George and Fred

In the 1830’s Amantine Lucile Aurore Dupin, the daughter of a noble French family, left her husband. She took her two children, and set out on an illustrious career as a gender-bending novelist, attaining great success in France and England using the pen-name George Sand.

Her many romantic relationships with people of both sexes included the famous composer and pianist Frederic Chopin. In November of 1838 they rented for three months the estate we visited today.

The building of this estate began in 1232 as a Carthusian monastery. It was gradually enlarged until Spain expelled all of the monastic orders in 1835. Nine families cooperatively purchased this monastery in Valldemossa and rented it out to wealthy families visiting the island of Mallorca. One of their tenants in late 1838 was George Sand and her current lover, the composer.

Something in Mme. Dupin/Sand wanted to protect and heal the ailing genius. She referred to Chopin as “my little corpse.” It has been said that he had tuberculosis. Doctors now know that tuberculosis is a virulently infectious disease that spreads to thousands of people in a short time, and death follows in days. Chopin lived until 1849. Doctors now think he probably had cystic fibrosis.

Mme. Dupin wanted her little corpse to get away to rest and recover, so she arranged to bring him here to Mallorca. Despite his popularity in Paris, Chopin was not only sick, he was also intensely shy. In the city, crowds, teaching piano lessons and performances occupied all of his time. On the island of Mallorca he had freedom from the crowds and ample time to compose. In the three months he was in Valldemossa he wrote all 24 preludes of his Opus 28, as well as several mazurkas, the Polonaise Opus 40, one sonata and a number of other pieces. He ordered a piano from the Pleyel Piano Co. in Paris, but it arrived only three weeks before he left the island in February of 1839. For this most productive period of his life he used an inferior instrument built by local carpenter named Juan Bauza.

For Chopin his secluded time here was a wonderful change. His partner, however, missed being the center of social life of Paris and was desperately unhappy. Agitated and distraught, she soon insisted they return to Paris. The friction over their time in Valldemossa was the beginning of the erosion of their romance, though their acquaintance lasted until the composer’s death.

But if you ask me, if I were to spend a couple of years at the keyboard, I would say there are few places in the world better than Valldemosa on the island of Mallorca for undistracted practice.

I think Chopin got it right.Read more