Chopin, Frederic
Period: Romantic
Born: Thursday, March 1, 1810 in Zelazowa Wola, Poland
Died: Wednesday, October 17, 1849 in Paris, France
Nation of Origin: Poland/France
Major Works:
Mostly works for piano
Waltzes, Ballades, Nocturnes, Mazurkas, Sonatas, etc...
Orchestral and chamber music
Other Information:
Most published sources list Chopin's birthday as February 22, 1810 but his mother reported that he was born on March 1, 1810. The reader should be aware that there is some question as to the correct birth date. By the age of 6, Chopin was already a good pianist. By the age of 8, he had already had a piano work published. His first composition teacher was Joseph Elsner. He studied at the Warsaw Conservatory then left Poland for Paris in September of 1831. He achieved fame as a pianist though he performed publicly only on rare occasions. In 1836 he began to experience symptoms of tuberculosis. He lived with George Sand, a French novelist, from 1838 to 1847. After breaking up with Ms. Sand, Chopin gave a performance tour in the United Kingdom. He returned to Paris in 1849 and died there.
See the excellent article by Angela Lear linked below.
General Bibliography:
Blume, Friedrich, with Norton, M. D. (Translator) and Norton, Herter (Translator), Classic and Romantic Music; A Comprehensive Survey, W. W. Norton & Company, November 1970, ISBN: 0393098680
Einstein, Alfred. Music in the Romantic Era, W. W. Norton & Company, December 1947, ISBN: 0393097331
Rosen, Charles, The Romantic Generation, W. W. Norton & Company, April 1995, ISBN: 0674779347
Slonimsky, Nicolas and Kuhn, Laura; Editors, Baker's Biographical Dictionary of Musicians, Gale Group, December 2000, ISBN: 0028655257
Sadie, Stanley and Tyrrell, John; Editors, The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, Groves Dictionaries, Inc., January 2004, ISBN: 0195170679
Rutherford-Johnson, Tim, Kennedy, Michael, and Kennedy, Joyce The Oxford Dictionary of Music, Oxford University Press, 6th Edition, 2012, ISBN: 0199578109
Links to essays at other sites:
Please note: Each link will open in a new window.
Biographical essay from Wikipedia
Angela Lear, Pianist and Chopin Researcher
