LYCOS RETRIEVER 
Frederic Chopin: George Sand
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Chopin's first acquaintance with the musical world beyond Warsaw occurred in 1828, when Johann Nepomuk Hummel, a Viennese pianist-composer, visited that city. Italian opera had been the exclusive local musical fare, and Hummel's visit made Chopin aware of happenings in the west. After visiting Berlin, where he was exposed to the music of George Frederick Handel and Felix Mendelssohn, Chopin heard Nicolò Paganini in Warsaw on his return and recognized that he must leave the city for exposure to other musicians. The government rejected his father's request for financial aid to send the boy abroad, so on his own Chopin went to Vienna to try to arrange the publication of several of his works. After a successful debut at the Kärntnerthor Theater on Aug. 11, 1829, he returned home only to prepare for a concert tour, this time through Germany and Italy. His two concertos (the F Minor is the earlier), which he performed in a public concert in Warsaw in 1830, several fantasies incorporating national themes, and the first set of études stem from this period.
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In 1836 Chopin was going to be married to a Polish girl called Maria Wodzinska. Her family did not like Chopin very much. Her mother made the couple keep their love secret, and finally stopped them getting married. At about this time Chopin met the woman writer Amandine-Aurore-Lucile Dupin, the Baroness Dudevant, better known as George Sand. Eventually Chopin started a relationship with her that lasted until 1847. They visited Mallorca together in the winter of 1838-1839, where the bad weather and damp rooms made Chopin sick.
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The "Rencontres Internationales Frédéric Chopin" Festival was first organized in 1997 to pay homage to the composer, whose name is intertwined with the house of George Sand. Nowadays, the festival is organized each year and lasts through eight consecutive days of the second half of July. Festival events include concerts, master classes and conferences conducted by experts from all over the world. The Festival always begins with a concert - lecture in the house of George Sand. Young soloists from fine French and foreign musical schools participate in master classes during the week and give a closing concert at the end of the Festival.
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Chopin was born in the village of Żelazowa Wola, Duchy of Warsaw, to a Polish mother and French-expatriate father. Hailed in his homeland as a child prodigy, at age twenty Chopin left Poland forever. Eventually, in Paris, he made a career as performer, teacher and composer, and adopted the French version of his given names, "Frédéric-François." From 1837 to 1847 he had a turbulent relationship with the French writer George Sand (Aurore Dudevant). Always in frail health, at 39 he succumbed to pulmonary tuberculosis.[3]
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Chopin's health now began to be a source of anxiety to his friends. He had to be very careful, gave fewer lessons during the season, and spent his vacations at Nohant. He played rarely in public, though there were two public concerts in 1841 and '42 at Pleyel's rooms. From 1843 to 1847 he lived quietly and his life was apparently happy. He was fond of the Sand children, and amused himself with them when at Nohant.
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After visiting Berlin, Germany, where Chopin was exposed to the music of George Frederick Handel (1685–1759) and Felix Mendelssohn (1809–1847), Chopin returned to Warsaw and heard Nicolò Paganini (1782–1840). Chopin recognized that he must leave Warsaw for exposure to other musicians. He went to Vienna, Austria, to try to arrange the publication of several of his works. After a successful debut at the Kärntnerthor Theater on August 11, 1829, he returned home only to prepare for a concert tour, this time through Germany and Italy. In Vienna Chopin composed the B Minor Scherzo and the G Minor Ballade, as well as others that demonstrated Chopin's fully developed personal style.
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