On This Day!

[Joy]

In 1849 -- After a long struggle with tuberculosis, Frederic Chopin dies in Paris at age 39. He was buried between Bellini and Cherubini.

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'Truth and beauty joined'

[PDG]

Hi again, Joy. Well, clearly these composers were not buried in exact alphabetical order! But a word about Chopin. Regarded as a true Romantic and yet he died only 22 years after Beethoven (and within the same half of the 19th Century). Stupendous piano music; almost unfathomable.

[Nightklavier]

But little Chopin's "heart will go on" in Poland at the Church of the Holy Cross.

I repeat PDG's feelings of Chopin's piano music. In the time of virtuoso pounders, Chopin was like a beacon that showed them how to unite lyricism, poetry and the many shades of pianissimo with virtuosity, brilliance and bravura.

The Op. 10 was like a Bach's WTC to the Romantic pianists and the etudes are beloved by all pianists since. No one had seen or heard such original combinations of technique and musicality. And I don't understand the Chopin naysayers who think he just mimicked bel canto opera into his style. His style was made long before he even left Poland or even heard Bellini.

Chopin is definitely a favorite of mine, but I've always been mad at him for one reason. According to a few books I've read, when he was dying in his bed he commanded that all his drafts, revisions, unfinished works, and other fragments be destroyed. I think the piano world lost a wealth of possibly great music there. Who knows what sketches he had that were either nearly complete or already done and just needed editing.

It's just another one of those criminal losses in art, when drafts or even complete manuscripts of unknown and possibly great music is lost forever.

[sjwenger]

> Chopin is definitely a favorite of mine, but I've always been mad at him for one reason. According to a few books I've read, when he was dying in his bed he commanded that all his drafts, revisions, unfinished works, and other fragments be destroyed. I think the piano world lost a wealth of possibly great music there. Who knows what sketches he had that were either nearly complete or already done and just needed editing.

To the fan, it's a terrible loss. The composer may feel, however, that imcomplete fragments will detract from the total effect of his work. My favorite author, Patrick O'Brian, left instructions that his unfinished manuscripts and notes be destroyed upon his death. They weren't, and the publisher put out a book comprised of three draft chapters of the newest book. They were incomplete even as chapters. Fans have commented that they weren't very good, he was getting old and losing his touch, etc. I imagine he didn't WANT his work to be judged on the basis of chapters he hadn't polished and fleshed out, but that's what happened and people DO judge on that basis.

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[Peter]

Originally posted by PDG:
Hi again, Joy. Well, clearly these composers were not buried in exact alphabetical order! But a word about Chopin. Regarded as a true Romantic and yet he died only 22 years after Beethoven (and within the same half of the 19th Century). Stupendous piano music; almost unfathomable.

I've been to Pere lachaise cemetery in Paris and there are some pretty famous people there ranging from Oscar Wilde to Jim Morrison (the most popular and requested site!). Chopin's grave is hardly spectacular (compared to the great monuments Vienna provides for its musical giants in Zentralfriedhof), and Cherubini and Bellini were very hard to decipher - I don't recall any flowers left for them.

For those on a cemetery tour I think Vienna's Zentralfriedhof has the edge over Pere Lachaise - for one thing it is flat (which after walking round a city all day is a bonus) and it also has a wonderful chapel in the middle with a beautiful ceiling. The monuments in Vienna are also on a much grander scale!

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'Man know thyself'

[Sorrano]

Originally posted by Peter:
I've been to Pere lachaise cemetery in Paris and there are some pretty famous people there ranging from Oscar Wilde to Jim Morrison (the most popular and requested site!). Chopin's grave is hardly spectacular (compared to the great monuments Vienna provides for its musical giants in Zentralfriedhof), and Cherubini and Bellini were very hard to decipher - I don't recall any flowers left for them.

For those on a cemetery tour I think Vienna's Zentralfriedhof has the edge over Pere Lachaise - for one thing it is flat (which after walking round a city all day is a bonus) and it also has a wonderful chapel in the middle with a beautiful ceiling. The monuments in Vienna are also on a much grander scale!

I don't suppose people visit Paris for it's musical heritage as they do Vienna. It is a pity, though, that those graves are neglected.