Wunderkind on Holidays

When studying young Fryderyk's activity today, one can get the impression that he was a diligent and observant student who devoted a lot of time to perfecting his playing and compositional skills. Did he have any free time? 

Little we know about the games from the first years of the future composer's life, besides the information that he and his sisters organized a home theater. His pastimes in adolescence are much better documented.

Chopin was regular to cafes. Not only to enjoy a cup of coffee, but also to take part in lively discussions, the arena of which at that time was, among others, the Kopciuszek (Cinderella) cafe.

Not only politics and social affairs, but also artistic events were assessed among cafe frequenters. Fryderyk confided by correspondence to his friend Tytus Woyciechowski:

I would have preferred to be at Kopciuszek to hear the discussions which apparently centred round my person.- Chopin reported after the concert on March 27, 1830 Therefore, Mochnacki, praising me to the skies in the Polish Courier, — especially for the Adagio, ended by counselling more energy. I guessed where this energy lies, so at the next concert I played on a Viennese piano instead of on my own.

Holidays were the time to rest and play. As a student of the Warsaw high school, Fryderyk's was a mate of local landowners' sons. Camaraderie or even friendly relations with young noblemen resulted in holiday invitations to their rural estates.

Thus, fourteen-year-old Chopin visited Szafarnia, a village belonging to the Dziewanowski family, parents of his school friend, Jasio. I am healthy by the grace of God and I always have the most pleasant time - Fryderyk reassured his parents on August 10, 1824 - I do not read or write, but play, draw, run, enjoy fresh air.

Sometimes, the teenage Fryderyk sent his parents letters in a form imitating a newspaper, which he entitled "Kuryer Szafarski" ("The Szafarnia Courrier"), referring to the popular Warsaw daily "Kuryer Warszawski". In Chopin's newspaper you could read about local events:
 

Miss Brygida, the cook, making different turns with bread dough in the bowl, handy and skillfull as she is, threw all the bread to the ground. There was also a column "foreign news": a fierce battle arose in Białków between a dog and a cat for a piece of meat lying on the road.

Unfortunately, the holidays were inexorably coming to an end and Fryderyk returned to his longing parents waiting in Warsaw. Soon it was time to return to school duties. However, Fryderyk was not always a model of diligent student.

...young Fryderyk stopped listening to Samuel Bogumił Linde to escape into the world of artistic passions. The lack of focus on the subject of secondary school classes produced an unusual memento.