A radio programme has claimed music archivists and biographers have deliberately ignored Frédéric Chopin’s interest in men, in order to make the Polish Romantic composer conform with conservative norms. Chopin’s Men, a two-hour-long show that aired on Switzerland’s SRF arts channel, claims the composer’s letters have been deliberately mistranslated, hints at his interest in ‘cottaging’ ignored, and rumours of his affairs with women exaggerated. Presenter and music journalist, Moritz Weber, started reading through Chopin’s letters during the first lockdown and discovered a “flood of declarations of love aimed at men”, some overtly erotic and with smatterings of innuendo. In one, Chopin described rumours of his affairs with women as a “cloak for hidden feelings”. Chopin’s most studied love affair to date was with the French novelist George Sand – real name Aurore Dupin Dudevant – who changed her moniker in order to be taken seriously in 19th-century, male-dominated literary circles. She also defied societal norms for a woman by smoking cigars and wearing trousers. Chopin called her his “angel”, and they were supposedly in a relationship for over 10 years.