March - 1
Frédéric
François Chopin (1 March or 22 February 1810 – 17 October 1849) was a Polish
composer and virtuoso pianist. He is widely considered one of the greatest
Romantic composers. Chopin was born in Żelazowa Wola, a village in the Duchy of
Warsaw. A renowned child-prodigy pianist and composer, he grew up in Warsaw and
completed his music education there; he composed many of his mature works in
Warsaw before leaving Poland in 1830 at age 20, shortly before the November
1830 Uprising.
Following
the Russian suppression of the Uprising, he settled in Paris as part of
Poland's Great Emigration. During the remaining 19 years of his life, Chopin
gave only some 30 public performances, preferring the more intimate atmosphere
of the salon; he supported himself by selling his compositions and teaching
piano. For most of his life Chopin suffered from poor health; he died in Paris
in 1849 at age 39.
The
vast majority of Chopin's works are for solo piano, though he also wrote two
piano concertos, a few chamber pieces and some songs to Polish lyrics. His
piano works are often technically demanding, with an emphasis on nuance and
expressive depth. Chopin invented the instrumental ballade and made major
innovations to the piano sonata, mazurka, waltz, nocturne, polonaise, étude,
impromptu, scherzo and prélude.
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