A SPECIAL INVITATION TO CELEBRATE

CHOPIN’S 200TH BIRTHDAY
IN PARIS

Including Carré d’Or seats at the

Of French origin on his father’s side, Fryderyk Chopin was born in Poland in March 1810.  He gave his first public concert at the age of 8 and by the age of 20 (after the composition of his Concerto No. 2) he was being hailed as the “New Mozart”.
Chopin arrived in Paris in autumn 1831 and six months later gave his first concert in Paris at the salon of the Pleyel family.  

Marie-Anne Corvec, our Paris classical music expert, has designed an exclusive itinerary tracing the life of Chopin in France, from the time of his arrival at the age of 21 until his death in Paris in 1849.

An overnight stay in Nohant at George Sand’s superb country property is also available.  You will understand why it was in this idyllic spot that Chopin composed two-thirds of his works.

CHOPIN’S PARIS  -  Saturday April 4 to Wednesday April 7 2010
NOHANT   -  Thursday April 8, Friday April 9
or
CHOPIN’S PARIS   -  Friday April 30 to Tuesday May 4 2010
NOHANT  -  Wednesday May 5, Thursday May 6 2010

Itinerary Highlights

• Introduction to Chopin’s life in Paris at Musée de la Vie Romantique,  the delightful house of an artist who was a close friend of Chopin and Sands.
• A visit to the Cité de la Musique where you can admire one of Chopin’s pianos and see the new exhibition dedicated to the composer.
• A visit to the Chopin Salon situated in the “hôtel particulier” of the Polish Historical and Literary Society, the only institution of which Chopin became a member.
• The Hôtel Lambert on the Île Saint Louis, former residence of the Prince Adam Czartoryski, head of the Polish immigrants, where Chopin frequently performed.
• Sites of the various apartments where Chopin lived up from his arrival in Paris in September 1831 to his final (9th) dwelling on Place Vendôme.
• The Madeleine Church where Chopin’s funeral service took place and finally his tomb at Père Lachaise cemetery
• VIP package for the Murray Perahia or Nelson Freire concert at Salle Pleyel, including Carré d’Or seating, champagne and cocktails during intermission.

    *Full details of the program for each concert are available upon request

NOHANT OPTIONAL TOUR

Aged 26, Chopin met the woman who would play the major role in his life.  The most famous female writer in France during the 19th century, she used the name George Sand.  A descendant of Frederick-Augustus of Saxe, King of Poland, she usually dressed in a somewhat bizarre fashion as a man and smoked cigars.  Their relationship lasted nine years, during which winters were spent in Paris and summers in the countryside at George Sand’s charming home in Berry (300 kms from Paris), usually accompanied by their friends who were the elite of the artistic and political world.

      
George Sand’s granddaughter inherited the house and bequeathed it to the French State when she died in 1961.  Marie-Anne will accompany you on a private visit of this superb property which was the ideal setting for Chopin and where he created two-thirds of his compositions including the 2nd Sonata for piano op. 35 (La Funèbre) and the Sonata for cello and piano op.65.

COST -    895 EUROS*

This overnight trip includes -
Transport from Paris to Berry and return
Dinner (alcohol not included) and overnight accommodation
Breakfast and lunch  Private tour of George Sand’s mansion
*Twin share.  Single supplement - 89 euros

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