One little anecdote
is related in connection with this which throws some light on his
wit, and a little pinch of sarcasm in it.
"During the time of Chopin's greatest brilliancy and popularity,
in the year 1835, he once played his musical portraits in a
certain Polish salon, where the three daughters of the house were
the stars of the evening. After a few portraits had been
extemporized, one of these ladies wished to have hers--Mme.
Delphine Potocka. Chopin, in reply, drew her shawl from her
shoulders, threw it on the keyboard and began to play, implying
in this two things; first, that he knew the character of the
brilliant and famous queen of fashion so well, that by heart and
in the dark he was able to depict it; secondly, that this
character and this soul is hidden under habits, ornamentations
and decorations of an elegant worldly life, through the symbol of
elegance and fashion of that day, as the tones of the piano
through the shawl."
Because Chopin did not label his works with any but general
titles, Ballades, Scherzi, Studies, Preludes and the like, his
music sounds all the better: the listener is not pinned down to
any precise mood, the music being allowed to work its particular
charm without the aid of literary crutches for unimaginative
minds.
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