Chopins Apartments in Paris???
 

Read a Biography of Chopin and would like to visit his apartments in Paris or a least see the outside--Does anyone know how to find out Thanks

Go to Square d'Orleans at no. 80 rue Taitbout in the 9th. Chopin lived in no. 5, and George Sand lived in no. 9 across the way. You may also find the Musee de la Vie Romantique interesting.

Greg, which biography did you read, out of curiosity? I am a member of AMS (American Musicological Society) and a pianist also, and have a particular interest in French composers so can offer some info. I have about 3 biog. of Chopin and a volume of his personal letters. However, I have read reviews of the most recent Chopin biog. and it did not get very good reviews, so I did not buy it and was wondering what you thought of it, if that is the one you bought (Chopin in Paris by Tad Szulc)? In particular, I think that author did not know much, if anything, about music; and a bio of Chopin without any musical knowledge or discussion or analysis seems off the mark to me. Chopin moved around a lot and lived in many different addresses in Paris during the approx. 18 years he lived there. This is a chronological order of his various addresses that I have gleaned from his letters (he sometimes put his address at the top) and the bios I have (almost all of these apts were in the 9th arrondisement, except where noted): 27 bd Poisonniere, 4th floor, he had a balcony overlooking the street--this was his first apt and he liked it very much, one letter he wrote shortly after moving in said everybody envied his view from Montmartre to the Pantheon and his room was very comfortable or cozy; 5 Chausee d'Antin; 38 Chausee d'Antin; 5 rue Tronchet (really across the border in the 8th arr.), 16 rue Pigalle, 9 Sq. d'Orleans as mentioned by Donna above (he lived here both before and after his trip to the UK--I also have a copy of one of his letters that has an address of 34 rue St-Lazare on it for this residence, which is around the corner); 74 rue Chaillot in the 16th, and finally , his last apt. where he died was 12 Place Vendome (next to the Ritz, not too shabby--one of his last letters admits this was expensive; due to his illness, he wanted a room with a southern view). Well, his real last (and current) address is Pere Lachaise cemetery. There are some original scores and papers in the Polish Library on Ile St-Louis which is very hard to find even when you know the address and only open Thursday afternoons. I have visited both Ravel's house (which is a museum) and Debussy's (ditto) near Paris and recommend both highly. Debussy's is very easy to get to in St-Germain-en-Laye. Ravel's is not so easy to get to in Montfort-l'Amaury, but is do-able.

Greg, <BR>Christina above mentioned the Polish Library. Look for the Musee Adam Mickiewicz which is within the Polish Library at 5 Quai d'Orleans. The Quai is on the south side of Ile St. Louis, that is, the side facing the left bank. Adam Mickiewicz was a Polish patriot and poet and a contemporary of Chopin. The first floor of the museum is devoted to Chopin memorabilia including a death mask, music and autographs of Chopin. From October to June the museum is open on Thursday afternoons; in July and August it's open on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons. It's closed for a week or so around Christmas and Easter.

Thank you so much---I read an older book about Chopin written by a Pole.The cover had the pencil drawn famous profile.My son is the great pianist at UT working on a masters in piano. I will check out these places as Im sure he will love to see them all when we go

Glad you surfaced Greg, I didn't want all Chopin's addresses going to waste. I never read that bio, all mine are by French authors, I think. If you need more info on Debussy's home (which I would strongly recommend if your son is going and he likes French piano music) or Ravel's, feel free to contact me ( [email protected]). You really should go to the Music Museum, also; it is spectacular and has a very good collection of historic pianos (some square pianos, I think one of Beethoven's), it is right near a metro stop in the 19th arr. (Porte de Pantin) on the edge of Parc de Villette where the Science and Industry museum--here is its URL (they have concerts and a good bookstore there, also) for the complex: www.cite-musique.fr. I am probably going to Paris next summer to study piano (master classes) at the Schola Cantorum, I did that a couple years ago and am thinking of returning; if he has a special interest in French piano technique and composers, and would be interested in that program, let me know (it's a couple weeks in July, very cheap, internationally-known pianists teach, such as Pascal Devoyon). <BR>I ran across some photos of Chopin's family house by accident in a musty room in a museum in Nancy, France once--apparently his family lived near Nancy after they moved from Poland and before he ended up in Paris.