Documentation of the findings Expert opinions, the media Chopin and The Nightingale Initiatives in the pipeline

Queen Victoria (1819-1901)

DOCUMENTATION OF THE FINDINGS (back)

Icons of Europe has documented its main research findings on
Chopin and Jenny Lind's relationship in two major publications:

1. The biography Chopin and The Swedish Nightingale by Cecilia and Jens Jorgensen, Brussels 2003, ISBN 2-9600385-0-9.
   Poland's Ministry of Culture consulted on a draft in Warsaw on 14 May 2003.
    
2. Research paper of 1 March 2004, revised 29 January 2005.
   The comprehensive original period evidence, some not seen before, was provided by national archives, press libraries, and other sources in Europe. Research paper made available to the Fryderyk Chopin Institute and others.

... and produced supporting essays and analyses:

• Polish art treasures in Canada 1940-61 (Chopin in the World).
• The true location of Chopin's 74 Rue de Chaillot, Paris (2005).
  Study report sent to Fryderyk Chopin Institute (NIFC) on 24 January 2005.
• Why did Niecks write Chopin’s biography? (1 April 2006).
  "He was an unknown German viola player commissioned by Jenny Lind."
• Study of Orphism ♫ gives new meaning to Chopin artworks.
  In collaboration with museums at Warsaw, Poznan, Krakow and Chorzow.
• Inaccurate Chopin translation and citation (e.g. by Arthur Hedley).
• Chopin and Lucrezia (analysis of Chopin's letter of  17 Nov. 1848).
• Chopin's funeral* was apparently arranged by Jenny Lind,
  singing incognito to Mozart's Tuba Mirum behind a black curtain.

.... as well as information and events on related subjects:

• Did the emperor suffer from tuberculosis? (for World TB Day).
• Selection of Icons of Poland (art, music, literature, science).
• Language and culture of Poland (letter to the editor of IHT, 2006).
• Recitals by American and Chinese virtuosi (March & April 2003).
• Drama at Brussels, Warsaw, Toronto, New York (see below).

EXPERT OPINIONS, THE MEDIA (back)

Chopin experts have commented favourably on the new research:

• Prof. Poniatowska:  "As we can see, there are still many facts to be discovered 154 years after Chopin's death, or our view of facts thought to be known can change." (C/W 2003-2004).
• NIFC-hosted expert roundtable in Warsaw on 1 March 2004.
• Scholars of Edinburgh and St Andrews Universities, 2005.
• Prof. Dr hab. Mieczysław Tomaszewski, Akademia Muzyczna, Kraków in letter of 18 April 2005 on the research paper of 29 January 2005: “Je l’ai lu avec grand intérêt et je vous félicite."

The media have reported on the new research findings:
Wiener Chopin-Blätter (Vienna, Autumn 2003);  Berlingske Tidende (Copenhagen, 21 November 2003);  Chopin in the World (Warsaw, 2003-2004 and 2004-2005);  Polityka (Warsaw, 6 March 2004);  Musica Nova (Tokyo, 6 Sept. 2004);  and other media.

CHOPIN AND THE NIGHTINGALE (back)

Chopin and The Nightingale is a dramatic reading with music in six acts for narrator,
two sopranos and piano (about 75 minutes).
Music by Bellini, Chopin and Meyerbeer
as well as two Scandinavian signature-songs.

The drama re-enacts the newly-discovered romance of the ailing Chopin and the celebrated Jenny Lind, The Swedish Nightingale, in 1848-1849.  Quotes from Chopin's letters and Hans Christian Andersen's The Nightingale set the stage for each act of the drama.  Andersen wrote the story in 1843 as a tribute to Jenny Lind.  In act VI, she sings Chopin's Mazurka in A-flat Op. 24 n° 3 for Queen Victoria ... and "the emperor says Good morning!"
Poster 2005 | Jenny Lind at Chopin's deathbed (video of act V)** | Other songs

Jenny Lind sang her own arrangement of Recueil de Mazourkas de F. Chopin  for Queen Victoria at Windsor Castle in 1855, and at Buckingham Palace on 30 May 1856 with Pauline Viardot ("... faithful love will never die").  It is enacted in acts IV and VI of Chopin and The Nightingale.  The original scores are available as well as an arrangement of Bellini's Casta Diva for piano, which Jenny Lind sang at a TB charity concert at Her Majesty's Theatre on 31 July 1848.  Was it Chopin's version***?

Chopin and The Nightingale has been staged at Brussels, Warsaw and Toronto
in 2003-2005 to celebrate the new Europe and longstanding transatlantic relations.  The U.S. premiere is set for July 2008 in New York State to mark World TB Day.
Cecilia and Jens Jorgensen (Icons of Europe) are the playwrights and hold all rights.

CHOPIN INITIATIVES IN THE PIPELINE (back)

Leading up to Chopin's 200-year anniversary in 2010 and beyond:

1. U.S. premiere of Chopin and The Nightingale, July 2008
2. Comprehensive essay in a well-known global magazine
   on the Chopin / Jenny Lind research 2003-2008.
3. New premiere of Chopin and The Nightingale, Europe 2009.¹
4. TV film of Chopin and The Nightingale premiere for global use.
5. Possible use of existing draft film script (discussion with Endemol).
6. Continued research of Chopin commemorations and a book. 
   Jenny Lind masterminded a Chopin scheme.  It inspired patrons and artists (Orphism², Warsaw³, Paris salons, de Polignac, Paderewski, Rubinsteinª, Louvre, Boston Club, ZW park 1894, Oscar Wilde, La Belle Époque).

¹ Under consideration by the City of Lodz. - Icons of Europe has suggested the European Capital of Culture 2016 bid could be strengthened by: The dramatic history and great culture of Poland Arthur Rubinstein, Nobel Prize winners, other Icons The European, transatlantic reach of this heritage .                              "Lodz – source of inspiration and cooperation"