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)
