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Chopin Biography
CHOPIN BIOGRAPHY
Like Mozart and Beethoven, Chopin's music remains the most instantly recognisable in the classical canon. Chopin's piano music is among the most original and influential work of the nineteenth century. His works tend to fall into one of three categories - small pieces (or études) for piano, published between 1833 and 1837; larger, more developed works for the piano (nocturnes, preludes, impromptus, mazurkas, polonaises); and the even larger, freely-conceived works (ballades, fanatasies, scherzos). He also wrote several sonatas, piano concertos, and a smattering of music for other instruments.
The composer's heroes were Bach and Mozart. He combined both composers' elegance. Chopin realised his potential very early in life. By the time he had composed his piano concertos, aged 19, he had already developed his own pianistic style, unlike any composer before or since.
Frederic Chopin was born in 1810 in Poland to a French father and Polish mother. He studied at the Warsaw Conservatory By the age of 19 he had written his F minor piano concerto and had played two concerts in Vienna. As a pianist, Chopin was left to develop on his own. Warsaw had no piano teachers of importance and his teaching was given over to a local violinist, Adalberty Zwyny who instilled in him a love of Bach and Mozart. His teacher at the Warsaw Conservatory, Josef Elsner, understood Chopin's genius and nourished him without restrictions encouraging his flawless piano technque and the perfect evenness of his scales.
In 1831 Chopin arrived in Paris where he was to remain until his death in 1849. The French capital was the great centre of culture and Chopin found himself inspired by artists of literature, art and music, including the writer Balzac, painter Delacroix (who painted Chopin) and composers including Liszt and Berlioz who all befriended the young Frederic. Through his aristocratic Polish friends, Chopin befriended the influential Rothschilds who enabled him to set up a teaching studio that was his primary source of financial support throughout his short life. The intense poeticism in Chopin's music made him a Romantic icon to many of his contemporaries, and he was embraced by elite society.
Upon his arrival in Paris, Chopin announced his intention to create for himself a wholly original brand of music that was by turns poetic, elegant and heroic. Chopin's harmonic language was totally original. Complex harmonies mingled with folk music and traditional Polish modal scales in the Mazurkas for example to create a music that was completely unique. While his Waltzes (Opus 64: No.1 and La Valse Minute among them) catered for the drawing room, the Polonaises (Andante Spianato and Grande Polonaise Brilliante) were rousing pieces filled with folk music influences and infused with national pride. But his greatest works were inspired by romanticism and poetry, notably the four Ballades and the Nocturnes.
Up to the age of 26, Chopin enjoyed a discreet social life. Despite the sense that he was a dandy and a prude, he had a healthy interest in the opposite sex. His life was turned upside down when he was introduced to the female writer George Sand. Sand was famous not only for her writing but for wearing men's clothes, smoking and her disdain of convention. Although Chopin was at first shocked by Sand's values, the pair eventually began a romance and by 1837 they were living together. Chopin became inspired by his new partner. During a trip to Mallorca together, Chopin wrote many of the famous 24 Preludes but it was here that Chopin would catch consumption, his weak lungs responding badly to the constant rain. Chopin and Sand stayed together until 1847. In Paris they lived in adjoining houses and spent their summers at Sand's Nohant home where she would nurse the increasingly frail composer. Family misunderstandings eventually led to their breakup. After returning from a trip to England, Chopin was so weak he could neither teach nor compose. His sister came from Warsaw to nurse him in his final days and the composer ignored George Sand's wish to see him. Chopin died on the morning of October 17, 1849, aged just 39-years-old.
Chopin's music remains instantly recognisable. His sense of lyricism and melody created some of the most beautiful music ever written. His grounding in music wasn't particularly related to the classical tradition but seemed to spring from a divine source, ensuring the influence of his legacy forever.
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