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Frederic Francois Chopin was born in Zelazowa Wola, near Warsaw, to a French father and a Polish mother.  The young Chopin began piano lessons at age 6, published his first polonaise the following year, and was giving public piano performances by the time he was 8.  At age 12, Chopin entered the Warsaw conservatory in Poland, where there was no question about his superiority over the other students.  He graduated from the Conservatory at 17, already recognized as the leading pianist and composer of Warsaw.

In 1831, Chopin moved to Paris.  His musical genius was almost immediately recognized, and he was soon in great demand both as a teacher and performer.  His circle of friends in Paris came to include many of the leading artists, musicians, and writers of the time, including Franz Liszt, Victor Hugo, Honore de Balzac, and Heinrich Heine.

An important influence on Chopin was his romantic relationship with the novelist Aurora Dudevant, who published under the name George Sand.  In 1838, when Chopin fell ill. she took him to the island of Majorca, Spain, in hopes that his health would improve.  However, his condition worsened, and Chopin convinced Sand to return to France.

From 1839 to 1846, Chopin wintered in Paris, and wiled away his summers in Nohant, a country estate in central France, belonging to Sand.  During this period he composed many of his best known works.

Chopin's relationship with Sand ended unhappily in 1847.  Shortly afterwards, he was diagnosed as having tuberculosis.  Despite his failing health, he undertook a concert of England and Scotland in 1848.  Greatly weakened by the exertions of his travels, Chopin returned to Paris, where he died on October 17, 1849.

Frederic Chopin is remembered as the Poet of the Piano.  He was the only world-renowned composer who made a specialty of the piano as a solo instrument.  No other composer, before or since, has been so influential in developing modern piano technique and style.

Background Music:  Op.53 'Polonaise in Ab (Heroic)