As often happened with the young musicians of both the Classical and Romantic Periods,
Chopin was sent to Vienna, the unquestioned center of music for that day. He gave piano
concerts and then arranged to have his pieces published by a Viennese publishing house
there. While Chopin was in Austria, Poland and Russia faced off in the apparent beginnings
of war. He returned to Warsaw to get his things in preparation of a more permanent move.
While there, his friends gave him a silver goblet filled with Polish soil. He kept it
always, as he was never able to return to his beloved Poland. French by heritage, and
desirous of finding musical acceptance from a less traditional audience than that of Vienna,
Chopin ventured to Paris. Interestingly, other young musicians had assembled in the city of
fashion with the very same hope. Chopin joined Franz Liszt, Hector Berlioz, Felix
Mendelssohn, Vincenzo Bellini, and Auguste Franchomme, all proponents of the “new” Romantic
style.