Search results
About Frédéric Chopin. Frédéric Chopin was one of the greatest pianists of his day. Every single piece of music he wrote used the piano. The name Chopin doesn’t sound very Polish because Chopin's father was born in France.
People also ask
Who was Frederic Chopin?
How long did Frédéric Chopin live?
What is Chopin known for?
What is Chopin's music like?
Check Out Our 'Hey Kids, Meet the Composer' Biography for Polish Romantic Era Composer, Frederic Chopin. Print Free and Premium Easy Piano Sheet Music, Free Composer Worksheets and Music Lesson Plans.
At the age of seven, his public performances began to be compared to Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart as a child, and to his contemporary, Ludwig van Beethoven. No other composer could play the piano like Chopin. His performances showed exceptional tenderness, happiness and boldness.
- Overview
- Life
Frédéric Chopin is famous for his expressive piano playing and the innovative works he composed for that instrument.
What did Frédéric Chopin die from?
Frédéric Chopin died from tuberculosis on October 17, 1849. He had suffered from that disease for the last 11 years of his life.
Where is Frédéric Chopin buried?
Frédéric Chopin is buried at the Père Lachaise Cemetery in Paris. His heart is buried at the Church of the Holy Cross in Warsaw, in his native land, Poland.
How did Frédéric Chopin become famous?
Chopin’s father, Nicholas, a French émigré in Poland, was employed as a tutor to various aristocratic families, including the Skarbeks, at Żelazowa Wola, one of whose poorer relations he married. When Frédéric was eight months old, Nicholas became a French teacher at the Warsaw lyceum. Chopin himself attended the lyceum from 1823 to 1826.
All the family had artistic leanings, and even in infancy Chopin was always strangely moved when listening to his mother or eldest sister playing the piano. By age six he was already trying to reproduce what he heard or to make up new tunes. The following year he started piano lessons with the 61-year-old Wojciech Zywny, an all-around musician with an astute sense of values. Zywny’s simple instruction in piano playing was soon left behind by his pupil, who discovered for himself an original approach to the piano and was allowed to develop unhindered by academic rules and formal discipline.
Chopin found himself invited at an early age to play at private soirées, and at eight he made his first public appearance at a charity concert. Three years later he performed in the presence of the Russian tsar Alexander I, who was in Warsaw to open Parliament. Playing was not alone responsible for his growing reputation as a child prodigy. At seven he wrote a Polonaise in G Minor, which was printed, and soon afterward a march of his appealed to the Russian grand duke Constantine, who had it scored for his military band to play on parade. Other polonaises, mazurkas, variations, ecossaises, and a rondo followed, with the result that, when he was 16, his family enrolled him at the newly formed Warsaw Conservatory of Music. This school was directed by the Polish composer Joseph Elsner, with whom Chopin already had been studying musical theory.
Britannica Quiz
(A Music) Man’s Best Friend
No better teacher could have been found, for, while insisting on a traditional training, Elsner, as a Romantically inclined composer himself, realized that Chopin’s individual imagination must never be checked by purely academic demands. Even before he came under Elsner’s eye, Chopin had shown interest in the folk music of the Polish countryside and had received those impressions that later gave an unmistakable national colouring to his work. At the conservatory he was put through a solid course of instruction in harmony and composition; in piano playing he was allowed to develop a high degree of individuality.
Frédéric Chopin (1810-1849) was a Polish composer and pianist. He lived only 39 years (!) because he was a sickly person. Finally he was bedridden, got weaker and weaker, and died. People think Chopin suffered from tuberculosis. Chopin is very well known for his piano music.
We have short biographies of many famous musicians for kids. Read about Frederic Chopin (1810 - 1849), a Polish composer who is deemed as one of the greatest masters of the romantic period of western classical music.
Children's educational life story of Polish classical music composer Frederic Chopin. Spoken-word & music recording. Robert Hardy as Frederic Chopin, accompanied by The Famous Theatre...
- 25 min
- 182
- RobinsRareRecordings
