t against its Russian rulers. As a result, the Russian czar put Warsaw under strict military rule, and Chopin decided to go to Paris, which was the center of the romantic movement in the arts. He fell deeply in love with the city in 1831, and never again returned to Warsaw. He soon became a favorite of the Parisian salons, and the society elite. He gave lessons and concerts, and publishers paid well for his compositions. The French loved his genius and charm, and he was always in great demand as both a pianist and a teacher. 1833 and 1834 were very productive years for Chopin. His works greatly increased. Among them are the Variations Brillantes, the Rondo op. 16, and the Waltz op. 18. He completed the Andante Spianato, Grande Polonaise Brillante, and the Scherzo no. 1 in 1835. He traveled to meet his parents and continues on to Dresden and Leipzig where he has a series of meetings with Robert Schumann and Mendelssohn. He became very ill during the winter months of 1835, and writes his will and testament. In 1836, some of his greatest works appear in print for the first time, such as Concerto in F minor, Polonaise op. 22, Ballade op. 23, Mazurkas op. 24, Polonaise op. 26, and Nocturnes op. 27. In late October of 1836, Chopin met the novelist, Baroness Aurore Dudevant, who used the pen name George Sand. He did not at first like Sand, but upon his return from London in 1837, their relationship intensified. They began a relationship that would prove to be the most influential and devastating events of his life. He published his Etudes op. 25 and dedicated them to Countess Marie d’Agoult . In November he wrote the Trio from the Funeral March Sonata on the anniversary evening of the uprising in Poland. Chopin’s fame continuing in Paris, he gives a concert in the Tuileries at the court of Louis Philippe I, then at a concert given by Valentin Alkan at the Pape salons. In 1840, as his illness progresses, he continues to give piano l...
