WEBVTT 00:00.333 --> 00:07.733 align:left position:42.5% line:89% size:47.5% ♪♪ 00:07.733 --> 00:09.433 align:left position:30% line:83% size:60% In the Hôtel des Invalides, 00:09.433 --> 00:11.166 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% Napoleon's veterans hospital, 00:11.166 --> 00:13.800 align:left position:27.5% line:83% size:62.5% is the Museum of Relief Maps. 00:14.400 --> 00:17.000 align:left position:35% line:83% size:55% It houses military models from a time 00:17.000 --> 00:20.000 align:left position:32.5% line:83% size:57.5% when Europe was almost constantly at war. 00:22.133 --> 00:22.766 align:left position:25% line:89% size:65% I met with their 00:23.000 --> 00:25.800 align:left position:32.5% line:83% size:57.5% director, Isabelle Warmoes. 00:25.800 --> 00:29.866 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% This model is showing the art of siege warfare 00:30.333 --> 00:34.033 align:left position:30% line:83% size:60% used a little before the period of Chopin, 00:34.533 --> 00:38.066 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% and you can see the encampment of the army 00:38.733 --> 00:41.733 align:left position:30% line:83% size:60% near the city they want to attack. 00:42.200 --> 00:45.100 align:left position:15% line:83% size:75% There seems to be a wall there. Yes. 00:45.100 --> 00:49.566 align:left position:17.5% line:83% size:72.5% To protect the campmen from the cannonball of the sea. 00:49.566 --> 00:52.566 align:left position:17.5% line:89% size:72.5% See? They had to build 00:52.566 --> 00:55.566 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80% this fortification of earth. 00:56.500 --> 00:58.533 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80% So are they working at night? 00:58.533 --> 01:02.433 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% Yes, Because during the night, nobody can see you 01:02.833 --> 01:06.100 align:left position:15% line:83% size:75% and they can put cannons to bombard the city. 01:06.100 --> 01:09.100 align:left position:30% line:89% size:60% Interesting. 01:10.033 --> 01:13.466 align:left position:25% line:83% size:65% Now to go inside the fortification. 01:13.466 --> 01:15.600 align:left position:15% line:89% size:75% They're making a channel. 01:16.700 --> 01:19.700 align:left position:17.5% line:89% size:72.5% That's very, very bold. 01:20.633 --> 01:23.733 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80% And you can see that cannonballs 01:23.733 --> 01:27.000 align:left position:40% line:83% size:50% star to destroyed the fortification. 01:27.633 --> 01:30.766 align:left position:17.5% line:83% size:72.5% To permit the soldiers to go inside. 01:31.333 --> 01:35.133 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80% And the city will be down 01:35.133 --> 01:38.100 align:left position:25% line:89% size:65% in a few moments. 01:41.300 --> 01:43.733 align:left position:22.5% line:83% size:67.5% With foreign powers occupying Poland, 01:43.733 --> 01:46.866 align:left position:17.5% line:83% size:72.5% a young Frédéric Chopin fled for Paris. 01:47.600 --> 01:50.266 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80% So this kind of military models 01:50.266 --> 01:53.566 align:left position:17.5% line:89% size:72.5% were made to understand 01:54.100 --> 01:57.233 align:left position:25% line:83% size:65% the fortification and the landscape 01:57.233 --> 02:01.633 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% and with this kind of models, the King could see 02:01.633 --> 02:05.933 align:left position:27.5% line:83% size:62.5% all the cities without moving to the border. 02:05.933 --> 02:09.000 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% But to see the vulnerabilities of the city or something? 02:09.000 --> 02:10.433 align:left position:35% line:83% size:55% Exactly. - Interesting. 02:10.433 --> 02:12.100 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80% All the buildings are made of 02:12.100 --> 02:15.900 align:left position:27.5% line:83% size:62.5% wood and pape or the trees are made of silk. 02:16.166 --> 02:20.433 align:left position:25% line:83% size:65% It's cartography, but pieces of art, too. 02:21.366 --> 02:24.366 align:left position:32.5% line:83% size:57.5% It's both. - Its both, really. 02:25.100 --> 02:28.066 align:left position:42.5% line:89% size:47.5% ♪♪ 02:28.600 --> 02:31.633 align:left position:15% line:83% size:75% Like these models, Chopin built musical worlds 02:31.833 --> 02:34.833 align:left position:30% line:89% size:60% in miniature. 02:40.466 --> 02:42.266 align:left position:17.5% line:83% size:72.5% Because he wrote mostly for piano, 02:42.266 --> 02:43.966 align:left position:17.5% line:89% size:72.5% I don't know him well. 02:43.966 --> 02:45.766 align:left position:37.5% line:83% size:52.5% So I've been reading his letters. 02:47.200 --> 02:48.000 align:left position:37.5% line:89% size:52.5% He said 02:48.300 --> 02:50.600 align:left position:12.5% line:83% size:77.5% “I can express my feelings more easily 02:50.600 --> 02:53.600 align:left position:32.5% line:83% size:57.5% if they're put into notes of music.” 02:53.966 --> 02:57.100 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% But his writing shows a gift for language 02:57.966 --> 03:00.700 align:left position:22.5% line:83% size:67.5% and reveals an art shaped by his homeland, 03:00.700 --> 03:03.900 align:left position:12.5% line:83% size:77.5% close friendships in Paris, and a quest 03:03.900 --> 03:06.900 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70% for the purest music. 03:07.666 --> 03:10.633 align:left position:42.5% line:89% size:47.5% ♪♪ 03:12.233 --> 03:14.066 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80% To help me understand Chopin, 03:14.066 --> 03:17.266 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% I called Polish Canadian pianist Jan Lisiecki. 03:17.833 --> 03:26.366 align:left position:42.5% line:89% size:47.5% ♪♪ 03:29.500 --> 03:31.500 align:left position:30% line:89% size:60% It's so nice 03:31.500 --> 03:35.300 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% that they keep this so beautiful for everybody to enjoy. 03:35.300 --> 03:36.166 align:left position:32.5% line:89% size:57.5% Absolutely. 03:36.633 --> 03:39.733 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% Chopin was born in the Polish countryside outside Warsaw. 03:40.433 --> 03:43.433 align:left position:17.5% line:83% size:72.5% I start there with Jan and Polish cellist 03:43.766 --> 03:46.866 align:left position:22.5% line:89% size:67.5% Maria Leszczyska. 03:46.866 --> 03:49.666 align:left position:15% line:83% size:75% It's pretty opulent place for the Chopins to live. 03:49.666 --> 03:51.333 align:left position:25% line:89% size:65% Well, not quite. 03:51.333 --> 03:52.566 align:left position:12.5% line:89% size:77.5% Chopin's father moved here 03:52.566 --> 03:54.866 align:left position:30% line:83% size:60% as a teacher to the aristocratic family 03:54.866 --> 03:58.000 align:left position:15% line:83% size:75% that lived on the grounds and met his mother, 03:58.000 --> 04:00.866 align:left position:12.5% line:83% size:77.5% who was a down on her luck aristocrat. 04:00.866 --> 04:01.833 align:left position:25% line:89% size:65% And they married. 04:02.066 --> 04:04.566 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% They lived here in a servants house. And in fact, 04:04.566 --> 04:07.033 align:left position:17.5% line:83% size:72.5% this is the very house in which Chopin was born. 04:07.033 --> 04:08.300 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% We're able to visit it now. - Wow. 04:09.333 --> 04:10.866 align:left position:35% line:83% size:55% You know, even as servant's quarters, 04:10.866 --> 04:13.033 align:left position:15% line:89% size:75% this is really beautiful. 04:13.033 --> 04:14.333 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70% It's kind of lavish. 04:14.333 --> 04:15.433 align:left position:25% line:89% size:65% In Chopin's time, 04:15.433 --> 04:17.300 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% it probably would have looked quite different. 04:17.300 --> 04:20.400 align:left position:12.5% line:83% size:77.5% More like a barn, possibly even with a dirt floor. 04:20.400 --> 04:22.866 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% It was not nearly as beautiful as it is today. 04:22.866 --> 04:24.333 align:left position:25% line:83% size:65% But in any case, I don't think that matters 04:24.333 --> 04:26.700 align:left position:15% line:83% size:75% very much since he didn't stay here very long. 04:26.700 --> 04:29.200 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% Yeah, they were here only for a few months. 04:29.200 --> 04:31.933 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% They moved to Warsaw, actually, because his father started 04:31.933 --> 04:33.866 align:left position:35% line:83% size:55% teaching at the private high school. 04:33.866 --> 04:35.700 align:left position:32.5% line:83% size:57.5% And Chopin was also educated there, 04:35.700 --> 04:38.066 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80% so he was pretty well educated. 04:38.066 --> 04:41.066 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% So in Warsaw, he was surrounded by this high society, 04:41.300 --> 04:44.266 align:left position:25% line:83% size:65% by the nobility, by culture, by art. 04:44.266 --> 04:45.733 align:left position:12.5% line:89% size:77.5% And he would still continue 04:45.733 --> 04:48.300 align:left position:15% line:83% size:75% to come here as a family for holidays. 04:48.300 --> 04:51.600 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% So, in elazowa Wola, like he had the rural Polish experience, 04:51.600 --> 04:53.966 align:left position:12.5% line:83% size:77.5% I think that really shaped who he became. 04:53.966 --> 04:56.800 align:left position:17.5% line:83% size:72.5% The nobility of Warsaw, the culture of Warsaw, and 04:56.800 --> 04:58.833 align:left position:17.5% line:83% size:72.5% the Polish culture of elazowa Wola. 05:00.233 --> 05:01.133 align:left position:25% line:89% size:65% Can we go inside? 05:01.133 --> 05:03.933 align:left position:25% line:83% size:65% Without a doubt. - Okay. 05:03.933 --> 05:06.300 align:left position:17.5% line:83% size:72.5% Now, I've never played this piece before. 05:06.300 --> 05:07.200 align:left position:27.5% line:89% size:62.5% Neither have I. 05:07.633 --> 05:11.233 align:left position:15% line:83% size:75% It's not played so much but I think, as one can imagine, 05:11.233 --> 05:13.200 align:left position:15% line:83% size:75% Chopin was quite a child prodigy. 05:13.200 --> 05:14.700 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% He started composing when he was six. 05:14.700 --> 05:18.066 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% He continued writing through his youth, his teens, and into 05:18.633 --> 05:20.266 align:left position:27.5% line:89% size:62.5% his adult life. 05:20.266 --> 05:23.100 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% This piece somehow still has some of that youthful energy. 05:23.100 --> 05:25.300 align:left position:15% line:83% size:75% And I believe he wrote it for an exam, didn't he? 05:25.300 --> 05:27.266 align:left position:22.5% line:83% size:67.5% Yeah, I think so. During his studies. 05:27.266 --> 05:29.433 align:left position:30% line:83% size:60% Yeah. He was really young at this time. 05:29.433 --> 05:30.933 align:left position:25% line:83% size:65% Wonder what mark he got for this. 05:30.933 --> 05:32.700 align:left position:32.5% line:83% size:57.5% I bet an A I would give him an A. 05:32.700 --> 05:35.766 align:left position:30% line:89% size:60% Let's try it. 05:35.766 --> 05:54.366 align:left position:42.5% line:89% size:47.5% ♪♪ 05:54.366 --> 05:56.566 align:left position:22.5% line:83% size:67.5% If this sounds like a Beethoven trio, 05:56.566 --> 05:59.600 align:left position:17.5% line:83% size:72.5% he was one of Chopin's early influences. 05:59.600 --> 06:02.666 align:left position:15% line:83% size:75% Though Chopin would soon find his own path. 06:03.000 --> 06:06.100 align:left position:15% line:83% size:75% In one letter, he wrote, “Beethoven challenges 06:06.100 --> 06:07.500 align:left position:30% line:89% size:60% the Universe. 06:07.500 --> 06:11.600 align:left position:12.5% line:83% size:77.5% I decided my universe woul be the soul and heart of man.” 06:12.300 --> 06:31.900 align:left position:42.5% line:89% size:47.5% ♪♪ 06:31.900 --> 06:32.400 align:left position:37.5% line:89% size:52.5% Chopin 06:33.100 --> 06:35.466 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% landed in Paris at 20 years old and was embraced 06:35.466 --> 06:38.566 align:left position:15% line:83% size:75% by other artists of the French romantic movement, 06:38.566 --> 06:42.566 align:left position:12.5% line:83% size:77.5% like the painter Théodore Géricault, famous for his horses 06:43.200 --> 06:44.800 align:left position:27.5% line:83% size:62.5% Jan and I went to see them 06:44.800 --> 06:46.333 align:left position:27.5% line:83% size:62.5% at the Museum of Romantic Life 06:46.533 --> 06:49.533 align:left position:22.5% line:83% size:67.5% with French cellist Camille Tomas. 06:54.066 --> 06:54.500 align:left position:40% line:89% size:50% Yeah. 06:55.066 --> 06:56.900 align:left position:12.5% line:83% size:77.5% This one is really special. - Yeah. 06:56.900 --> 06:58.333 align:left position:25% line:83% size:65% Just the light. - Yes. 06:58.333 --> 07:00.300 align:left position:25% line:83% size:65% And it's such a simple subject. 07:00.300 --> 07:02.366 align:left position:15% line:89% size:75% And it can be so poetic. 07:02.366 --> 07:04.566 align:left position:15% line:89% size:75% Can have so much meaning. 07:04.566 --> 07:05.600 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80% Little bit like Chopin's music. 07:05.600 --> 07:07.600 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80% I think it has this simplicity, 07:07.600 --> 07:12.133 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% but complexity and leaves space for your own emotions. 07:12.133 --> 07:15.566 align:left position:17.5% line:83% size:72.5% Emotion and expression, for sure. 07:15.966 --> 07:18.133 align:left position:22.5% line:89% size:67.5% It's almost human. 07:18.133 --> 07:20.766 align:left position:25% line:83% size:65% It's beautiful. - And listening. 07:20.766 --> 07:21.366 align:left position:37.5% line:89% size:52.5% Aware, 07:21.366 --> 07:24.366 align:left position:27.5% line:89% size:62.5% no? He's open. 07:24.666 --> 07:25.133 align:left position:30% line:89% size:60% Géricault 07:25.733 --> 07:28.666 align:left position:22.5% line:83% size:67.5% was a good example of French romanticism. 07:28.666 --> 07:30.133 align:left position:30% line:89% size:60% And Géricault 07:30.133 --> 07:33.866 align:left position:15% line:83% size:75% horses, studied them in Versailles, spent a lot of time 07:34.366 --> 07:38.266 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% making sure that his depictions were true to how they looked. 07:38.700 --> 07:42.500 align:left position:15% line:83% size:75% And actually did a lot of miniatures, just like Chopin. 07:42.500 --> 07:44.733 align:left position:15% line:83% size:75% And it's actually likely that he and Chopin met 07:44.733 --> 07:46.933 align:left position:17.5% line:83% size:72.5% in this very, very room we are standing. 07:46.933 --> 07:48.400 align:left position:25% line:83% size:65% And Chopin would have been playing 07:48.400 --> 07:49.933 align:left position:25% line:83% size:65% some miniatures of his own. 07:50.166 --> 07:53.166 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% Géricault might have exhibited some of these paintings. 07:53.800 --> 07:58.066 align:left position:22.5% line:83% size:67.5% Also, like Chopin, he led a similar life. 07:58.400 --> 08:02.033 align:left position:17.5% line:83% size:72.5% He started very early, had his first major success 08:02.033 --> 08:05.633 align:left position:15% line:83% size:75% at the age of 21, a true masterpiece, but died young. 08:08.566 --> 08:10.633 align:left position:12.5% line:89% size:77.5% Oh, what a beautiful room. 08:10.633 --> 08:11.866 align:left position:35% line:89% size:55% Stunning. 08:11.866 --> 08:14.500 align:left position:22.5% line:83% size:67.5% So before becoming the Museum of Romantic Life, 08:14.500 --> 08:17.533 align:left position:30% line:83% size:60% this was Ary Scheffer's house. 08:17.533 --> 08:20.400 align:left position:25% line:83% size:65% And he lived here for about 20 years 08:20.400 --> 08:22.633 align:left position:27.5% line:83% size:62.5% and hosted in these very rooms 08:22.633 --> 08:24.733 align:left position:35% line:83% size:55% salons, which guested 08:24.733 --> 08:27.300 align:left position:17.5% line:83% size:72.5% the likes of Chopin or George Sand. 08:27.300 --> 08:29.966 align:left position:22.5% line:83% size:67.5% What makes it quite interesting is Chopin 08:29.966 --> 08:31.633 align:left position:30% line:83% size:60% was different than the rest of them. 08:31.633 --> 08:34.333 align:left position:12.5% line:83% size:77.5% While we may think Chopin's music is Romantic 08:34.333 --> 08:37.266 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% because of the emotions we feel when we hear it, actually 08:37.266 --> 08:40.133 align:left position:27.5% line:83% size:62.5% in definition, it is not Romantic. 08:40.133 --> 08:40.933 align:left position:25% line:89% size:65% Romantic artists 08:41.433 --> 08:45.166 align:left position:12.5% line:83% size:77.5% would focus on creating art that was linked with nature. 08:45.166 --> 08:49.500 align:left position:17.5% line:83% size:72.5% With a storm or the sea or some certain ideal. 08:49.500 --> 08:51.466 align:left position:32.5% line:83% size:57.5% But Chopin like to keep his music pure. 08:51.466 --> 08:54.900 align:left position:15% line:83% size:75% He likes to write beauty for the sake of beauty. 08:55.133 --> 08:57.100 align:left position:15% line:83% size:75% It's almost like he went in the opposite direction 08:57.100 --> 08:58.766 align:left position:22.5% line:83% size:67.5% from the Romantics, like it's 08:58.766 --> 09:01.433 align:left position:15% line:83% size:75% almost the negative image of a Romantic composer. 09:01.433 --> 09:03.666 align:left position:17.5% line:83% size:72.5% He wrote little pieces, shorter pieces 09:03.666 --> 09:05.666 align:left position:12.5% line:83% size:77.5% for one instrument, versus the Romantics 09:05.666 --> 09:07.533 align:left position:15% line:83% size:75% which were trying to push the boundaries. 09:07.533 --> 09:10.366 align:left position:22.5% line:83% size:67.5% Larger orchestras, longer symphonies. 09:10.366 --> 09:12.500 align:left position:12.5% line:89% size:77.5% But Chopin came from Poland 09:12.500 --> 09:15.166 align:left position:22.5% line:83% size:67.5% with his own ideas, his own way of writing. 09:15.166 --> 09:17.466 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% And despite being surrounded and embraced 09:17.466 --> 09:21.333 align:left position:17.5% line:83% size:72.5% by these Romanticists, he stuck to his own voice.