Frédéric Chopin

Fryderyk Franciszek Chopin·PolandPoland· Żelazowa Wola

Born: 1 March 1810 (Duchy of Warsaw) at present Żelazowa Wola, Poland. Died: 17 October 1849 (Paris, France). Polish composer and virtuoso pianist of the Romantic era who wrote primarily for solo piano. He has maintained worldwide renown as a leading musician of his era, one whose "poetic genius was based on a professional technique that was without equal in his generation." Chopin was born in the Duchy of Warsaw in a small town called Żelazowa Wola (eng. Steel Will), within months of his birth the Chopin family moved to Warsaw the capital of the Duchy, where Fryderyk grew up and learned to play; in 1815 the Duchy became the Kingdom of Poland. A child prodigy, he completed his musical education and composed his earlier works in Warsaw before leaving Poland at the age of 20, less than a month before the outbreak of the November 1830 Uprising. At the age of 21, he settled in Paris. Thereafter—in the last 18 years of his life—he gave only 30 public performances, preferring the more intimate atmosphere of the salon. He supported himself by selling his compositions and by giving piano lessons, for which he was in high demand. Chopin formed a friendship with Franz Liszt and was admired by many of his other musical contemporaries (including Robert Schumann). In 1835, when Chopin obtained French citizenship he became . After a failed engagement to Maria Wodzińska from 1836 to 1837, he maintained an often troubled relationship with the French writer Amantine Dupin (known by her pen name, George Sand). A brief and unhappy visit to Majorca with Sand in 1838–39 would prove one of his most productive periods of composition. In his final years, he was supported financially by his admirer Jane Stirling, who also arranged for him to visit Scotland in 1848. For most of his life, Chopin was in poor health. He died in Paris in 1849 at the age of 39, probably of pericarditis aggravated by tuberculosis. All of Chopin's compositions include the piano. Most are for solo piano, though he also wrote two piano concertos, a few chamber pieces, and some 19 songs set to Polish lyrics. His piano writing was technically demanding and expanded the limits of the instrument: his own performances were noted for their nuance and sensitivity. Chopin invented the concept of the instrumental ballade. His major piano works also include mazurkas, waltzes, nocturnes, polonaises, études, impromptus, scherzos, preludes and sonatas, some published only posthumously. Among the influences on his style of composition were Polish folk music, the classical tradition of J.S. Bach, Mozart, and Schubert, and the atmosphere of the Paris salons of which he was a frequent guest. His innovations in style, harmony, and musical form, and his association of music with nationalism, were influential throughout and after the late Romantic period. Chopin's music, his status as one of music's earliest superstars, his (indirect) association with political insurrection, his high-profile love-life, and his early death have made him a leading symbol of the Romantic era. His works remain popular, and he has been the subject of numerous films and biographies of varying historical fidelity.

Discography

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Sonata In B Flat Minor - Op. 35 (The Funeral March Sonata)

1928

Studio Album

Twenty-Four Etudes (Op. 10 And Op. 25)

1929

Studio Album

Concerto No. 2, F Minor For Piano And Orchestra (Op. 21)

1929

Studio Album

The Four Ballades

1930

Studio Album

Twenty-four (24) Préludes For The Pianoforte

1930

Studio Album

Sonata In B Minor, Op. 58

1931

Studio Album

Concerto No. 2 In F Minor, Op. 21

1932

Studio Album

Nocturne En Mi-Bemol Mayor, Op. 9, No. 2 / Vals En La-Bemol Mayor, Op. 34, No. 1

1932

Studio Album

Le Ballate Di Chopin

1933

Studio Album

Four Scherzi For Pianoforte

1933

Studio Album

Sonata In B Minor, Op. 58

1933

Studio Album

Waltzes

1935

Studio Album

Studies, Op. 25

1935

Studio Album

The Twenty-Four Preludes, Op. 28

1936

Studio Album

Mazurkas

1936

Studio Album

Nocturnes (Volume I)

1937

Studio Album

Studies, Op. 10

1937

Studio Album

12 Études (Op. 10)

1937

Studio Album

Etudes Op.25

1937

Studio Album

Concerto No 1, In E Minor For Piano & Orchestra

1938

Studio Album

Nocturnes (Volume 2)

1938

Studio Album

"Les Sylphides" Ballet

1939

Studio Album

Piano Concerto No.2

1939

Studio Album

Mazurkas (Volume III)

1940

Studio Album

Mazurkas (Volume No. 2)

1940

Studio Album

Mazurkas (Volume I)

1940

Studio Album

Sonate En Si Mineur, Op. 58

1941

Studio Album

Nocturne In E Flat Major / Minute Waltz / Cradle Song / Evening Star

1941

Studio Album

Concerto No.1 In E Minor For Piano & Orchestra Opus 11

1942

Studio Album

Les Vingt-Quatre Préludes De Chopin, Op. 28

1943

Studio Album

Oscar Levant Plays Chopin

1945

Studio Album

Piano Concerto No. 2 In C Minor

1946

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Piano Concerto No.1 In B Opus 23 / Fantasia In F Opus 49 (Historical Recordings)

1947

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Waltzes (Volume II)

1947

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Waltzes (Volume I)

1947

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Chopin Preludes Op. 28

1948

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Werke Von Frédéric Chopin

1948

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Sonata No. 2 In B-flat Minor, Op. 35

1949

Studio Album

Sonata In B-flat Minor, Op. 35

1949

Studio Album

Polonez A-Dur

1949

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Concerto No 1 En Mi Mineur Opus 11 Pour Piano Et Orchestre

1950

Studio Album

24 Preludes Opus 28

1950

Studio Album

Les Sylphides Ballet

1950

Studio Album

Concerto No.2 In F Minor For Piano And Orchestra, Op. 21

1950

Studio Album

Piano Concerto No. 2 In F Minor, Op. 21

1950

Studio Album

Chopin - Liszt

1950

Studio Album

Études. Op.10 / Études Symphoniques. Op.13

1950

Studio Album

Kinderscenen Op. 15 And Mazurkas

1950

Studio Album