inmates of the house, who came carrying lights with them, and then
with a tremendous, crashing chord disturbed the sweet slumbers of the
evil-doers.

Here we have an instance of "la richesse de son improvisation," by
which, as Fontana tells us, Chopin, from his earliest youth, astonished
all who had the good fortune to hear him. Those who think that there
is no salvation outside the pale of absolute music, will no doubt be
horror-stricken at the heretical tendency manifested on this occasion by
an otherwise so promising musician. Nay, even the less orthodox, those
who do not altogether deny the admissibility of programme-music if it
conforms to certain conditions and keeps within certain limits, will
shake their heads sadly. The duty of an enthusiastic biographer, it
would seem, is unmistakable; he ought to justify, or, at least, excuse
his hero--if nothing else availed, plead his youth and inexperience.
My leaving the poor suspected heretic in the lurch under these
circumstances will draw upon me the reproach of remissness; but, as
I have what I consider more important business on hand, I must not be
deterred from proceeding to it by the fear of censure.

The year 1825 was, in many respects, a memorable one in the life of
Chopin. On May 27 and June 10 Joseph Javurek, whom I mentioned a few
pages back among the friends of the Chopin family, gave two concerts for
charitable purposes in the large hall of the Conservatorium. At one of
these Frederick appeared again in public. A Warsaw correspondent of the
"Leipzig Allgemeine musikalische Zeitung" says in the course of one of
his letters:--

The Academist Chopin performed the first Allegro of
Moscheles' Pianoforte Concerto in F [G?] minor, and an
improvisation on the aeolopantaleon. This instrument,
invented by the cabinet-maker Dlugosz, of this town, combines
the aeolomelodicon [FOOTNOTE: An instrument of the organ
species, invented by Professor Hoffmann, and constructed by
the mechanician Brunner, of Warsaw.] with the piano-
forte....Young Chopin distinguished himself in his
improvisation by wealth of musical ideas, and under his hands
this instrument, of which he is a thorough master, made a
great impression.

Unfortunately we learn nothing of Chopin's rendering of the movement
from Moscheles' Concerto. Still, this meagre notice, written by a
contemporary--an ear-witness, who wrote down his impressions soon after
the performance--