The Wodzinskis were
noble and wealthy. In the summer of 1836, at Marienbad, Chopin
met Marie again. In 1837, the engagement was broken and the
following year the inconstant beauty married the son of Chopin's
godfather, Count Frederic Skarbek. As the marriage did not prove
a success--perhaps the lady played too much Chopin--a divorce
ensued and later she married a gentleman by the name of
Orpiszewski. Count Wodzinski wrote "Les Trois Romans de Frederic
Chopin," in which he asserts that his sister rejected Chopin at
Marienbad in 1836. But Chopin survived the shock. He went back to
Paris, and in July 1837, accompanied by Camille Pleyel and
Stanislas Kozmian, visited England for the first time. His stay
was short, only eleven days, and his chest trouble dates from
this time. He played at the house of James Broadwood, the piano
manufacturer, being introduced by Pleyel as M. Fritz; but his
performance betrayed his identity. His music was already admired
by amateurs but the critics with a few exceptions were
unfavorable to him.
Now sounds for the first time the sinister motif of the George
Sand affair.
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