Chopin: The Romantic Refugee
23 February 2010
1 March - 16 May 2010
British Library sheds new light on the life of Fryderyk Franciszek Chopin from Poland to Britain in a new exhibition to mark the 200th anniversary of his birth
Opening on 1 March in the Folio Society Gallery at the British Library, Chopin: The Romantic Refugee examines the ways in which Chopin's music displays his Polish patriotism in the context of the political sympathies for Poland that were current in France and England during his lifetime.
Born 200 years ago, Chopin was a child prodigy whose brilliance as a pianist quickly spread beyond his native Poland, and a tour of Europe at the dawn of his career cemented his reputation as a composer of startlingly original piano music.
Poland was variously partitioned between Russia, Prussia and Austria in the late 18th century, and in 1831 the Kingdom of Poland, established at the Congress of Vienna in 1815, fell under Russian rule. Chopin's nationalist sympathies prevented him from returning to Warsaw after his tour of Europe, and he spent the rest of his life in exile mainly in Paris, where he associated with the leading writers, artists and composers.
Chopin did not like to perform before a large audience and gave only thirty public concerts in his lifetime, the last five on a tour of Britain in 1848. He died of tuberculosis the following year, at the age of 39.
Among the 44 exhibits are:
- 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
- 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)
- Chopin's death mask and a plaster cast of his left hand (on loan from the Royal College of Music)
Listening points throughout the exhibition will give access to rare historic recordings from the British Library Sound Archive, including the famous funeral march played in 1903 by Raoul Pugno, who had studied with Chopin's pupil Georges Mathias, and recordings of Chopin's songs by the great Polish soprano Marcella Sembrich.
Describing the exhibition, the British Library's Curator of Music Manuscripts, Nicolas Bell, commented:
"Chopin's life was full of contradictions: he was a brilliant virtuoso pianist and yet he gave only thirty public concerts in his lifetime; he is a national figurehead in his native Poland, but he lived in exile from the age of nineteen; his music is still famous today and yet he wrote far fewer pieces than many of his contemporaries. The British Library's new Chopin exhibition highlights all these contradictions in a new context."
Chopin: The Romantic Refugee was curated with the assistance of Adam Zamoyski, historian and author of Chopin: Prince of the Romantics.
For more information, please visit: www.bl.uk/music
Events accompanying the exhibition include:
Chopin: Prince of the Romantics
Wednesday 10 March
18.30 - 20.00
Much loved, revered and studied, Chopin formed a quiet revolution that influenced the development of Western music profoundly. His public image is often seen through a blur of sentimentality and melodrama, yet he was also fully engaged with the political and intellectual environment of his day. Adam Zamoyski whose definitive biography of the composer appears in a new edition this spring, cuts through the myths and legends to get to the heart of Chopin's life and music.
£6 / £4 concessions / Conference Centre
Nocturne: The Romantic Life of Frédéric Chopin
Monday 22 March
19.00 - 21.00
A programme of words and music, scripted from letters and diaries that chronicles the life of the treasured composer Chopin, following his turbulent relationship with the controversial George Sand, their time together in Majorca, his fragile health and his ultimate demise into poverty in Paris. Join one of Britain's finest pianists, Lucy Parham, as she combines the narrative with some of Chopin's most loved and poignant compositions. Readers will be Juliet Stevenson and Michael Maloney. Bar open from 18.00.
£10 / £7.50 concessions / Conference Centre
Tickets are available at http://boxoffice.bl.uk, by calling +44[0]1937 546546 (9am-5pm Mon-Fri) or in person at The British Library.
For more information please contact
Chloe Titcomb, Press Assistant, British Library
+44[0]20 7412 7110 / chloe.titcomb@bl.uk
Notes to editors
Chopin: The Romantic Refugee is open from 1 March to 16 May 2010, seven days a week, in the Folio Society Gallery at the British Library. Admission is free.
Exhibition opening hours
- Monday, Wednesday-Friday 10.00-18.00, Tuesday 10.00-20.00, Saturday 10.00-17.00, Sunday and Bank Holiday Monday 11.00-17.00.
- All galleries are accessible by wheelchair. Information can be requested from Visitor Services staff on: 020 7412 7332.
- For further information about the British Library and its exhibitions please see
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