MANY dates have been given as the exact day of the birth of Frédéric Fran?ois Chopin. The earlier biographers named 18og as the year. These include Frederick Niecks, MoritzKarasowski, James Huneker, W. H. Hadow, Charles Willeby,Wodzinski and Madame Audley. The day given by them was March 1. The later writers have with one accord decided on February 22, 1810, substantiating their claim by a document found and published by the Abbé Bielawski in 1893. To convince the reader of the authenticity of this evidence itd will be necessary to detail the text of the document:In the year 1810, on the 23rd of the month of April at three o'clock in the afternoon. Before us, the parish priest of Brochow, district of Sochaczew, department of Warsaw, Nicolas Chopin, father, forty years of age, domiciled in the village of Zelazowa-Wola, presented himself, and showed us a male child, born in his house on February 22nd at 6 o'clock in the evening, this year, declaring that the child was born of him and of Justina Krzyzanowska, his wife, twenty-eight years of age; and that his wish is to give the child two Christian names: Frédéric Fran?ois.After having made this declaration he showed us the child in the presence of Joseph Wyrzykowski, steward, thirty-eight years of age, and of Frédéric Geszt, forty years of age, both domiciled in the village of Zelazowa-Wola. The father and both witnesses, having read the birth certificate which was shown to them, declared their ability to sign it. We have signed this present document: Abbé Jan Duchnowski, parish priest of Brochow, fulfilling the function of a civil servant. (Signed). NIcoLAS CHOPIN, father.Amongst the authorities giving this date as certain are: Grove,Edouard Ganche, Henri Bidou, Guy de Pourtalès, Weissmann,Leichtentritt, Z. Jachimecki and G. C. Ashton-Jonson. G. T. Ferris in his Great Musical Composers and Liszt in his fantasy, which he calls a "Life of Chopin', published in 1852, give 181o as the year, mentioning no day, whilst Fétis in his "Dictionnaire Universel des Musiciens' says February 8, 1810.Chopin's family, however, always sent him their greetings for St. Frédéric's Day, March 5, celebrating his birthday at the same time. His sister Louise would send him her greetings for 'the Ist and the 5th of March'. In a letter of Chopin'smother belonging to Jane Stirling, of whom more will be heard later in the biography, these same dates are found in describing an oil portrait of Miroszewski. Frédéric himself maintained that 1810 was the year of his birth, though insisting on March r as his birthday. Proof of this can be found in a letter he wrote to the Vice-President of the 'Société Littéraire Polonaise de Paris' dated January 11, 1833.The year 1810 can definitely be asserted to be Frédéric Chopin's birth year and much more reliance can be placed on February 22, the date of birth in the official document, than on the composer's assumption. The centenary celebrations were held in 191o, and February 22 was the official date chosen. With all this evidence there should be no further doubt existing, nor should any further claim be made for 18o9.The baptism was performed by the vicar of the local church, Ignace Maryanski, the father's name being given as Nicolas Choppen. The Countess Anna Skarbek and her brother. Count Frederick were to be godmother and godfather respectively, but the young Count had just left for Paris to continue his studies there, and his place was taken by a friend of the father's, Fran?ois Grebecki.The family life of the Chopins was simple and homely, yet surrounded by an atmosphere of culture. The small cottage in which the two eldest children were born was an annexe to the country mansion of the Count Skarbek, According to Count Wodzinski it was of mean appearance, and consisted of only three rooms. As we have already seen, Nicolas removed his family to Warsaw soon after Frédéric's birth, and the parents fixed on a little house close to a large park which still remains in the city. Here they were visited by men and women of intellect and refinement, and their home quickly became the?rendezvous of poets, painters, professors and other learned men. Thus the children were brought up with all the blessings that accrue from a home of which virtue, love and simplicity constitute the foundation, the background supplying culture and honourable friendships. No child could wish for a finer upbringing, no genius require a finer soil in which to flourish.Young Frédéric in his tender years was the despair of his parents, for the sound of music created such apparent hostility within him as to cause inconsolable tears. Both parents were fond of music; we are even led to believe that Nicolas was first attracted to his wife by the appealing quality of her singing. He also played the flute; but the first time he gave the instrument to young Frédéric to play with, Frédéric promptly broke it; and we are not told that it was ever replaced. It was not long before the father and mother discovered that the tears were not the result of antipathy. The tones of the pianoforte produced the tears, maybe, but they were tears of emotion, of passionate joy, and ere long the tiny fellow was clambering up to the keyboard endeavouring to evolve his own sounds. The persistence with which he pestered his mother to allow him to learn resulted in his receiving lessons at the age of four from his elder sister, Louise, then only seven herself. His parents were overjoyed at his progress and apparent aptitude, and, with their usual common sense, looked round for a teacher of worth who would be certain to guide his early footsteps in the proper direction. So we find the boy of six years taking lessons in pianoforte playing from a sound and esteemedmusician, Adalbert Zywny. Zywny was a Czech, born in Bohemia in 1756, who came to Poland during the reign of Stanislas Poniatowski, first occupying the post of court pianist to Prince Casimir Sapieha, and then settling in Warsaw as a teacher until his death as an old man of 86 in 1842. He was a violinist who, finding pupils more readily for the keyed instrument, decided on pianoforte teaching as his principal means of livelihood. He appears to have been an estimable musician. It is known that he composed a goodly num-. ber of works, but, if any were published, they have not survived the succeeding generations. That he was kind and encouraging is proved by the affection with which his famous pupil always?spoke of him. Chopin in his later years often alluded to the excellent teaching of his only pianoforte master. Another evidence of his simple and kindly nature can be found in a letter which Niecks prints in his book. This letter was enclosed in a letter of introduction that he gave to a Warsaw pianist, Edouard Wolff, who was visiting Paris. Niecks says: "The outside of the sheet on which the letter is written bears the words "From the old music-master Adalbert Zywny, kindly to be transmitted to my best friend, Mr. Frédéric Chopin, in Paris."' The letter itself runs as follows:

DEAREST MR, F. CHOPIN,

Wishing you perfect health I have the honour to write to you through Mr. Edouard Wolff. I recommend him to your esteemed friendship. Your whole family and I had also the pleasure of hearing at his concert the Adagio and Rondo from your Concerto, which called up in our minds the most agreeable remembrance of you. May God give you every prosperity! We are all well, and wish so much to see you again. Meanwhile I send you through Mr. Wolff'my heartiest kiss, and recommending myself to your esteemed friendship, I remain your faithful friend,WARSAW, the 12th June, 1835.

A.Zywny?

Zywny had saturated.himself with the then known works of the great Johann Sebastian Bach, and punctiliously taught his more talented pupils to admire and understand the music of the great polyphonist. Liszt describes Zywny as 'a passionate disciple of Sebastian Bach who during many years directed the boy's studies in accordance with strictly classical models'. He probably was never a good performer, but he was able to give his precocious pupil a solid grounding in the rudiments of the art. His appearance was grotesque in the extreme. His favourite colour for dress seems to have been yellow, for often both coat and trousers were of that hue, and he invariably wore a yellow waistcoat. The cut of his clothes was amusing, and he always carried an extravagantly coloured handkerchief.The first recorded public performance of Chopin was on his eighth birthday.?

A charity concert had been organized by the great poet, man of letters and statesman, Ursin Niemcewicz, and Frédéric was asked to play. He chose a concerto by Adalbert Gyrowetz, a Viennese musician of renown in his day but long since forgotten. The audience consisted chiefly of the most important and influential Polish families, and the boy's success was so complete and his personality so charming that he at once became the 'lion' of the aristocracy, with invitations to the houses of many princely families.It was after this concert that the well-known childish remark was made by Frédéric. He was dressed like an English boy short knickerbockers, and a large collar over a velvet jacket. On his return home, his mother, who had not been present, asked him what the public admired most. The boy, without a moment's hesitation, replied "My collar, Mamma'. His naiveté shows that so far he was unspoilt, that the praise of his admirers had not affected him, that he was ignorant of his great talent, and, more important still, that his family were educating him wisely. Lack of conceit is strongly apparent throughout his life, despite his aristocratic airs and his affectedly snobbish ways.This moment marks the beginning of his association with the leaders of polite society, a fondness for which he retained all through his life. His preference for the nobility, for the perfection of their manners and the obvious signs of their culture, was an essential part of him. He had a strong dislike for coarseness and vulgarity, and would never tolerate bad manners. At that time the aristocracy of Poland was probably the most distinguished in Europe; its members had been used to almost fantastic wealth in the preceding decades, and the fact that they were now poorer probably made them all the more exclusive. Chopin never forgot the tastes and refinements that he assimilated in these years of contact with the noble families.Amongst the many princesses whom he had occasion to meet was the Princess Lowicka, wife of the Grand Duke Constantine, who, as Commander-in-Chief and brother of the Czar of Russia, was virtually Poland's ruler. He was both friend and enemy of Poland, a man of the most violent temper and capable of extreme brutality; yet he was willing to help Poland in the?

revolution of 1831, though the Poles foolishly turned down his offer. The Princess Lowicka had caused him to renounce his right to the Russian throne, and the same power of beauty was able to soften and occasionally lessen the vindictive hatred he frequently showed towards his subjects. Frédéric was often invited to her salon, and became intimate with her son, Paul. One day the Grand Duke was listening to Frédéric, and suddenly asked why the boy always looked up at the ceiling while he was playing, and if he could read the notes up there. With his hard nature and military upbringing, Constantine could not understand the sensitiveness of the young mind at work. But that he conceived a liking for the boy can be proved by his frequent sending of the ducal carriage, with its four magnificent horses all abreast, and a cossack on each, to Frédéric's homeoccasions which caused wonderment to the Chopin neighbours. Prince Paul was usually accompanied by his Polish tutor, the Count de Moriolles, to whose daughter Chopin dedicated his Rondo in F major, Op. 5. A distinguished Italian singer, Madame Catalani, was enjoying public favour in an expensive series of concerts in Warsaw during the summer of 1820. She had heard of the talent of young Chopin and expressed a wish to hear him play; and she was so attracted by his prowess and his boyish charm that she gave him a gold watch on which was engraved: Donnépar Madame Catalani à Frédéric Chopin, agé de dix ans. Lisztmaintains that this was the only method by which Chopin knew his age. Besides serving such a useful purpose, the gift was treasured by Chopin, who would often talk about it and show it to his friends in his later life. During these first years of his studies, which, after all, cannot be claimed as serious, he often attempted composition. His favourite occupation was to sit at his pianoforte and improvise. He would allow his fingers to roam over the keyboard, at first hardly knowing where they were going. Gradually these meanderings assumed more shape, and ere long would develop into concrete expressions of his thoughts and feelings. All his life he possessed a wonderful gift for improvisation, and probably has never been equalled in this particular domain. Between the ages of 10?and 14, before he seriously tackled the?sterner studies necessary for life's encounter, he became quite famous for the musicianship and facility of his impromptu playing. Out of this grew the desire for putting his thoughts down on paper. He had not the knowledge to do this, nor had he the extraordinary genius of Mozart, so he was forced to rely on old Zywny to write them out for him. A march was composed and dedicated to the Grand Duke Constantine. It had been scored for military band, and the Duke arranged for its performance; it was then printed, but without the name of the composer.Frédéric's father, aware of the boy's increasing desire to compose, was sensible enough not to discourage his efforts, and had perforce to find a master who could teach him the art and science of writing music. Once again the choice was a happy one. It fell on Joseph Elsner, the son of a manufacturer of musical instruments in the town of Grotkau in Silesia. Elsner was born on June 1, 1769, and was destined for the medical profession by the wish of his father. He was first of all sent to a college in Breslau, and later to the University of Vienna. Whilst at Breslau he had lessons in harmony from a well-known musician of his time, Adolf Foerster. He had a voice good enough to enable him to be a chorister, and took violin lessons as well, to such purpose that we find him playing in the theatre. At twenty-two he finally decided to renounce the profession of medicine for the more precarious one of music, and installed himself as leader of the orchestra in the Austrian town of Brünn. The following year he migrated to Lemberg in the same capacity, and in 1799 to Warsaw, this time as music-director at the National Theatre. In these positions he learnt the value of experience, and developed an aptitude for writing in more or less every form of musical expression. Warsaw became his permanent home; he lived there until his death on April 18, 1854. Chopin died before middle age, but his two teachers lived a great deal longer than the average span, for one died at 86 and the other at 85.Elsner was a far more important musician than Zywny, not only because he was such a productive composer (for he left works of almost every kind, including twenty-seven operas in the Polish language), but because of the tremendous influence

he had on future Polish music. His energy and capacity for work must have been amazing, for he was a prolific writer, as well as a conductor, a successful teacher, and a great organizer. While Poland was expanding in every way during the hopeful period as a Grand Duchy, at the time when Alexander of Russia was trying to fulfil his promises to her for her future independence, Elsner was appointed Director of the newly opened Conservatorium of Music. This institution was one of the many outward signs of culture in Poland at that time,d which the Revolution of 1831 finally blotted out. Elsner was its only director, 1821-1830.As a composer Elsner has not survived till the twentieth century, but his works won great renown for him during the greater part of the nineteenth. His output convinces us of his fluency in composition, and he showed great aptitude in writing for the voice, more particularly in his Church music. Fétis says that his works were in the style of Paer and Mayer; that his music for the Church was too dramatic and too modern in form; that one finds facility and a natural ability for making the voices sing, but that he had too little originality and variety in his ideas. He wrote with purity, but his fugues do not give proofof severe study.I feel that it is necessary to paint still further the personality and accomplishments of this lovable old man, for he was Chopin's only teacher of the laws and forms of music, and the shortcomings of Chopin as a composer will best be understood by a more complete knowledge of his master. To give the reader this fuller impression I cannot do better than include part of the description sent by a travelling musician to the Neue Zeitschrift für Musik in 1841. I quote the translation used by Frederick Niecks.

The first musical person of the town [Warsaw] is still the old, youthful Joseph Elsner, a veteran master of our art, who is as amiable as he is truly estimable. In our day one hardly meets with a notable Polish musician who has not studied composition under Pan [i.e., Mr.] Elsner; and he loves all his pupils, and all speak of him with enthusiasm, and, according to the Polish fashion, kiss the old master's shoulder, whereupon he never forgets to kiss them heartily on both cheeks....Wisocki, the pianist, also a pupil of his, took me to him. Pan Elsner lives in the Dom Pyarow [House of Piarists]. One has to start early if one wishes to find him at home; for soon after breakfast he goes out, and rarely returns to his cell before evening. He inhabits, like a genuine church composer, two cells of the old Piarist Monastery in Jesuit Street...The old gentleman was still in bed when we arrived, and sent his servant to ask us to wait a little in the anteroom, promising to be with us immediately. All the walls of this room, or rather cell, were hung to the ceiling with portraits of musicians, among them some very rare names and faces. Mr. Elsner has continued this collection down to the present time; also the portraits of Liszt, Thalberg, Chopin, and Clara Wieck shine down from the old monastic walls. I had scarcely looked about me in this large company for a few minutes, when the door of the adjoining room opened, and a man of medium height (not to say little), somewhat stout, with a round, friendly countenance, grey hair, but very lively eyes, enveloped in a warm fur dressing-gown, stepped up to us, comfortably but quickly, and bade us welcome. Wisocki kissed him, according to the Polish fashion, as a token of respect, on the right shoulder, and introduced me to him, whereupon the old friendly gentleman shook hands with me and said some kindly words.This, then, was Pan Joseph Elsner, the ancestor of modern Polish music, the teacher of Chopin, the fine connoisseur and cautious guide of original talents. For he does not do as is done only too often by other teachers in the arts, who insist on screwing all pupils to the same turning-lathe on which they themselves were formed, who always do their utmost tó ingraft their own I on the pupil, so that he may become as excellent a man as they imagine themselves to be. Joseph Elsner did not proceed thus. When all the people of Warsaw thought Frederick Chopin was entering on a wrong path, that his was not music at all, that he must keep to Himmel and Hummel, otherwise he would never do anything decent-the clever Pan Elsner had already very clearly perceived what a poetic kernel there was in the pale young dreamer, had long before felt very clearly that he had before him the founder of a new epoch of pianoforteplaying, and was far from laying upon him a cavesson, knowing well that such a noble thoroughbred may indeed be cautiously led, but must not be trained and fettered in the usual way if he is to conquer.

We are told by some writers that Frédéric at the age of twelve could play as well as his master, Zywny. I am inclined to think that he already played a good deal better, for probably Zywny was never an able performer, and the boy, as we have seen, had been able to play the concerto of Gyrowetz when he was eight, and had practised assiduously from then onwards. With his great natural ability and his keenness to master technical difficulties, he must have attained a considerable command over the keyboard in the intervening four years. But though Zywny may not have possessed much finger facility, he certainly knew and understood the inner purport of the music he taught, and laid the foundation for a natural and sensitive appreciation of the art. He was convinced, as all sensible teachers should be, that he could not handle a genius in the same way as an ordinary pupil-that the only method in such a case is to allow the instincts to develop naturally, and to guide and refine the musical tastes. With this plan of action the parents agreed, and the natural outcome was the finding of Elsner, who was to direct the boy's studies in harmony and counterpoint. We can then conjecture that Chopin did not receive any more lessons in pianoforte playing after the year 1821 or early 1822. Zywny could teach him nothing more, and Elsner had no pretensions to being a pianist. There was a far better pianist than Zywny in the town, Wenzel W. Würfel, but he was not approached to help in developing the boy's fingers.Elsner, a man of a higher grade than Zywny both intellectually and musically, was still more sensible in guiding the young mind. Evidently he was something of a philosopher, for he originated a number of maxims. These maxims are usually supposed to have been for Chopin's edification, but I think that they were for general consumption. Among them one can choose: "The pupil should never be permitted to spend too much time on one method, or on one point of view.' "Only to thinkd of playing the pianoforte is false, it should be considered as a means towards a complete understanding of the art of music." The study of composition should not be controlled by the observance of too many minute rules.' 'It is not sufficient that the pupil should equal or surpass his master, he should?create an individuality of his own.' 'An artist should be subservient to his surroundings, only by these and through these influences can he attain his real self.' Liszt says that Elsner imparted to Frédéric "the secret so seldom known, of being exacting towards himself, and placing proper value on those advantages which are only to be secured by much patience and labour'.It is related that someone found fault with the young composer's neglect of the usual rules of composition. "Leave him alone,' said Elsner, "he follows an unusual path because his gifts are unusual. He does not follow any traditional method closely, because he has a method of his own, and he will reveal in his works an originality that has never been met before in such a high degree.' One must admire the good sense of this, but was it not an easy way out for the philosophical old musician? It must be apparent to any serious student nowadays that this calm negation of the strict rules of harmony and counterpoint reacted most pointedly upon the composer in later years. Had Elsner been more severe on the young student, making him master the art of contrapuntal writing, and instilling into him a method of quicker and neater transcription of his thoughts, the Chopin of later years would not have experienced such difficulties in putting his wonderful and inexhaustible inspirations down on paper. Chopin was forced to spend a great deal of time in his later life correcting, remodelling and shaping his compositions, time which he resented and the saving of which would have been of the greatest benefit to his health. It might all have been saved had he been a better craftsman. Elsner could not have driven away the boy's originality, he could not have damped his ardour, nor could he have stopped the flow of melodies. Undoubtedly he was sincere in his attitude, and most sympathetic professors would do the same to-day; but not even a genius can write music without being a master of all the tributary rules and formulae, for, curiously enough, the greater the talent for anything the greater the work necessary for perfecting it. Probably no one had such a never-ending flow of melodies and so many moments of genuine inspiration as Chopin, yet no other great composer had such difficulty in producing the finished article. We shall come across many proofs of this in the analysis of his works. The friendship and love fostered between master and pupil was maintained until Chopin's death. Their letters were affectionate; on the master's side, perhaps fatherly and full of counsel, on the pupil's, grateful and respectful. In a letter to his friend, Titus Wojciechowski, dated April ro, 1830, telling him of the press criticisms of his concerts in Warsaw, Frédéric sticks up for Elsner:

You must know in that article the Official Bulletin declared that the Poles should be as proud of me as the Germans are of Mozart; obvious nonsense. But in the same article the writer says that if I had fallen into the hands of some pedant or Rossinist-which is a stupid term-I should not have been what I am. I am nothing, but he is right in saying that, if I had not been taught by Elsner, who imbued me with convictions, I should doubtless have accomplished still less than I now have. This sneer against Rossinists and indirect praise of Elsner infuriated you know whom.

Chopin, on one occasion in Vienna, was very upset by a remark that the Viennese musicians were astonished that he should have acquired all his knowledge in Warsaw. He bitterly answered: 'From such fine men as Zywny and Elsner even the greatest ass must learn something.' At the end of a letter to Elsner dated November 8, 1842, from Paris, Chopin writes: I embrace you heartily. I love you still, as a son, as an old son, as an old friend.' A teacher who could inspire such cordial affection and reverence must have been a great-hearted and lovable man.