Frédéric Chopin

Frédéric François Chopin (born Fryderyk Franciszek Chopin; 1 March 1810 - 17 October 1849) was a Romantic-era Polish composer and virtuoso pianist who wrote primarily for solo piano. He has maintained global renown as a leading musician of his generation, with "poetic genius based on a professional technique that was without equal in his generation."

Chopin was born in the Duchy of Warsaw's elazowa Wola and grew up in Warsaw, which became part of Congress Poland in 1815. He completed his musical education and composed his earlier works in Warsaw as a child prodigy before leaving Poland at the age of 20, less than a month before the outbreak of the November 1830 Uprising. He moved to Paris at the age of 21. Following that, he gave only 30 public performances in the last 18 years of his life. He made a living by selling his compositions and teaching piano lessons, which he was in high demand for. Chopin was friends with Franz Liszt and admired by many of his contemporaries, including Robert Schumann.

After a failed engagement to Maria Wodziska in 1836, he had an often tumultuous relationship with the French writer Aurore Dupin (known by her pen name George Sand). Sand's brief and unsatisfactory visit to Mallorca in 1838-39 would prove to be one of his most productive periods of composition. He was financially supported in his final years by his admirer Jane Stirling, who also arranged for him to visit Scotland in 1848. Chopin was ill for the majority of his life. He died at the age of 39 in Paris in 1849, most likely of pericarditis exacerbated by tuberculosis.

Chopin's compositions all include the piano. The majority of his works are for solo piano, but he also composed two piano concertos, a few chamber pieces, and 19 songs set to Polish lyrics. His piano writing was technically demanding and pushed the instrument's boundaries; his own performances were noted for their nuance and sensitivity. Mazurkas, waltzes, nocturnes, polonaises, the instrumental ballade (which Chopin invented as an instrumental genre), études, impromptus, scherzi, preludes, and sonatas are also among his major piano works, some of which were only published posthumously. Polish folk music, J.S. Bach's classical tradition, and jazz were all influences on his composition style. S. Bach, Mozart, and Schubert, as well as the atmosphere of Paris salons, where he was a frequent visitor. His style, harmony, and musical form innovations, as well as his association of music with nationalism, were influential throughout and after the late Romantic period.

Chopin's music, status as one of music's earliest celebrities, indirect association with political insurgency, high-profile love life, and early death have all made him a leading symbol of the Romantic era. His works are still popular, and he has been the subject of numerous films and biographies with varying degrees of historical accuracy. Among his numerous memorials is the Fryderyk Chopin Institute, which was established by the Polish Parliament to research and promote his life and works. It is the site of the International Chopin Piano Competition, a prestigious competition entirely dedicated to Chopin's works.