 Polish
composer and pianist of the romantic school, regarded by some as the greatest
of all composers of music for the piano. Born Fryderyk Chopin in Zelazowa
Wola, near Warsaw, of a French father and a Polish mother, he preferred
to use the French name Frédéric. He began to study the piano
at the age of four, and when he was eight years old he played at a private
concert in Warsaw. Later he studied harmony and counterpoint at the Warsaw
Conservatory. Chopin was also precocious as a composer: His first published
composition is dated 1817. He gave his first concerts as a piano virtuoso
in 1829 in Vienna, where he lived for the next two years. After 1831,
except for brief absences, Chopin lived in Paris, where he became noted
as a pianist, teacher, and composer. He formed an intimate relationship
in 1837 with French writer George Sand. In 1838 Chopin began to suffer
from tuberculosis and Sand nursed him in Mallorca, in the Balearic Islands,
and in France until continued differences between the two resulted in
an estrangement in 1847. Thereafter his musical activity was limited to
giving several concerts in 1848 in France, Scotland, and England. He died
in Paris of tuberculosis. Nearly all of Chopin's compositions are
for piano. Although an expatriate, he was deeply loyal to his war-torn
homeland; his mazurkas reflect the rhythms and melodic traits of Polish
folk music, and his polonaises are marked by a heroic spirit. Italian
opera composer Vincenzo Bellini also influenced his melodies. His ballades,
scherzos, and études exemplify his large-scale works for solo piano.
His music, romantic and lyrical in nature, is characterized by exquisite
melody of great originality, refined-often adventurous-harmony, subtle
rhythm, and poetic beauty. Chopin greatly influenced other composers,
notably the Hungarian pianist and composer
Franz Liszt, German composer
Richard Wagner, and French composer
Claude Debussy. Chopin's many published
compositions include 55 mazurkas, 27 études, 24 preludes, 19 nocturnes,
13 polonaises, and 3 piano sonatas. Among his other works are the Concertos
in E minor and in F minor, both for piano and orchestra, the cello concerto,
and 17 songs.
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