![]() 31 (1837), the Sonata in B-flat minor, Op. 25 (1835-37), dedicated to Liszt's mistress, the Comtesse Marie d'Agoult, the Scherzo in B-flat minor, Op. Chopin's works from his first years in Paris include the Nocturnes of Opp. 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. 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. After a sensational debut at the Salle Pleyel on Feb. He would never again return to his native country, but Poland's loss would be Paris' gain.īy 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. Seeking to expand his horizons, he left Poland for Vienna in November 1830, and after eight months there, headed for Paris. 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. His name became known outside of Poland when his Variations, Op. 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. No one before or since has contributed as many significant works to the piano's repertoire, or come closer to capturing its soul.Ĭhopin'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. ![]() 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. Paris, October 17, 1849)įrederic Chopin was a Polish-born pianist and composer of matchless genius in the realm of keyboard music. It shines in the hands of interpreters who are prepared to burrow into the implications within this piece rather than stick to its surface.Chopin, Frederic Francois (b. The emotional world of this music is deeply sophisticated and sensual. Many are concert favorites, so what, then, is so special about this one? Well, what isn’t? Over a dipping and plunging accompaniment, two unmistakable voices seem to interact, plead, argue, conflict, despair, and reconcile – a pas de deux for invisible dancers or a wordless operatic duet, perhaps. The 21 Nocturnes are brief poetic marvels: sometimes tranquil nightscapes, sometimes startling, shadowy, and haunted-sounding works. Listen to the best Chopin works on Apple Music and Spotify. No other composer has contributed as many significant works to the piano’s repertoire. His major piano works include Sonatas, Mazurkas, Waltzes, Nocturnes, Polonaises, Études, Impromptus, Scherzos, and Préludes, some published only after his death. Chopin invented the concept of the instrumental Ballade. His beautiful melodies blended lush bel canto lyricism with Classical restraint. Among the influences on his style of composition were Polish folk music, the classical tradition of JS Bach, Mozart, and Schubert, and the atmosphere of the Paris salons of which he was a frequent guest. ![]() Chopin was born in the small village of Zelazowa Wola, in the Duchy of Warsaw, to a Polish mother and French-expatriate father, and was a child prodigy pianist. He was one of the great masters of Romantic music and wrote primarily for solo piano. Frédéric Chopin (1 March 1810 – 17 October 1849) was a Polish composer and virtuoso pianist.
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