BICENTENARY OF THE BIRTH OF FRÉDÉRIC FRANÇOIS CHOPIN
Date of issue: 18 June 2010
Frédéric François Chopin, originally Fryderyk Franciszek Chopin
(Żelazowa Wola, 1 March 1810 – Paris, 17 October 1849), was a Polish
composer and piano virtuoso. His musical talent was spotted very early,
his genius as a child being compared to Mozart or Bach. At the age of
seven he had already composed two polonaises. The child prodigy soon
graced the salons of the noble families of the Polish capital and gave
numerous charity concerts. His first music teacher between 1816-22 was
the violinist Wojciech Żywny. His talent was further nurtured by the
celebrated pianist and professor at the Warsaw Conservatory, Wilhelm
Würfel (Václav Wefel). He attended the Warsaw Lyceum between 1823-26. In
the autumn of 1826 Chopin began studying music theory and composition
at the Warsaw Conservatory. He first went to Vienna in 1829, where he
gave piano recitals. The following year he returned to Warsaw, where his
Piano Concerto in F minor was premiered in the National Theatre. In
1831 he left Poland forever and settled in Paris. On 1 August 1835 he
became a French citizen. About this time his struggle with tuberculosis,
which was to dog him for the rest of his life, began.
His piano
music is a unique blend of his exceptional sense of rhythm, Johann
Sebastian Bach’s style, and the piano technique he created himself. He
brought the genre of the nocturne, invented by the Irish composer John
Field which he took to a higher level of sophistication, as well as
popular dance music such as the Polish mazurka and the Viennese waltz to
the music salons. Chopin was the first to write ballads and scherzi as
individual works. He also transformed the form of the prelude from
Bach’s model. Thanks to his distinctive and memorable melodies, many of
his tunes became very well-known. His style and talent influenced many:
Robert Schumann was a great admirer of him, and used melodies by Chopin,
even naming a movement of his suite Carnaval after him. Franz Liszt,
with whom Chopin held several joint concerts, adapted many of his pieces
for solo piano.
In the 1840s his state of health began to
deteriorate rapidly. By 1849 his main works had been composed and he
concentrated on mazurkas and nocturnes. Chopin died of tuberculosis on
17 October 1849. Although he was laid to rest in the Père Lachaise
cemetery in Paris, his heart and his correspondence are in the Holy
Cross Church in Warsaw. (Source: hu.wikipedia)On the special
stamp there is a portrait of Frédéric François Chopin, the house where
he was born and his signature. At the centre of the design of both the
first day cover and the commemorative postmark is Chopin’s favourite
instrument, the piano. The first day cover shows a silhouette of Chopin
seated at the piano and in the postmark there is a stylised design of
hands playing a piano.
SO
Order code: 2010180010011 (stamp) 2010180060012 (FDC)
Number of copies: 350,000, 40 stamps/sheet
Printing method: offset
Date of issue: 18 June 2010 Printed by Állami Nyomda
Perforated size: 50 x 30,4 mm Designed by Imre Benedek