class="caption">STEVENSON

GRIEG

Have you ever thought that the beautiful ideas of great men sometimes outlive famous cities?

What a lot of cities and countries we must visit in our thoughts, to see the great composers at their work. For example—

1. Grieg belongs to Norway.

2. Chopin to Warsaw and Paris.

3. Schubert to Vienna in Austria.

4. Bach to Thuringia in Saxony, Germany.

5. Handel to Germany and England.

6. Haydn to Hungary.

7. Beethoven to Germany and Vienna. (He was born at Bonn on the Rhine).

8. Schumann to Germany.

9. Mendelssohn to Hamburg and Berlin, Germany.

10. Mozart to Salzburg and Vienna in Austria.

It will be a pleasant thing for us to see if we can arrange these names in order, beginning with the oldest, Bach and Handel, and coming down to the latest. By doing such things, time and time again, they begin to stick in the memory.

SOME FACTS ABOUT CHOPIN

When you have read this page and the next make a story about Chopin's life. Write it in your own words. When you are quite sure you cannot improve it, copy it on pages 15 and 16.

1. Frederic François Chopin was born in Poland.

2. His birthday was March 1, 1809.

3. He spent most of his life in the two cities of Warsaw and Paris.

4. His father was French; his mother Polish.

5. At the age of nine he made his first public appearance as a pianist.

6. Many distinguished people welcomed him to Paris.

7. Among them were Liszt, Berlioz, Meyerbeer, Heine.

8. His first weeks in Paris were discouraging; his first concert poorly attended.

9. This tempted him to return to Poland.

10. But his friends urged him to remain in Paris.

11. Finally success came.

12. Chopin was described as one who spoke little, especially among strangers.

13. Some of the music forms which he wrote are the nocturne, waltz, mazurka, impromptu, concerto, polonaise, etude.

14. Schumann was one of the first to declare Chopin a genius.

15. Chopin worked hard all his life.

16. But in his last years he suffered from ill-health.

17. Like Milton, Beethoven, Stevenson and Grieg, he kept on with his work, in spite of his illness.

18. Chopin once went to England and Scotland.

19. Chopin was very fond of Bach and urged his pupils to practice Bach pieces every day for the mental drill as well as the drill for the fingers.

SOME QUESTIONS ABOUT CHOPIN

1. In what country was Chopin born?

2. In what two great cities did he live?

3. In what year was Chopin born?

4. What other composer was born about the same time?

5. When did Chopin first appear in public?

6. What two works had he already composed when he set out for Paris?

7. Who were some of the people who welcomed Chopin to Paris?

8. Name some of the great cities in which he played.

9. What led Chopin to want to leave Paris?

10. Why did he change his mind and remain there?

11. What great German composer discovered Chopin to be a genius?

12. Name some great writers and composers who kept at work even though they were not in the best of health.

13. In what country was Grieg born?

14. In what city was Mozart born?

15. In what two countries did Handel live?

16. What famous river flows by the City of Warsaw?

17. Name some of the kinds of music that Chopin composed?

18. What music by Chopin have you heard?