2010
The British Library is marking the 200th anniversary of the birth of Frédéric Chopin with an exhibition examining the composer's life and music in the context of his Polish patriotism.
Set against the political sympathies for Poland which were current in France and England during the composer's lifetime, The Romantic Refugee features manuscripts, rarely-seen portraits and even Chopin's death mask and plaster cast of his left hand (on loan from the Royal College of Music).
But it is Poland and its struggles that provide the fascinating backdrop. Variously partitioned between Russia, Prussia and Austria, in the late 18th century the Kingdom of Poland was established at the Congress of Vienna in 1815, but by 1830 had once again fallen under Russian rule.
Ary Scheffe, Chopin, After the Painting (1847)
For the Polish nationalist, this meant life as an exile – mainly in Paris, where he mingled with writers, artists and composers until his untimely death from tuberculosis in 1849 at the age of just 39.
By then his brilliance as a pianist was firmly established. A tour of Europe at the dawn of his career quickly cemented his reputation as a composer of startlingly original piano music.
Yet he did not like to perform before a large audience and gave only a handful of public concerts in his lifetime. His last five were on a tour of Britain in 1848, shortly before he died.
The British Library's Curator of Music Manuscripts, Nicolas Bell, says Chopin's life was "full of contradictions".
(Above) The original manuscript of the famous Barcarolle, one of Chopin's last substantial pieces, laboured over it for many weeks in 1845. Chopin gave his only public performance of the work in a concert at the Salle Pleyel in Paris in February 1848, six days before revolution broke out. A few weeks later he escaped to London
"He was a brilliant virtuoso pianist and yet he gave only 30 public concerts in his lifetime," explains Bell.
"He is a national figurehead in his native Poland, but he lived in exile from the age of 19; his music is still famous today and yet he wrote far fewer pieces than many of his contemporaries."
Visitors can explore these ambiguities via a series of original items, including six original music manuscripts in Chopin's hand, including the famous A Major Polonaise and his late masterpiece, the Barcarolle.
A rare signed copy of Adam Mickiewicz's national epic, Ksiegi Narodu Polskiego, printed in Paris in 1832, accompanies two portraits of Chopin, to be shown in public for the first time (on loan from the Fryderyk Chopin Institute in Warsaw and a private collection).
A previously unknown 19th-century photograph of a portrait, now lost, which Chopin gave to Countess Anna Zamoyska when she was his pupil in Paris in the years 1838–40. The picture probably dates from a few years earlier, when Chopin was in his early twenties.
Nocturne: The Romantic Life of Frédéric Chopin, a programme of words and music featuring readings and piano recitals inspired by Chopin's life, takes place at the Library on March 22, 7pm-9pm. Tickets sold out, call 01937 546546 for returns.
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