20 Mowery ⦁ Chopin Polish Sympathies the Kingdom of Poland and it was given some liberties, even though they were still not independent. However, by 1819, Russia removed most of these freedoms. Many Poles resisted Russian rule, resulting in rebellion known as the November Uprising in 1830, but eventually Russia won the conflict due to its greater numbers. Frédéric Chopin had grown up in Poland, but his personal response to the events that were going on in his country was complex. While he was young, he moved in important Russian circles, reportedly playing for Tsar Alexander in 1825.1 He was also a frequent guest at the Grand Duke Constantine’s place in Belweder in the 1820’s. 2 The Duke was the younger brother of Tsar Alexander and the viceroy of Poland. Late in 1830, Chopin left Warsaw to go to Vienna, Austria; and just weeks after he left, the November Uprising began. 3 Ironically, Chopin’s letters, especially the ones addressed to his family, do not directly mention the political events happening in Poland, but since his letters would be censored, he had to choose his words carefully.4 Chopin could have gone back to support his people, but perhaps he thought he could do more for them from afar. He stayed in Paris, and while he was there, he played benefit concerts for Polish emigrants.5 From his diary he kept from 1829 to 1831, it is evident that he cared deeply about what was happening to his people. After learning about the fall of Warsaw, he expressed his distress regarding the Moscovians (people of Moscow) in his diary, saying “Maybe my sisters have succumbed to the fury of the unleashed Moscovian trash! The Moscovian dominates over the world?….Ah, why couldn’t I have killed at least one Moscovian?…and I am here inactive, with bare hands, sometimes sighing….I suffer at the piano, I am desperate.”6 His words demonstrate the deep anger he held against the Russians, along with his feeling of utter helplessness. Even so, his public actions were not strongly aligned with Polish nationalists, and he did not directly antagonize the Russians. In Paris he was not a political activist, and he was not eager to be associated with the extremist Polish emigrants in Paris. 7 He chose not to frequent 1 Gengaro, Experiencing Chopin, 70. 2 Gengaro, Experiencing Chopin, 70. 3 Gengaro, Experiencing Chopin, 71. 4 Gengaro, Experiencing Chopin, 71. 5 Gengaro, Experiencing Chopin, 72. 6 Szulc, Chopin in Paris, 47–48. 7 Pekacz, “Deconstructing a ‘National Composer,’” 168.
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