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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.
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