Chopin to Gutmann; London, 48, Dover Street, Piccadilly,
Saturday, May 6, 1848:—
Dear friend,—Here I am at last, settled in this whirlpool of
London. It is only a few days since I began to breathe; for it
is only a few days since the sun showed itself. I have seen M.
D'Orsay, and notwithstanding all the delay of my letter he
received me very well. Be so good as to thank the duchess for
me and him. I have not yet made all my calls, for many persons
to whom I have letters of introduction are not yet here. Erard
was charming; he sent me a piano. I have a Broadwood and a
Pleyel, which makes three, and yet I do not find time to play
them. I have many visitors, and my days pass like lightning—I
have not even had a moment to write to Pleyel. Let me know how
you are getting on. In what state of mind are you? How are
your people? With my people things are not going well. I am
much vexed about this. In spite of that I must think of making
a public appearance; a proposal has been made to me to play at
the Philharmonic, [FOOTNOTE: "Chopin, we are told," says the
Musical World of May 27, 1848, "was invited to play at the
Philharmonic, but declined.">[ but I would rather not. I shall
apparently finish off, after playing at Court before the Queen
[chez la reine], by giving a matinee, limited to a number of
persons, at a private residence [hotel particulier]. I wish
that this would terminate thus. But these projects are only
projects in the air. Write to me a great deal about yourself.
—Yours ever, my old Gut.,
CHOPIN.
P.S.—I heard the other evening Mdlle. Lind in La Sonnambula.
[FOOTNOTE: Jenny Lind made her first appearance at Her
Majesty's Theatre in the season 1848, on May 4, as Amina, in
La Sonnambula. The Queen was present on that occasion. Pauline
Garcia made her first appearance, likewise as Amina, at Covent
Garden Theatre, on May 9.] It was very fine; I have made her
acquaintance. Madame Viardot also came to see me. She will
make her debuts at the rival theatre [Covent Garden], likewise
in La Sonnambula. All the pianists of Paris are here. Prudent
played his Concerto at the Philharmonic with little success,
for it is necessary to play classical music there. Thalberg is
engaged for twelve concerts at the theatre where Lind is [Her
Majesty's, Haymarket]. Halle is going to play Mendelssohn at
the rival theatre.
Chopin to his friend Grzymala; Thursday, May 11, 1848:—
I have just come from the Italian Opera, where Jenny Lind
appeared to-day, for the first time, as Sonnambula, and the
Queen showed herself for the first time to the people after a
long retirement. [FOOTNOTE: Chopin must have begun this letter
on the 4th of May, and dated it later on; for on the 11th of
May Jenny Lind sang in La Figlia del Reggimento, and the
presence of the Queen at the performance is not mentioned in
the newspaper accounts of it. See preceding foot-note.] Both
were, of course, of much interest to me; more especially,
however, Wellington, who, like an old, faithful dog in a
cottage, sat in the box below his crowned mistress. I have
also made Jenny Lind's personal acquaintance: when, a few days
afterwards, I paid her a visit, she received me in the most
amiable manner, and sent me an excellent "stall" for the opera
performance. I was capitally seated and heard excellently.
This Swede is indeed an original from top to toe! She does not
show herself in the ordinary light, but in the magic rays of
an aurora borealis. Her singing is infallibly pure and sure;
but what I admired most was her piano, which has an
indescribable charm. "Your
FREDERICK.
Of Chopin's visit Jenny Lind-Goldschmidt had to the last years of her life a most pleasing and vivid recollection. She sang to him Polskas, [FOOTNOTE: Polskas are dances of Polish origin, popular in Sweden, whose introduction dates from the time of the union of the crowns of Sweden and Poland in 1587.] which delighted him greatly. The way Madame Goldschmidt spoke of Chopin showed unmistakably that he made the best possible impression upon her, not only as an artist, but also as a man—she was sure of his goodness, and that he could not but have been right in the Sand affair, I mean as regards the rupture. She visited him when she went in the following year (1849) to Paris.
In his letter to Gutmann, Chopin speaks of his intention to give a matinee at a private house. And he more than realised it; for he not only gave one, but two—the first at the house of Mrs. Sartoris (nee Adelaide Kemble) and the second at the house of Lord Falmouth. Here are two advertisements which appeared in the Times.
June 15, 1848:—
Monsieur Chopin will give a Matinee musicale, at No. 99, Eaton
Place, on Friday, June 23, to commence at 3 o'clock. A limited
number of tickets, one guinea each, with full particulars, at
Cramer, Beale & Co.'s, 201, Regent Street.
July 3 and 4, 1848:—
Monsieur Chopin begs to announce that his second Matinee
musicale will take place on Friday next, July 7, at the
residence of the Earl of Falmouth, No. 2, St. James's Square.
To commence at half-past 3. Tickets, limited in number, and
full particulars at Cramer, Beale & Co.'s, 201, Regent Street.
The Musical World (July 8, 1848) says about these
performances:—
M. Chopin has lately given two performances of his own
pianoforte music at the residence of Mrs. Sartoris (late Miss
Adelaide Kemble), which seem to have given much pleasure to
his audiences, among whom Mdlle. Lind, who was present at the
first, seems to be the most enthusiastic. We were not present
at either, and, therefore, have nothing to say on the subject.
[FOOTNOTE: Of course, the above-quoted advertisements prove
the reporter to be wrong in this particular; there was only
one at the house of Mrs. Sartoris.]
From an account of the first matinee in the Athenaeum we learn that Chopin played nocturnes, etudes, mazurkas, two waltzes, and the Berceuse, but none of his more developed works, such as sonatas, concertos, scherzos, and ballades. The critic tries to analyse the master's style of execution—a "mode" in which "delicacy, picturesqueness, elegance, and humour are blended so as to produce that rare thing, a new delight"—pointing out his peculiar fingering, treatment of scale and shake, tempo rubato, &c. But although the critic speaks no less appreciatively of the playing than of the compositions, the tenor of the notice of the second matinee (July 15, 1848) shows that the former left nevertheless something to be desired. "Monsieur Chopin played better at his second than at his first matinee—not with more delicacy (that could hardly be), but with more force and brio." Along with other compositions of his, Chopin played on this occasion his Scherzo in B flat and his Etude in C sharp minor. Another attraction of the matinee was the singing of Madame Viardot-Garcia, "who, besides her inimitable airs with Mdlle. de Mendi, and her queerly-piquant Mazurkas, gave the Cenerentola rondo, graced with great brilliancy; and a song by Beethoven, 'Ich denke dein.'"
[FOOTNOTE: No doubt, those Mazurkas by Chopin which, adapting to them Spanish words, she had arranged for voice and piano. Hiller wrote mostenthusiastically of these arrangements and her performance of them.]