Writer Ted Libby may have said it well in his2010 NPR articlecelebrating 200 years of the musicalgeniusFrédéric Chopin . Libby reason that no one before or since Chopin has conduce as many significant piano whole works and compose that Chopin ’s impact on othermusiciansis " only out of balance to the number of concerts he gave — only 30 public carrying out in 30 years of concertize . " In his surprisingly short career , Chopin managed to lead a lasting fall guy on the classical writing style and the music world at prominent .
Born on March 1 , 1810 , in Zelazowa Wola , Poland , Fryderyk Franciszek Szopen , who went on to be known as Frédéric Chopin , developed an early ear for medicine . His parent , Justyna Krzyzanowska and Nicholas Szopen , affect to Warsaw presently after their Logos ’s giving birth when Nicholas regain a Book of Job as a tutor for aristocratic families . By age 6 , Chopin was already playing the piano and play with composition , so his parents jumped at the opportunity to perfect his early talent . They hired professional musicianWojciech Zywnyto provide their young Logos piano object lesson , but Chopin promptly outgrow the kid - story social class .
" The breeding Chopin received in Poland included composition lessons , literature , mathematics , science , pedagogy in six languages , logic , philosophy , geographics and more,“Roza Kostrzewska Yoder , artistic director of Los Angeles piano studio , Chopin Academy , writes via email . " It serve as a ground for his entire life . "
Chopin Debuts in Vienna at 19
By the clock time he was 8 geezerhood old , Chopin was in full write his own compositions and performing for audiences in salon . By age 16 , he had several original pianissimo compositions of change styles under belt , and his parents enrolled him in the Warsaw Conservatory of Music . After three long time there , studying under Polish composer Josef Elsner , Chopin moved on again , thanks to his parent ' recognition of his unparalleled control and talent . In 1929 , he made his entry in Vienna , and over the next few years , play for audience throughout Poland , Austria and Germany . In 1832 , he detect a new home in Paris , France .
" The Chopin we know would n’t have been if not for the superb rearing of family , the high level of education he find from his insightful teacher , the influence of his booster and the general political and intellectual atmosphere in Poland before he left his home for Paris at the historic period of 19 , " Yoder says . " Franz Liszt tell , ' the atmosphere in which Chopin reckon the light of daytime and was wreak up , like a strong and cozy nest , was filled with a sense of harmony , tranquility , and severe study ; those examples of simplicity , piety and delicacy were always the most sweet and beloved to him . ' "
In addition to Liszt , Chopin became close with other young composers , including Vincenzo Bellini and Felix Mendelssohn , but he soon discover Parisian audiences were n’t always prepare for his more delicate piano stylings since artists like Franz Schubert and Ludwig van Beethoven had reigned supreme prior to his debut . But soon , Chopin crossed paths with a affluent banking family known as the Rothschilds , and new opportunity issue as they introduce him to Paris ' high order as a well - mannered and tender recitalist and teacher . It was during this period in his career that Chopin indite some of his most famous piano whole kit including the " Ballade in G Minor , " the " Fantaisie - Impromptu , " " Nocturne of Op . 9 " and " Nocturne of Op . 15 , " the " Scherzo in Bel - flat Minor , Op . 31 " and the " Sonata in B-complex vitamin - plane Minor , Op . 35 . "
" Chopin ’s euphony was based on a classical tradition of composition and he always pledged his commitment to Bach , Mozart , Beethoven and others , " Yoder say . " Often ( as with his scherzos and sonata ) , he adopt classical figure and pour into them a newfangled spirit . His understanding of the fluidity of tempo in rubato , his sensitivity to the peach of the sound in cantabile , his revolutionary advance to a proficiency based on ingenuousness and flexibility , and his aesthetic based on the money plant of share abstruse tone characterize his unparalleled style and make him a pioneer of Modern pianistic idiom . "
A straightaway and generalbreakdownof Chopin’svarying musical style : He composed ballades ( undivided - movement piano pieces ) , sonatas ( solo pieces ordinarily spell in three or four movements ) , mazurka ( Polish ethnic music piece ) , waltzes ( dance music in triple m , often written in 3/4 clip ) , nocturne ( piece of music urge by the night ) , études ( short compositions to demonstrate the skill of a participant ) , scherzos ( unclouded , playful compositions ) , and many , many more fashion .
" My favorite slice by Chopin ( and most likely his as well ) are themazurkas , " Yoder says . " He wrote two concertos , four ballade , twenty - four etude , but fifty - seven mazurka . They were written by him throughout his life as a sort of diary . The mazurka composed in Poland show unmediated influence of Polish folk euphony while the recent 1 are more a recollection of it , but all of them result from his inner connection with his source of his emotions — his family and friends as well as the country of his origin . "
Chopin’s Romantic Life
As his musical career flourish , Chopin ’s romantic life had some turn and turning . He was involved with Constantia Gladkowska in Warsaw and later became engaged to Maria Wodzińska in Dresden , but pause off the human relationship before they married . However , in 1836 , he cope with novelist Aurore Dudevant , excellently screw by her pseudonym , George Sand . Two class later , Chopin accompany Sand and her children to the island of Majorca , but the vacation took a number when the player became ill . The group moved to Marseille where doctors diagnosed Chopin with tuberculosis .
After three months , Chopin made a full recovery , and he and Sand planned their return to Paris . But first , they spent the summer of 1839 at Sand ’s country mansion . They returned to the abode every summer over the next seven twelvemonth , a catamenia that many say was " the happy and most fat of Chopin ’s life . " During his time in the land , Chopincomposed some of his greatest masterpieces .
" Chopin did not hold up just for his own pleasure or fame , but to the end of his unmanageable and sickness - hinge on life he strive to put across the unique language of his wild-eyed soul to others , " Yoder say . " Chopin well understand his calling as a composer . He understood that even his nausea could help him better state the depth of emotion in his pieces . "
Chopin ’s consistency was swallow atPère Lachaise graveyard , but his heart was interred at a Warsaw church , near his birthplace . There is still a mediocre amount ofmystery besiege the circumstances of his death , but in his short sprightliness , Chopin made a live mark on the existence of artwork and cultivation , and his legacy uphold to be celebrated by musicians and audiences alike .
If you are unfamiliar with the music of Chopin and would like somewhere to begin , this performance by Vadim Chaimovich of his Nocturne Op . 9 No . 1 is a good place to start :
