The Romantic Generation
by Charles Rosen
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 M. D. Norton (Translator) and Herter Norton (Translator), Classic and Romantic Music; A Comprehensive Survey, W. W. Norton & Company, November 1970, ISBN: 0393098680
Kennedy, Michael, The Oxford Dictionary of Music, Oxford University Press, 2nd Edition, 1997, ISBN: 0198691629
Einstein, Alfred. Music in the Romantic Era, W. W. Norton & Company, December 1947, ISBN: 0393097331
Sadie, Stanley and Tyrrell, John; Editors, The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, Groves Dictionaries, Inc., January 2001, ISBN: 1561592390
Slonimsky, Nicolas and Kuhn, Laura; Editors, Baker's Biographical Dictionary of Musicians, Gale Group, December 2000, ISBN: 0028655257
Links to essays at other sites:
The Romantic Generation by Charles Rosen |
Please note: These links will open in a new window.
Biographical essay from the Grove Concise Dictionary of Music
Biographical essay at the Karadar site
If the Karadar link does not work, try searching karadar.com directly.
Biographical essay at the Naxos site
If this link does not work, try searching naxos.com directly.
PDF of Article by Angela Lear
Angela Lear, Pianist and Chopin Researcher
 CDs |
 Books |
 Sheet Music |
| Support this free site with your purchases. | ||