Frederic Chopin Biography (Composer/Pianist) Birthplace: Zelazowa Wola, Warsaw, Poland Best known as: Romantic Polish-French piano composer of piano etudes and so on Name at birth: Frederic Francois Chopin Frederic Chopin was one of the great Romantic composers of the 19th century, known especially for his pieces for solo piano. Of French parents, Chopin was born and raised in Poland, near Warsaw. A child prodigy on the piano, he composed and performed publicly from the time he was seven years old. Even when he was a teenager, Chopin wowed critics with his distinctive compositions and light-handed magic on the piano keys. After formal studies in Warsaw, Chopin traveled Europe, and eventually settled in Paris in 1831. He flourished there as a composer and teacher, becoming a salon favorite and hobnobbing with the elite. His promoters included Robert and Clara Schumann , and through Franz Liszt he met George Sand (Aurore Dupin), the flamboyant novelist who raised eyebrows by dressing like a man and taking on various lovers -- including Chopin.

They were together from 1838 until 1847, with Sand ending up more as a caretaker than a lover. Chopin had tuberculosis and was plagued in his last years with illness. He and Sand separated in 1847 and were estranged when he died a year later, at the age of 39. Although he performed publicly rarely, Chopin was famous during his lifetime for his unique melodies and intricate musical forms -- many of them based on Polish folk tunes. Although his life was short, his output was substantial. He composed more than 50 mazurkas, dozens of preludes and nocturnes, at least 13 waltzes, 12 polonaises and one memorable funeral march. Copyright © 1998-2017 by Who2?, LLC. All rights reserved.

Advertisement Advertisement Frederic Chopin | Polish-French composer and pianist | Britannica.com Polish-French composer and pianist Alternative Titles: Frédéric François Chopin, Fryderyk Franciszek Szopen Frederic Chopin Felix Mendelssohn Frédéric Chopin, in full Frédéric François Chopin, Polish Fryderyk Franciszek Szopen (born March 1, 1810, Żelazowa Wola, near Warsaw , Duchy of Warsaw [now in Poland] [see Researcher’s Note: Chopin’s birth date ]—died October 17, 1849, Paris , France ), Polish French composer and pianist of the Romantic period, best known for his solo pieces for piano and his piano concerti. Although he wrote little but piano works, many of them brief, Chopin ranks as one of music’s greatest tone poets by reason of his superfine imagination and fastidious craftsmanship. Life Chopin’s father, Nicholas, a French émigré in Poland , was employed as a tutor to various aristocratic families, including the Skarbeks, at Żelazowa Wola, one of whose poorer relations he married.

When Frédéric was eight months old, Nicholas became a French teacher at the Warsaw lyceum. Chopin himself attended the lyceum from 1823 to 1826. All the family had artistic leanings, and even in infancy Chopin was always strangely moved when listening to his mother or eldest sister playing the piano. By age six he was already trying to reproduce what he heard or to make up new tunes. The following year he started piano lessons with the 61-year-old Wojciech Zywny, an all-around musician with an astute sense of values. Zywny’s simple instruction in piano playing was soon left behind by his pupil, who discovered for himself an original approach to the piano and was allowed to develop unhindered by academic rules and formal discipline . Chopin found himself invited at an early age to play at private soirées, and at eight he made his first public appearance at a charity concert. Three years later he performed in the presence of the Russian tsar Alexander I , who was in Warsaw to open Parliament. Playing was not alone responsible for his growing reputation as a child prodigy .

At seven he wrote a Polonaise in G Minor, which was printed, and soon afterward a march of his appealed to the Russian grand duke Constantine, who had it scored for his military band to play on parade. Other polonaises, mazurkas, variations, ecossaises, and a rondo followed, with the result that, when he was 16, his family enrolled him at the newly formed Warsaw Conservatory of Music. This school was directed by the Polish composer Joseph Elsner, with whom Chopin already had been studying musical theory. Frédéric Chopin, detail of a photo by L.A. Bisson, 1849, taken in the home of his … Photos.com/Thinkstock Ringling Bros. Folds Its Tent No better teacher could have been found, for, while insisting on a traditional training, Elsner, as a Romantically inclined composer himself, realized that Chopin’s individual imagination must never be checked by purely academic demands. Even before he came under Elsner’s eye, Chopin had shown interest in the folk music of the Polish countryside and had received those impressions that later gave an unmistakable national colouring to his work.

At the conservatory he was put through a solid course of instruction in harmony and composition; in piano playing he was allowed to develop a high degree of individuality. Listen: Chopin, Frédéric: Piano Concerto No. 1 in E Minor Second movement, “Romanze larghetto,” of Frédéric Chopin’s … Despite the lively musical life of Warsaw, Chopin urgently needed wider musical experience, and so his devoted parents found the money to send him off to Vienna . After a preliminary expedition to Berlin in 1828, Chopin visited Vienna and made his performance debut there in 1829. A second concert confirmed his success, and on his return home he prepared himself for further achievements abroad by writing his Piano Concerto No. 2 in F Minor (1829) and his Piano Concerto No. 1 in E Minor (1830), as well as other works for piano and orchestra designed to exploit his brilliantly original piano style. His first études were also written at this time (1829–32) to enable him and others to master the technical difficulties in his new style of piano playing.

Listen: Chopin, Frédéric: Étude in G-flat Major (“Black Keys”) Étude in G-flat Major (“Black … In March and October 1830 he presented his new works to the Warsaw public and then left Poland with the intention of visiting Germany and Italy for further study. He had gone no farther than Vienna when news reached him of the Polish revolt against Russian rule; this event, added to the disturbed state of Europe, caused him to remain profitlessly in Vienna until the following July, when he decided to make his way to Paris. Soon after his arrival in what was then the centre of European culture and in the midst of its own late-flowering Romantic movement , Chopin realized that he had found the milieu in which his genius could flourish. He quickly established ties with many Polish émigrés and with a younger generation of composers, including Franz Liszt and Hector Berlioz and, briefly, Vincenzo Bellini and Felix Mendelssohn . The circles to which Chopin’s talents and distinction admitted him quickly acknowledged that they had found the artist whom the moment required, and after a brief period of uncertainty Chopin settled down to the main business of his life—teaching and composing.

His high income from these sources set him free from the strain of concert giving, to which he had an innate repugnance. Britannica Lists & Quizzes Listen: “Fantaisie-Impromptu” Excerpt from Fantaisie-Impromptu (1835) for piano, by … Initially, there were problems, professional and financial. After his Paris concert debut in February 1832, Chopin realized that his extreme delicacy at the keyboard was not to everyone’s taste in larger concert spaces. But an introduction to the wealthy Rothschild banking family later that year suddenly opened up new horizons. With his elegant manners, fastidious dress, and innate sensitivity, Chopin found himself a favourite in the great houses of Paris, both as a recitalist and as a teacher. His new piano works at this time included two startlingly poetic books of études (1829–36), the Ballade in G Minor (1831–35), the Fantaisie-Impromptu (1835), and many smaller pieces, among them mazurkas and polonaises inspired by Chopin’s strong nationalist feeling.

Listen: Chopin, Frédéric: Polonaise-Fantaisie in A-flat Major Frédéric Chopin’s Polonaise-Fantaisie in A-flat Major, … Chopin’s youthful love affairs with Constantia Gladkowska in Warsaw (1830) and Maria Wodzińska in Dresden (1835–36) had come to nothing, though he actually became engaged to the latter. In 1836 he met for the first time the free-living novelist Aurore Dudevant, better known as George Sand ; their liaison began in the summer of 1838. That autumn he set off with her and her children, Maurice and Solange, to winter on the island of Majorca . They rented a simple villa and were idyllically happy until the sunny weather broke and Chopin became ill. When rumours of tuberculosis reached the villa owner, they were ordered out and could find accommodations only in a monastery in the remote village of Valldemosa.

Connect with Britannica Facebook Twitter YouTube Instagram Pinterest The cold and damp, malnutrition, peasant suspiciousness of their strange ménage, and the lack of a suitable concert piano hindered Chopin’s artistic production and further weakened his precarious physical health. Indeed, the privations that Chopin endured hastened the slow decline in his health that ended with his death from tuberculosis 10 years later. Sand realized that only immediate departure would save his life. They arrived at Marseille in early March 1839, and, thanks to a skilled physician, Chopin was sufficiently recovered after just under three months for them to start planning a return to Paris. The summer of 1839 they spent at Nohant, Sand’s country house about 180 miles (290 km) south of Paris. This period following the return from Majorca was to be the happiest and most productive of Chopin’s life, and the long summers spent at Nohant bore fruit in a succession of masterpieces. For a regular source of income, he again turned to private teaching.

His method permitted great flexibility of the wrist and arm and daringly unconventional fingering in the interests of greater agility, with the production of beautiful, singing tone a prime requisite at nearly all times. There was also a growing demand for his new works, and, since he had become increasingly shrewd in his dealings with publishers, he could afford to live elegantly. Health was a recurrent worry, and every summer Sand took him to Nohant for fresh air and relaxation. Close friends, such as Pauline Viardot and the painter Eugène Delacroix , were often invited too. Chopin produced much of his most-searching music at Nohant, not only miniatures but also extended works, such as the Fantaisie in F Minor (composed 1840–41), the Barcarolle (1845–46), the Polonaise-Fantaisie (1845–46), the ballades in A-flat major (1840–41) and F minor (1842), and the Sonata in B Minor (1844). Here, in the country, he found the peace and time to indulge an ingrained quest for perfection.

He seemed particularly anxious to develop his ideas into longer and more-complex arguments, and he even sent to Paris for treatises by musicologists to strengthen his counterpoint . His harmonic vocabulary at this period also grew much more daring, though never at the cost of sensuous beauty. He valued that quality throughout life as much as he abhorred descriptive titles or any hint of an underlying “program.” Trending Topics Eyjafjallajökull volcano Family dissension arising from the marriage of Sand’s daughter, Solange, caused Chopin’s own relationship with Sand to become strained, and he grew increasingly moody and petulant . Some have speculated that, aside from such personal conflicts, his mercurial behaviour may have been attributable to a certain type of epilepsy . In any event, by 1848 the rift between him and Sand was complete, and pride prevented either from effecting the reconciliation they both actually desired. Thereafter Chopin seems to have given up his struggle with ill health. Broken in spirit and depressed by the revolution that had broken out in Paris in February 1848, Chopin accepted an invitation to visit England and Scotland .

His reception in London was enthusiastic, and he struggled through an exhausting round of lessons and appearances at fashionable parties. Chopin lacked the strength to sustain this socializing, however, and he was also unable to compose. By now his health was deteriorating rapidly, and he made his last public appearance on a concert platform at the Guildhall in London on November 16, 1848, when, in a final patriotic gesture, he played for the benefit of Polish refugees. He returned to Paris, where he died the following year; his body, without the heart, was buried at the cemetery of Père Lachaise (his heart was interred at the Church of the Holy Cross in Warsaw). Grave of Frédéric Chopin, Père-Lachaise Cemetery, Paris. Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. Works As a pianist, Chopin was unique in acquiring a reputation of the highest order on the basis of a minimum of public appearances—few more than 30 in the course of his lifetime. His original and sensitive approach to the keyboard allowed him to exploit all the resources of the piano of his day.

He was inexhaustible in discovering colourful new passage work and technical figures; he understood as no one before him the true nature of the piano as an expressive instrument, and he was able to write music that is bound up with the instrument for which it was conceived and which cannot be imagined apart from it. His innovations in fingering, his use of the pedals, and his general treatment of the keyboard form a milestone in the history of the piano, and his works set a standard for the instrument that is recognized as unsurpassable. Listen: Chopin, Frédéric: Prelude No. 4 in E Minor (“Vivace”) Prelude No.

4 in E Minor, “Vivace,” of … Chopin’s works for solo piano include about 61 mazurkas, 16 polonaises, 26 preludes, 27 études, 21 nocturnes, 20 waltzes, 3 sonatas, 4 ballades, 4 scherzos , 4 impromptus , and many individual pieces—such as the Barcarolle, Opus 60 (1846); the Fantasia, Opus 49 (1841); and the Berceuse, Opus 57 (1845)—as well as 17 Polish songs. As a composer, Chopin has acquired increased stature after a period in the late 19th century when his work often was judged by academic standards that were insensible to its individual character. In keyboard style, harmony, and form, he was innovative according to the demands of each specific compositional situation. He had the rare gift of a very personal melody, expressive of heartfelt emotion, and his music is penetrated by a poetic feeling that has an almost universal appeal.

Although “romantic” in its essence, Chopin’s music has a classic purity and discretion, without a sign of exhibitionism. He found within himself and in the tragic story of Poland the chief sources of his inspiration. The theme of Poland’s glories and sufferings was constantly before him, and he transmuted the primitive rhythms and melodies of his youth into enduring art forms. At the same time, he subtly differentiated , for example, the intimate poetic inspiration of the mazurka from the more outward-looking, ceremonial aspect of the polonaise , which in works like the Polonaise-Fantaisie (1846) he expanded to the proportions of symphonic poems for the piano. The waltz , meanwhile, offered him a courtly dance medium on a smaller scale, and he responded not by expanding it but by bringing it to unprecedented levels of polish and grace. From the great Italian singers of the age, he learned the art of “singing” on the piano, and his nocturnes reveal the perfection of his cantabile style and delicate charm of ornamentation.

His ballades and scherzos, on the other hand, have a dramatic turbulence and passion that effectively dispel the notion that Chopin was merely a drawing-room composer. Listen: Chopin, Frédéric: Ballade No. 3 in A-flat Major Frédéric Chopin’s Ballade No. 3 in A-flat Major, Opus … Chopin’s small output was mostly confined to solo piano; yet within its limited framework its range is seen to be vast, comprehending every variety of musical expression. Though Chopin squandered too much time on the drawing-room Parisian aristocracy and disappointed critics who valued artistic worth only in terms of large-scale achievement, he was immediately recognized at his true worth by more-discerning contemporaries, who were astounded by the startling originality he reconciled with exquisite craftsmanship. Present-day evaluation places him among the immortals of music by reason of his insight into the secret places of the heart and because of his awareness of the magical new sonorities to be drawn from the piano.

Frédéric Chopin - Composer | Information Frédéric Chopin Birthplace Zelazowa Wola, Poland Frederic Francois Chopin was a Polish composer, virtuoso pianist, and music teacher of French–Polish parentage. He was one of the great masters of Romantic music and has been called "the poet of the piano". Chopin was born in Zelazowa Wola, a village in the Duchy of Warsaw. A renowned child-prodigy pianist and composer, he grew up in Warsaw and completed his musical education there. Following the Russian suppression of the Polish November 1830 Uprising, he settled in Paris as part of the Polish Great Emigration. He supported himself as a composer and piano teacher, giving few public performances. From 1837 to 1847 he carried on a relationship with the French woman writer George Sand. For most of his life, Chopin suffered from poor health; he died in Paris in 1849 at the age of 39. The vast majority of Chopin's works are exclusively for solo piano, the most notable exceptions being his two piano concertos. His compositions are technically demanding but emphasize nuance and expressive depth.

Chopin invented the musical form known as the instrumental ballade and made major innovations to the piano sonata, mazurka, waltz, nocturne, polonaise, etude, impromptu, scherzo, and prelude. Most Popular Music Frederic Chopin Biography (Composer/Pianist) Birthplace: Zelazowa Wola, Warsaw, Poland Best known as: Romantic Polish-French piano composer of piano etudes and so on Name at birth: Frederic Francois Chopin Frederic Chopin was one of the great Romantic composers of the 19th century, known especially for his pieces for solo piano. Of French parents, Chopin was born and raised in Poland, near Warsaw. A child prodigy on the piano, he composed and performed publicly from the time he was seven years old. Even when he was a teenager, Chopin wowed critics with his distinctive compositions and light-handed magic on the piano keys. After formal studies in Warsaw, Chopin traveled Europe, and eventually settled in Paris in 1831. He flourished there as a composer and teacher, becoming a salon favorite and hobnobbing with the elite.

His promoters included Robert and Clara Schumann , and through Franz Liszt he met George Sand (Aurore Dupin), the flamboyant novelist who raised eyebrows by dressing like a man and taking on various lovers -- including Chopin. They were together from 1838 until 1847, with Sand ending up more as a caretaker than a lover. Chopin had tuberculosis and was plagued in his last years with illness. He and Sand separated in 1847 and were estranged when he died a year later, at the age of 39. Although he performed publicly rarely, Chopin was famous during his lifetime for his unique melodies and intricate musical forms -- many of them based on Polish folk tunes. Although his life was short, his output was substantial. He composed more than 50 mazurkas, dozens of preludes and nocturnes, at least 13 waltzes, 12 polonaises and one memorable funeral march. Copyright © 1998-2016 by Who2?, LLC. All rights reserved.

The Life And Music Of Frederic Chopin : NPR The Life And Music Of Frederic Chopin March 2, 201012:00 PM ET Ted Libbey Grande Polonaise Brillante in E-flat, Op. 22 8:29 Embed Embed <iframe src="" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Waltz for piano No. 7 in C sharp minor, Op. 64/2, CT. 213 3:04 Embed Embed <iframe src="" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Etudes (12) for piano, Op. 10, CT. 14-25 [No. 12 in C minor, "Revolutionary" - "Fall of Warsaw"] 2:35 Embed Embed <iframe src="" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> More About Chopin Full Chopin Archive Chopin, Frederic Francois (b.

Zelazowa Wola, March 1, 1810; d. Paris, October 17, 1849) Frederic Chopin was a Polish-born pianist and composer of matchless genius in the realm of keyboard music. As a pianist, his talents were beyond emulation and had an impact on other musicians entirely out of proportion to the number of concerts he gave — only 30 public performances in 30 years of concertizing. No one before or since has contributed as many significant works to the piano's repertoire, or come closer to capturing its soul. Early Years Chopin's mother was Polish, his father a Frenchman who had come to Poland as a young man and held jobs as a bookkeeper and tutor before marrying and settling in Warsaw. Young Frederic studied piano with Wojciech Zywny and harmony and counterpoint with Jozef Elsner, gave his first concert when he was 8, and rather quickly outdistanced his teachers. His name became known outside of Poland when his Variations, Op.

2, for piano and orchestra on Mozart 's "La ci darem la mano" — written when he was 17 — were published in 1830, prompting Robert Schumann 's famous accolade in the Allgemeine musikalische Zeitung: "Hats off, gentlemen! A genius!" In the spring and autumn of 1830, Chopin treated the Warsaw audience to a pair of newly composed, marvelously poetic piano concertos. Seeking to expand his horizons, he left Poland for Vienna in November 1830, and after eight months there, headed for Paris. He would never again return to his native country, but Poland's loss would be Paris' gain. Article continues after sponsorship Off To Paris By the 1830s, Paris had become the undisputed center of European culture — a hotbed of new thinking in the arts and letters and the focal point of Romanticism in music. After a sensational debut at the Salle Pleyel on Feb.

26, 1832, with Franz Liszt , Felix Mendelssohn and Luigi Cherubini among those in the audience, Chopin, three days shy of his 22nd birthday, took his place as one of the celebrities of the French capital. He found himself in such demand as a teacher that he was able to make a comfortable living, and he hobnobbed with the great artists of the day, forming particularly close friendships with Eugene Delacroix, who would paint a splendid portrait of him in 1838, and Liszt. Chopin's works from his first years in Paris include the Nocturnes of Opp. 9 and 15 (1830-32), the 12 Etudes, Op. 25 (1835-37), dedicated to Liszt's mistress, the Comtesse Marie d'Agoult, the Scherzo in B-flat minor, Op. 31 (1837), the Sonata in B-flat minor, Op. 35 (1837), and the G minor Ballade, Op. 23.

In 1836, Chopin became engaged to Maria Wodzinski, but the engagement was broken off by her family the following year. Reaching New Heights Chopin's art reached a new plateau in the late 1830s as a result of his involvement with the writer Aurore Dudevant, six years his senior, who in 1832 had taken to calling herself George Sand. Some of his greatest works emerged as a result of the emotional contentment he felt in the early days of their nine-year liaison. They spent the winter of 1838-39 together on Majorca, living in adjacent rooms in an abandoned Carthusian monastery. Chopin endured his first major bout of tuberculosis, but though seriously ill managed to complete the 24 Preludes, Op. 28 (1838-39). During the 1840s, in spite of emotional ups and downs and recurrent illness, he produced a remarkable body of compositions that included the Ballades in A-flat, Op. 47, and F minor, Op. 52, the Mazurkas of Opp.

50, 56, 59, 63 and 67, the A-flat major Polonaise, Op. 53, the Nocturnes of Opp. 48, 55 and 62, and the Sonata in B minor, Op. 58 (1844). The best of these works — the B minor Sonata, the Op. 55 Nocturnes and the Op. 56 Mazurkas — are characterized by remarkable refinement and complexity, along with a newly rich sense of ambivalence. The opening movement of the sonata finds Chopin at the summit of inspiration, weaving turbulence and romantic yearning into a beautifully seamless expression. The situation with George Sand began to deteriorate in 1843, and in 1847 the break came. By then, Chopin was gravely ill; seeking escape, he left Paris in April 1848 for an extended sojourn in England and Scotland, from which he returned, exhausted, in November. He composed virtually nothing in the final year of his life.

The Composer And His Piano Chopin was the first composer of genius to devote himself uniquely to the piano — every one of his works was written for it either as solo instrument or in combination with other instruments. The majority of his solo pieces are in shorter forms, and improvisatory by nature. These include 20 nocturnes, 25 preludes, 17 waltzes, 15 polonaises, 58 mazurkas and 27 etudes. In these works, especially the nocturnes, preludes and mazurkas, the emotions are fleeting, and precious because of that. Chopin also achieved success in larger forms, including the scherzo, a form he reinvented; the ballade, a genre he invented; and the sonata. The four Ballades and the Sonatas in B-flat minor and B minor are among his greatest creations, combining passionate drama and lyrical tenderness in a memorable way.

In his remarkably advanced treatment of harmony and rhythm, Chopin banished the ordinary from his music and opened the door to an emotional ambiguity that continues to intrigue listeners — one whose communication requires subtleties of execution that generations of pianists have labored devotedly to achieve. The luminous textures and haunting melodies he used to express his thoughts added to the piano's sound and range of color shadings that no one before him had imagined were there, but that all who have followed recognize as his. The same is true of the harmonic question marks one finds throughout his music — the equivalent of a look of gentle longing. He created a slimmer oeuvre than his important contemporaries, but every piece he produced was a pearl. Frederic Chopin: Polish-Born Pianist & Composer of Unparalleled Intellect Frederic Chopin: Polish-Born Pianist & Composer of Unparalleled Intellect Written by Ariel Prochowski April 3, 2015 The Life of Frederic Chopin Portrait of Chopin Summary Frederic Chopin is considered to have been Poland’s greatest music composer. He is known for his matchless efforts in piano composition and for having a lasting influence on composers that came decades after his time.

Roots & Beginnings Frederic Chopin was born Fryderyk Francziszek Szopen on March 1, 1810 in Zelazowa Wola, Poland. His father, Nicholas, was a Frenchman who immigrated to Poland as a young man and worked as a bookkeeper when he met and married, Justyna Krzyzanowska, Frederic’s Polish mother. When Frederic was born, Nicholas found a job as a tutor for aristocratic families in Warsaw. Nicholas’s job exposed the young Frederic to a cultured Warsaw society and his mother introduced him to music at the age of 6. Shortly after, Frederic was already playing the piano and composing his own tunes. His parents immediately noticed this talent and hired professional musician, Wojciech Zywny, for lessons. However, young Frederic soon surpassed his mentor in both skill and creativity.

Portrait of Chopin's Family Rise to Fame By the age of 8, Chopin was performing in lavish salons and creating his own music, including the widely acclaimed, “Polonaise in G Minor.” By 1826, he had a plethora of diverse piano compositions under his belt, so his parents signed him up for the Warsaw Conservatory of Music. There, he learned under Polish composer, Jozef Elsner, for three years. Chopin’s parents soon realized that young Chopin was limiting himself by staying in Poland, so at the age of 19, they shipped him out to Vienna, where he made his performance debut. Audiences were fascinated with the boy’s technical yet emotional and animated recitals. Chopin spent the next few years entertaining audiences in Poland, Germany, Austria, and Paris, where he ended up staying in 1832. In France, Chopin befriended a variety of other new composers, including Franz Liszt, Vincenzo Bellini, and Felix Mendelssohn. Unfortunately for Poland, Chopin would never return to his native land.

Young Frederic Playing the Piano The Glory Days In the mid 1830s, Paris was unquestionably known as the heart of European culture with innovations in the arts and Romanticism in music. On February 26, 1832, Chopin made his memorable debut at the Salle Pleyel with Liszt, Mendelssohn, and Luigi Cherubini in the audience. However, Chopin found that his gentle style did not always satisfy larger audiences, who were used to listening to celebrities like Franz Schubert and Ludwig Van Beethoven. Nonetheless, after Chopin was fortunately acquainted with the Rothschild family, he was able to find recitalist and teaching jobs in the magnificent parlors of Paris. It is then that Chopin became very wealthy and created pieces like the “Nocturnes of Opp. 9 and 15” (1830-1832), the 12 “Etudes, Op. 25” (1835-1837), the “Scherzo in B-flat minor, Op. 31” (1837), the “Sonata in B-flat minor, Op.

35” (1837), and the “G minor Ballade, Op. 23” (1837). This popularity caused Chopin to spend his time with some of the greatest artists of the era, including Eugene Delacroix, who would eventually paint Chopin’s portrait in 1838. An Example of Chopin Sheet Music Love Life & Growing Popularity Chopin enjoyed a number of short love affairs, and was even engaged at one point with Maria Wodzinski in 1836, but her family broke off the relationship a year later. In 1838, Chopin started a love affair with Aurore Dedevant, a French novelist who was also known as George Sand. Chopin became very ill when spending an unforgiving winter with Sand on the island of Majorca, living in neighboring rooms in a deserted Carthusian monastery. During this time, he wrote his 24 “Preludes, Op. 28” (1838-1839). In March 1939, Sand took Chopin to Marseille for medical attention. There, he was diagnosed with tuberculosis, but an experienced physician saved his life.

In May 1839, Chopin and Sand settled in Sand’s country home in Nohant, France. The next seven years, Chopin admitted, were the best and most joyful times of his life as he composed numerous amounts of masterpieces, including the “Ballades in A-flat, Op. 47,” “F minor, Op. 52,” the “A-flat major Polonaise, Op. 53,” the “Sonata in B minor, Op. 58,” the “Nocturnes of Opp. 48, 55 and 62,” and the “Mazurkas of Opp. 50, 56, 59, 63, and 67” (1844). The “B minor Sonata,” the “Op. 55 Nocturnes,” and the “Op. 56 Mazurkas” were the most popular as they were not only highly complex, but they also provided a unique sense of fluctuation. These pieces caused for Chopin to become even more of a celebrity as his wealth continued to grow.

Health Concerns & Decline By the mid-1840s, Chopin’s health and relationship with Sand waned. Due to an undiagnosed form of epilepsy, Chopin began to act unpredictably as Sand wrote about their failed relationship in her 1846 novel, Lucrezia Floriani. Both parties were too arrogant to fix the relationship and it thus ended in 1847/1848. This event ruined Chopin’s attitude toward life and consequently, his health turned for the worse as well. Chopin attempted a final tour to the British Isles, where he was bombarded by an overbooked schedule of concerts, making his final appearance on November 16, 1848. Chopin essentially stopped composing his own music at this time. He returned to Paris and shortly died after on October 17, 1849 at the age of 38. Chopin’s body was buried at Pere Lachaise cemetery and his heart was entombed at a Polish church close to where he was born.

Here is a Photo of Frederic Chopin Accomplishments Over his lifetime, Frederic Chopin gave 30 public performances and composed 20 nocturnes, 25 preludes, 17 waltzes, 15 polonaises, 58 mazurkas, and 27 etudes. A Piano That Chopin Left Behind References Frédéric Chopin - Music on Google Play Frédéric Chopin About the artist Frédéric François Chopin, born Fryderyk Franciszek Chopin, was a Polish composer and virtuoso pianist of the Romantic era who wrote primarily for the solo piano. He gained and has maintained renown worldwide as a leading musician of his era, whose "poetic genius was based on a professional technique that was without equal in his generation." Chopin was born in what was then the Duchy of Warsaw and grew up in Warsaw, which in 1815 became part of Congress Poland. A child prodigy, he completed his musical education and composed his earlier works in Warsaw before leaving Poland at the age of 20, less than a month before the outbreak of the November 1830 Uprising.

At 21 he settled in Paris. Thereafter, during the last 18 years of his life, he gave only some 30 public performances, preferring the more intimate atmosphere of the salon. He supported himself by selling his compositions and by teaching piano, for which he was in high demand. Chopin formed a friendship with Franz Liszt and was admired by many of his musical contemporaries, including Robert Schumann. In 1835 he obtained French citizenship. Ludwig van Beethoven 0 Ludwig van Beethoven was a German composer and pianist. A crucial figure in the transition between the Classical and Romantic eras in Western art music, he remains one of the most famous and influe... 0 Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart 0 Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, baptised as Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart, was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical era. Born in Salzburg, he showed prodigious ability... 0 Franz Liszt 0 Franz Liszt was a prolific 19th-century Hungarian composer, virtuoso pianist, conductor, music teacher, arranger, organist, philanthropist, author, nationalist and a Franciscan tertiary. Liszt gain...

Johann Sebastian Bach 0 Johann Sebastian Bach was a German composer and musician of the Baroque period. He enriched established German styles through his skill in counterpoint, harmonic and motivic organisation, and the a... 0 Franz Schubert 0 Franz Peter Schubert was an Austrian composer. Schubert died before his 32nd birthday, but was extremely prolific during his lifetime. His output consists of over six hundred secular vocal works, s... 0 Johannes Brahms 0 Johannes Brahms was a German composer and pianist. Born in Hamburg into a Lutheran family, Brahms spent much of his professional life in Vienna, Austria. His reputation and status as a composer is ... 0 Robert Schumann 0 Robert Schumann was a German composer and influential music critic. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest composers of the Romantic era. Schumann left the study of law, intending to pursue a... 0 Claude Debussy 0 Achille-Claude Debussy, known since the 1890s as Claude-Achille Debussy or Claude Debussy, was a French composer. He and Maurice Ravel were the most prominent figures associated with Impressionist ...

0 Antonio Vivaldi 0 Antonio Lucio Vivaldi was an Italian Baroque composer, virtuoso violinist, teacher and cleric. Born in Venice, he is recognized as one of the greatest Baroque composers, and his influence during hi... 0 Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky 0 Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, often anglicized as Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky, was a Russian composer of the late-Romantic period, some of whose works are among the most popular music in the classical rep... 0 Franz Joseph Haydn 0 Joseph Haydn was a prolific Austrian composer of the Classical period. He was instrumental in the development of chamber music such as the piano trio and his contributions to musical form have earn... 0 Felix Mendelssohn 0 Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy, born and widely known as Felix Mendelssohn, was a German composer, pianist, organist and conductor of the early Romantic period. A grandson of the philosop...

0 Sergei Rachmaninoff 0 Sergei Vasilievich Rachmaninoff was a Russian pianist, composer, and conductor of the late-Romantic period, some of whose works are among the most popular in the classical repertoire. He is regarde... 0 Niccolò Paganini 0 Niccolò Paganini was an Italian violinist, violist, guitarist, and composer. He was the most celebrated violin virtuoso of his time, and left his mark as one of the pillars of modern violin techniq... 0 Antonín Dvořák 0 Antonín Leopold Dvořák was a Czech composer. After Bedřich Smetana, he was the second Czech composer to achieve worldwide recognition. Following Smetana's nationalist example, Dvořák frequently emp... 0 George Frideric Handel 0 George Frideric Handel was a German, later British baroque composer who spent the bulk of his career in London, becoming well known for his operas, oratorios, anthems, and organ concertos. Handel r...

0 Fr�d�ric Chopin - Piano Society Piano Society Frï¿œdï¿œric Chopin (1810 - 1849) Frï¿œdï¿œric Franï¿œois Chopin (born in Zelazowa Wola, 1810; died in Paris, 1849). Life Chopin, Polish pianist and composer. Born in 1810 in Poland (Zelazowa Wola) and perhaps the greatest composer for piano ever. One can ask just about any person, musically interested or not, to name a piano composer and a majority will come up with the name Chopin. Chopin grew up on the countryside outside of Warsaw as the only son among three children, he being the second oldest. The family was not rich but neither poor and music was always present as both parents were musically gifted. It is told that Chopin's mother was a decent piano player and his father could bring out spellbinding melodies. Altogether, with the exception of the tragic death his youngest sister at the age of 14, Chopin's childhood seems solid and happy.

As an infant, Chopin's parents were worried that he did not like music, as he easily started crying when music was played. However, it is now believed that the reason was rather the opposite - that music affected Chopin greatly even in very young years. Chopin began seriously to play the piano at the age of 5, taught by his older sister Ludwika. His talent was immediately apparent, and the services of a piano teacher were subsequently enlisted in order to support his practise. This piano teacher was Zywny - a generous man and friend to the family. He was not a teacher of the strict disciplinary kind, which disciplined schooled teacher which - in the case of a briliant student like Chopin - only proved to be an advantage. At the age of 7, Chopin was already somewhat famous in Warsaw and made his first appearance for the Russian prince just before he turned 8. The very same year, Chopin's first compositions were published in a local Warsaw newspaper. Chopin was a highly dedicated student. It is even said that he - at the early age of 7 - slept by his own free will with wine-corks between his fingers in order to achieve a wider grip. He knew his destiny.

Chopin's abilities developed greatly during his young years and he was soon recognized a child prodigy - widly known not only in Poland but also by the Russians for whom he gave several recitals. While Zywny brought him the most fundamental piano practise and encouraged his innative power to compose, Chopin soon needed a more skilled teacher to advance further. He was therefore directed to Josef Elsner. Elsner played a very important role in Chopin's development as a composer, and his influence on the musical world scene was highly valuable. It was at the Conservatory, studying under Elsner, that Chopin got in contact with, for example, John Field's Nocturnes, Bach's preludes and fugues, Clementi, Mozart, Beethoven etc. Elsner should be thanked for not trying to shape Chopin's unusual technique and ideas into a mainstream form of pianism, but rather letting the young genius explore all possibilities and forms of music through his own inventive abilities. After the studies, Chopin went to Vienna, where he was recognised as a decent pianist with some nicely written compositions, but altogether, it was not the success he had hoped for.

Thus, he went back to Warsaw and, subsequently, set his course for Paris. In Paris, Chopin did not immediately achieve success. It took a couple of hard years of composing and performing before he had worked himself into the highest society where he gave lessons for royalties and could receive the highest gage for his compositions. Chopin became extremely famous and as one example, on the question of who was the best pianist of Kalkbrenner or Liszt, the joking answer, but with an underlying seriousness, was Chopin. So highly was he thought of not only as a composer or teacher but also as a pianist. Chopin is often compared with people and especially with Liszt but it is a most irrelevant comparison. The very different characters played on different arenas and while the truly romantic Liszt toured as a virtuoso, spellbinding his audience with his extra ordinary capabilities and gave himself totally into the new world of free love, Chopin was composing, mostly Saloon music, gave piano lessons and was the noble gentleman of the old school. Chopin was never to return to Poland again and made very few trips outside France, mainly because of his weak health.

Among the most famous is the disastrous trip to Mallorca which almost got him killed and the trip to Scotland which was equally bad for his health. Chopin was diagnosed with Tuberculosis early in his life and it is a wonder that he even reached the age of 39 before the disease finally took his life in 1849, after about 15 years of struggle. At this young age, Chopin had composed an amazing amount of works from a wide range of piano genres. Chopin's Music Chopin is known as a romantic composer, using his abilities for the purpose of spellbinding the audience. But within the term romantic lies perhaps the greatest misunderstanding of Chopin's music. Despite the fact that he lived in the romantic era and had a very special use of tempo rubato, Chopin's music is a direct throw-back to the baroque era but in a modern form. Of course, Chopin was greatly affected by the epoc in which he lived in, but his ideas and masters where not his contemporaries - as for example his great love of Bach's music shows.

It is in his letters to his pupils where many of his ideas of music and piano playing are found and below are some examples: - Every pupil, however advanced, should study Clementi's Gradus ad Parnassum. - Compositions used by Chopin for instruction: Works of Beethoven, Hummel, Field, Dussek, Hiller and Scarlatti. To study music: Bach, Mozart and Hï¿œndel. - Rhythm: The left hand should act like an orchestra conductor...It is the clock...Rhythm must not be violated. - Rubato is for the right hand and should be restricted to a single bar or a melody figure but for where the rubato resides within the marked dynamics. The Mazurkas are the exceptions. Chopin the genius A lot have been written about Chopin and his music but surprisingly little material highlights his revolutionary compositional style which was setting a new standard to the piano music of his time. I will give a couple of examples below that few people know about. - It was Chopin alone who invented the concept ï¿œEtude de concertï¿œ and this was revolutionary news when the first set op.10 was released. Etudes for concert!

Many virtuosos took it to their heart and added Chopin's Etudes to their repertoire. - Despite the fact that John Field invented the genre ï¿œNocturnesï¿œ, it was Chopin who refined the concept of a singing melody over broken left hand chords to the state of an accepted master music form. And according to my personal view, no composer has been able to steal his crown. Chopin's Nocturnes are still unsurpassed. - Of course did Chopin not invent the Polonaise and Mazurka but it was he alone who recast the polish folk music into piano form and put it on the world arena. - A scherzo was before Chopin's op.20 an element of another composition, such as a Sonata. However, Chopin isolated this musical idea, and refined the Scherzo into a genre of its own. - Chopin's preludes op.28 were at the time of their release a sensation, while also giving rise to confusion. Preludes to what? The question is still unanswered. Among the preludes - these sketch-like masterpieces - can for instance be found the so-called "raindrop prelude" (no.

15). As a sidenote, this prelude was NOT composed in the monastery in Mallorca (Raindrops against the roof) as the famous story tells. It is today proven that it was finished before he even went to Mallorca (see Jeremy Siepmann's biography ï¿œThe reluctant Romanticï¿œ for more information). - Last but not least Chopin's Ballades deserve some comments. Chopin worked with the first Ballade on and off for two years and it was again a revolutionary move of Chopin the genius. Until now, the Ballade was a telling story performed by a singer, very often in an act. Chopin succeeded in producing the soul of this story telling by using strictly pianistic means. The examples above make Chopin greater than any of his contemporaries and constitutes the definition of a true genius: the ability to invent something new. Recordings

Question: Pianist and composer Frederic Chopin was born in which country?
Answer: Poland