Page 73 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Mallorca, Menorca & Ibiza

M ALL ORC A  71

Frédéric Chopin and George Sand

The acclaimed Polish composer Chopin spent four months in Valldemossa’s 14th-century
monastery (see opposite) during the winter of 1838–9. Chopin was accompanied by
Aurora Dupin, better known as the French novelist George Sand, and her children. Their
arrival here was partly to escape the prying eyes of Parisian society and partly on account
of the composer’s health. Chopin suffered from tuberculosis, though the weather was so
bad during his stay that it made him worse. The short visit to the town by this unusual
couple, described by Sand in A Winter in Mallorca, has contributed to the popularity of
Valldemossa, despite the fact that Sand labelled the locals as “savages”.

The garden in front of cell No. 2, in which Chopin’s
scores and George Sand’s manuscripts are held, has a
fine terrace. There is some dispute over which cell Chopin
occupied, although it is generally believed to be No.4.

Portrait of
George Sand
A French writer and
journalist, Sand was a
highly unconventional
figure. She was way
ahead of her time –
she wore trousers,
smoked cigars and
lived with men she
was not married to.
Portrait of Frédéric Chopin, by Italian
painter Luigi Calamatta, in the form of a
photomontage over an original partiture
composed by the musician, displayed in
the Royal Carthusian Monastery.

The Pleyal Piano
is the composer’s
oldest piano,
conserved in
cell No. 4, where
he finished his
Preludes. Chopin’s A Winter in Mallorca
major partitures George Sand’s description of
are on show in her visit to Mallorca with Chopin
the museum. has enjoyed lasting popularity.

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