Chopin

Dear friends of piano music,

it was just a completely harmless tooth extraction, a wisdom tooth that was a bit too big, but since I didn't feel like waiting an entire hour for the next train, I ran to the station. Unfortunately, I also had a bit of a cold, so I had to cough on the train. In the eyes of my fellow travelers, sheer horror was reflected when a rush of blood spilled into a white handkerchief while coughing ....... You automatically think of a serious illness when someone coughs blood.

At the time, of course, I immediately thought of Chopin, who, like so many of his contemporaries, had tuberculosis since he was a child. The Prelude in E minor was one of the pieces played at his funeral in Paris, on the La Madeleine organ. Death was always present in Chopin's life. At the age of 16 he accompanied his younger sister to a lung sanatorium. Knowing that he was suffering from the same disease, he saw the doctors try to help her with bloodletting, leeches and bladder plasters. A futile ordeal that could not stop her untimely death. After this traumatic experience, it is not surprising that Chopin was often tormented by gloomy premonitions, as he knew about his diagnosis.

I don't know if you feel the same way, but since the corona pandemic I have become more aware of how much diseases like tuberculosis, plague and diphtheria used to overshadow life. My great aunt died of diphtheria at the age of 18, she was beautiful and talented and wanted to get married soon. It takes a lot of strength to look into these abysses, and no one knew that better than Chopin, who, by his own admission, felt like a violin string stretched over a double bass. I promise a cheerful topic for the next week!

Best regards from Heidelberg

Kerstin

Frédéric Chopin Préludes Opus 28, Nr  4, E minor: https://youtu.be/KWVmmf5HINQ

Frédéric Chopin Préludes Opus 28, Nr  4, E minor (360-degree video, HD) The video was shot on the Bergfriedhof (mountain cemetery) in Heidelberg: https://youtu.be/-jlSxHxD51o