Timeline
This timeline aims to clarify relevant events and political forces
active during and after Chopin's lifetime.
1810s
1810
Birth of Fryderyk Franciszek Chopin in Żelazowa Wola, Poland
In Chopin’s time, Poland did not exist as a state
Poland was a territory partitioned by Russia, Prussia and Austria
1814
The Congress of Vienna transfers the Grand Duchy of Warsaw to Russia
Tsar Alexander I becomes King of Poland
1815
Grand Duke Konstantin, brother of Tsar Alexander I of Russia, appointed Commander-in-Chief of Poland's armed forces and installed at Belvedere Palace in Warsaw
1818
Chopin hailed as second Mozart in home town of Warsaw
1819
Chopin plays at Belvedere Palace, possibly for the feared Grand Duke Konstantin
Poland becomes police state
1820s
1822
Chopin plays regularly for Grand Duke Konstantin
1825
Chopin plays for Tsar Alexander I and receives diamond ring in appreciation
1825-1855
Rule of Tsar Nicholas I of Russia
1829
Tsar Nicholas I of Russia crowned King of Poland
Chopin's first trips outside Poland to Vienna, Prague, Dresden
Chopin debuts in Vienna, playing Variations on ‘Là ci darem la mano’ and Rondo à la Krakowiak Op. 14
**‘Là ci darem la mano’ final variation is in style of Polonaise. Polonaise and Krakowiak are
national dances of Poland, underlining Chopin's Polish heritage while he lived under
Chopin returns to Warsaw
Books are censored by Tsar Nicholas I
1830s
1830
Grand Duke Konstatin suspects Chopin of being conspirator due to secret police reports
Chopin travels to Dresden, Prague, Vienna
Uprising of Polish insurgents against Russia
Tsar Nicholas I orders all Poles to return to Russian-occupied Poland under penalty of imprisonment
1831
Chopin leaves Vienna for Linz, Salzburg, Munich, Stuttgart
Chopin denied Russian passport to London
Chopin obtains Russian visa, allowing travel only to Munich
Chopin acquires French passport to "London via Paris" in order to reach Paris
September 8 - Uprising suppressed by Russian Empire
September 11 - Chopin settles in Paris, never to return to his homeland again
and refuses to apply for Russian passport
December 7 - Composer Robert Schumann writes 'Hats off, gentlemen, a genius' in Allgemeine Musikalische Zeitung
1832
Chopin's first concert in Paris
His fame as pianist, teacher and composer increases throughout Europe and beyond
1833
Chopin joins Polish Literary Society in Paris - a political meeting place
1833-1843
Prince Adam Czartoryski sets up Polish government in exile at Hotel Lambert, Paris
Chopin frequent guest of Prince Czartoryski
Chopin attends meetings with political operatives
Chopin gives concerts for exiles
1835
Tsar Nicholas I orders Warsaw University and Music Conservatory shut down
Chopin obtains French passport and French citizenship
While visiting parents in Carlsbad, Chopin is under surveillance by Metternich (Austrian Empire)
1836
Composer Robert Schumann writes, regarding Tsar Nicholas I, if "this powerful and autocratic monarch of the north knew the danger of the enemy he has in the works of Chopin (...) he would ban his music. Chopin's works are cannons buried in flowers!"
1837
Tsar Nicholas I invites Chopin to become "Pianist to the Imperial Russian Court"
Chopin declines offer, saying his sympathies are with those who fought with Polish resistance in 1830 Uprising
1840s
1849
Chopin's last concert for Polish exiles
In his last days, with sister Ludwika by his side, Chopin told her to have his heart
removed after death and returned home to Warsaw to be buried in the family cemetery
Death of Chopin in Paris
Chopin's funeral at Church of the Madeleine draws over 3,000 mourners
Heart encased in urn is smuggled past border by his eldest sister, Ludwika, and eventually
interred at Church of Holy Cross, Warsaw
1850s
1855-1881
Rule of Tsar Alexander II
1860s
1863
Russian troops destroy piano Chopin had played as child prodigy in Warsaw, throwing it out second story of his sister Izabella's apartment in Zamoyski Palace, in symbolic revenge for failed assassination attempt against Tsar Alexander II's Viceroy of Poland, Friedrich Wilhelm Rembert von Berg
1870s
1880s
1881-1894
Rule of Tsar Alexander III
1890s
1894-1917
Rule of Tsar Nicholas II
1899
50th anniversary of Chopin’s death
Tsar Nicholas II's favored singer, Polish prima donna Adelaida Bolska, requests monument to Chopin to be placed in Poland. Severe punishment possible for her request, but permission granted
Choice and funding for best design of monument takes many years
1900s
1907
Chopin Monument competition won by Wacław Szymanowski
Design planned for erection on centenary of Chopin's birth in 1910, but execution delayed by controversy about design, then outbreak of World War I
1914 - 1918
World War I
1918-1939
Poland regains independence after more than 100 years of foreign rule
Establishment of Second Polish Republic with pianist Ignacy Jan Paderewski as its new Prime Minister
1920s
1926
Chopin Monument placed in Łazienki Park, Warsaw
1927
1st International Chopin Piano Competition founded
Competition held in 1927, 1932 and 1937. 1942 cancelled due to occupation
Competition resumes in 1949, 1955, 1960...every five years to present day
1930s
1930s
Fryderyk Chopin Society with Fryderyk Chopin Museum established in Warsaw
1934
Name changed to Fryderyk Chopin Institute established in Warsaw
1939
Fryderyk Chopin Institute adds Collection of Photographs, Recordings to its Library
1939
September 1 - Poland invaded and occupied by Hitler's forces
September 17 - Eastern Poland invaded and occupied by Russia
1940s
1940
May 31 - On orders of General Government Chief Nazi Hans Frank, Chopin Monument in Łazienki Park is blown up, cut into small pieces, melted down and used to make weapons
Chopin monument is the first monument to be destroyed by Germans because of its symbolic significance
All small and big copies of the Chopin monument in Poland destroyed
1940
October 5 - General Government Chief Nazi Hans Frank orders ban on performances, teaching, collecting, or publishing of Chopin's music and other Polish composers.
Chopin is played often in Germany during the occupation, but not allowed in Poland
1941
January 30 - Polish clandestine Information Bulletin commented "the city is divested almost completely of intellectual entertainment. In place of [...] symphonic concerts, we have concerts in cafés, where it is not allowed to play Chopin, Paderewski or Moniuszko. Absolute uncertainty...Every now and then haphazard roundups occur. Planned arrests, of individual people or en masse continue, behind them the specter of Auschwitz looms more or less distinctly."
1942
Is this a trick?
The ban on playing Chopin's music is not only lifted, but Nazi authorities exert pressure on Polish musicians to perform previously forbidden music -- but --
Polish musicians choose not to play this repertoire at non-collaborationist cafés
1942-43 (approx. dates)
General Government Chief Nazi Hans Frank, Hitler's personal lawyer, murderer, criminal, convicted of genocide -- not only a fan of Chopin's music, but a pianist who often gives Chopin recitals
Frank invites generals and Wehrmacht officers, SS and Gestapo executioners to his Chopin recitals in Bruhlowski Palace, Warsaw
1943
April 19 - May 16: Warsaw Jewish Ghetto Uprising
Courageous Warsaw Ghetto Uprising begins after German troops and police enter ghetto to deport surviving inhabitants
Germans crush uprising and leave ghetto in ruins
13,000 Jews killed in ghetto
50,000 ghetto survivors are captured and taken to concentration camps
1943
October, Krakow - New Chopin museum exhibition and Chopin concerts in Krakow organized by General Government Chief Nazi Hans Frank
Attempts to draw Chopin into Germanic circle by claiming Chopin had Germanic roots
1944
August 1- October 2: Warsaw Uprising
63-day heroic struggle to liberate Warsaw from Nazi/German occupation
60,000 insurgents from Home Army (Armia Krajowa), Polish underground resistance movement
As result, Hitler orders destruction of Warsaw
85-90% of Warsaw destroyed
200,000 civilians killed
15,200 insurgents killed
700,000 civilians expelled from Warsaw
15,000 insurgents sent to labor camps
55,000 sent to concentration camps
1944
September 9 - Poland's most cherished relic, Chopin’s heart, encased in urn, is at risk during bombing of Church of the Holy Cross, where it is interred
German chaplain and lover of Chopin's music, named Schultz, suggests Polish priests remove heart and have it protected during war
Ceremony is officiated by Nazi war criminal, General Erich von dem Bach-Zelewski, where the urn of Chopin's heart is given to Archbishop Antoni Szlagowski and transferred to Milanówek, a suburb of Warsaw
Heart kept safely for remainder of war
1945
End of WWII
Ceremony of return of Heart of Chopin to the partially rebuilt Church of Holy Cross, Warsaw
Fryderyk Chopin Institute reopens on Warsaw's Zgoda Street
1945-1989
Occupation of Poland by Russia
Many members of Poland's Home Army are hunted down, captured or killed by the Russians
1946
After difficult search, complete copy of Chopin Monument for reconstruction discovered
1950s
1953
Fryderyk Chopin Society with Museum, Library, Photographs and Recordings moves to Ostrogski Palace, Warsaw
Museum hosts piano recitals and Chopin competitions
1954
Fryderyk Chopin Museum established with two branches: Birthplace of Frédéric Chopin, at Żelazowa Wola and Chopin Family Parlor on Krakowskie Przedmieście, Warsaw
1958
May 11 - Chopin Monument re-built and returned to Łazienki Park
1958-Present Day
Chopin concerts played in Łazienki Park every Sunday from April to September
1980s
1980 -1989
Solidarity Movement - first independent labor union contributes to fall of Communism
1989
Fall of Communism in Poland
Establishment of Independent Polish State after 40 years of Communist rule
