Frédéric Chopin 1810-1849
Our next composer, Frédéric Chopin, was originally from Poland. Born near Warsaw in Zelasowa Wola, he started studying music at the age of six. Only a year later, he started giving concerts and even published his first composition. At 16 years old, he was accepted by the Warsaw Conservatory to study under Józef Elsner and graduated with honours only three years later, at the time a young man of 19 years and already an accomplished pianist. By the age of 20, he had already composed two piano concertos which were quite demanding for the piano soloist. (* concerto – a word coming from Italian word for concert; in English meaning a composition for orchestra and a soloist.)
The first concerts that he gave abroad were in Vienna, Austria. He was charmed by life outside his country and eventually ended up leaving Poland for good, settling in France in 1831. His father was originally a Frenchman, hence the name he was given Frédéric Chopin.
(*His name is pronounced by correctly reading the following in English accenting the bold print: fre der eek – shou pa)
In France, although he became known as a very good player among a great deal of people, he had a difficult time developing his career as a pianist in the beginning. On account of the fact that he was such a shy person, it damaged his ability to perform on stage. In fact, his first performance in France was not a huge success. People just didn’t take to his introverted presence on stage. He then resorted to playing in the Parisian salons for smaller groups of people which eventually led to his reputation of being arrogant. At the same time, playing for these small groups of influential people, teaching, and composing soon made him one of the most popular and well-paid musicians in Paris. He didn’t need the concert halls to make a living.
At the age of 27, he met the French writer George Sand and ended up living with her for a period of ten years before breaking up. George Sand is known to have inspired him a great deal during the period when he wrote some of his best pieces. She had also cared for him during the times that he became bedridden with tuberculosis.
Frédéric Chopin’s music is something very special. He was, of course, influenced by Johann Sebastian Bach and Vincenzo Bellini, yet a great deal of his compositions were the product of the sounds of the folk songs and dances of his native Poland. Due to the fact that these were so unique with respect to their unusual melodies and rhythms, borrowing them for his compositions also made Chopin’s pieces quite individual in themselves. In fact, along with having influence composers such as Gabriel Fauré, Claude Debussy, and Johannes Brahms, the music of Frédéric Chopin is still listened to and loved and cherished to this very day.
To listen to music by Frédéric Chopin click here
