111 Frédéric Chopin Facts: Read More About The Polish Composer

Frédéric Chopin was one of the foremost composers of the Romantic period.

The name Frederic Chopin can be difficult to pronounce correctly for non-French speakers. Chopin is pronounced as, 'Shoh-pan'.

As a child, Chopin had little interest in using music to express narratives inspired by Romantic art and literature. This made Chopin different from his counterparts, such as Robert Schumann and Franz Liszt.

The Romantic movement rose mainly as a reaction to the rationalization and urbanization of European society after the onset of the Industrial Revolution.

Towards the latter half of the 19th century, writers, artists, and composers began turning away from the formal elegance of the Classical period, which preceded the Romantic era. With the Romantic period came the preference for personal expression and a fascination with nature.

In music, this manifested itself in a gradual expansion of harmonic and instrumental palette to appeal to the emotions through real music rather than the intellects of the audience.

Unlike his fellow musicians, Frédéric Chopin refrained from producing grand works of music with huge orchestras. An example of a grandiose musician would be the French musician, Hector Berlioz.

Rather, Frédéric Chopin chose to perfect his craft within circumscribed confines, that tended towards precision and the evocation of moods. Almost all of Chopin's compositions included the piano. However, we must not overlook the fact that within this precisely defined area, his musical composition is vast.

In his short career, Chopin was able to create an unparalleled intensity of melody, harmony, and expression. Chopin wrote in a style that seemed to represent the soul of an instrument, in this case, his favorite the piano.

Frédéric Chopin had a profound effect on piano technique and helped to push the instrument to the forefront of the 19th century music scene.

Fun Facts About Chopin

Chopin found fame as a child. By the age of eight, he had already impressed some of the most prominent men at that time.

When Tsar Alexander I of Russia visited Warsaw to inaugurate the Polish Parliament, Frederic Chopin found the opportunity to play in front of the Russian monarch. At the age of seven, a Polonaise written by Chopin impressed the Russian Grand Duke Constantine, and it was added to parade sessions of his military band.

If you read the biographies of famous people from around the world, your will come to know about their many quirks. It is thought that Chopin had the unique habit of playing his piano in the dark.

This skill he developed during childhood and continued all his life. The movie, 'A Song To Remember' has shown this aspect of Chopin.

One of the most popular waltz pieces composed by Chopin, Opus number 64, is named, 'Little Dog Waltz'. The story goes that when Frederic Chopin was busy composing this piece, George Sand's dog was incessantly running in a circle trying to reach its tail.

George Sand, Chopin's longtime partner, used several nicknames to address her lover. Chop-Chop and Monsieur Velvet-Fingers were the most prominent names used.

While going to Majorca on holiday with George Sand and her children, Chopin faced great difficulty in getting his beloved piano, manufactured by the Pleyel et Cie company in Paris, cleared at the customs. Only after George Sand paid a sum of 300 francs, was the piano was returned to him after a fortnight.

The Timeline of Chopin's Life

Frédéric Chopin was born near Warsaw in Poland, in 1810. Both his parents were musically trained and were his first teachers. He studied the piano in the Polish capital and performed in musical gatherings.

He left for Paris at the age of 20, in 1831, and settled there. To broaden his musical knowledge, Chopin made visits to Berlin and Vienna in 1828 and 1829, respectively.

He made a living in Paris by giving piano lessons to people from wealthy houses, publishing his music, and appearing at salons. In a short time, he had become a famed piano teacher in the Parisian circles. The composer disliked concerts and performed only in a few.

Chopin performed in less than 30 concerts in his lifetime and largely played in evening soirees in the halls of his wealthy clients and students. Despite utilizing most of his time as a piano teacher, Chopin still managed to impress his contemporaries, such as Franz Liszt.

His influence in the contemporary music scene was immense. His music style was founded on works that embraced the folk music of his native land, as well as more conceptual forms that lifted piano techniques to new levels.

Initially, Frédéric Chopin began composing in a style that favored virtuosity in the tradition of composers Johann Nepomuk Hummel, Friedrich Kalkbrenner, and Carl Maria von Weber. But later he absorbed within his piano studies the influence of Johann Sebastian Bach.

His most durable personal relationship was with the novelist George Sand, whom Chopin met in 1836. The relationship lasted for a long time and came to an end in 1847.

The great composer was diagnosed with tuberculosis shortly after his separation from George Sand. Chopin's life came to an untimely halt at the age of 39. He passed away in Paris in 1849. However, Chopin's successes did not die with him.

Facts About Chopin's Legacy

Frederic Chopin was particularly interested in folk songs and dance, this influence mainly came from his conscious homage to his Polish heritage. There are more than 20 variations of this genre in Chopin's repertoire of work.

Did you know that Chopin wrote his first Polonaise at the age of seven? It is no wonder then that he was a child prodigy.

Chopin also brought into the limelight another dance form that was native to Poland. This was the Mazurka, which was a traditional dance that people were greatly invested in. He regularly returned to the Mazurka and wrote over 50 pieces based on it.

In Chopin's music, we find the use of the waltz dance form in lighter salon music. The so-called 'Minute Waltz' and the 'Grande valse Brillante' are masterpieces. In contrast to these, Chopin's 21 nocturnes are predominantly intimate, sublime, slow, and dreamy in mood.

While Chopin loved composing in miniature rather than on a large scale, he produced three to four piano sonatas and many short character pieces in his lifetime. These include preludes, nocturnes, etudes, and dances, such as the mazurka, polonaise, and waltz.

These musical terms are quite overwhelming to grasp. A prelude is a short introductory musical movement that comes before a larger piece. Nocturnes are expressive and tranquil compositions that are inspired by the night. Etudes are pieces that are designed for practice to sharpen one's skills in music.

Nocturne and the style attached to it were the brainchild of famous Irish composer and celebrated pianist, John Field. Chopin was a great admirer of Field and followed his work diligently in the early stages of his life. Chopin's nocturnes enjoyed an enduring legacy as some of the most popular solos ever written for the piano.

Facts About Chopin's Compositions

In the years between 1835 and 1839, Chopin had composed a set of 24 preludes, one in each of the major and minor keys. He modeled his preludes on an already established work of genius, the 'Well-Tempered Clavier of Bach'.

This was a work published in 1722 that had some of the most popular of Bach's preludes. Chopin, being an ardent admirer of Bach, made Bach's style and take on preludes as his standard.

Chopin believed that a prelude is an abstract form of music. Unknown to his knowledge, his publishers had put titles to some of his preludes during the publication process.

From these titles, one may guess the background of each composition. For example, the 'Raindrop' prelude of Chopin was associated with the theme of rain after Chopin's publishers received a hint of his stay at Majorca.

This piece was composed in 1838- 1839, a time Chopin spent with his then partner, George Sand, at Valldemossa on the island of Majorca, Spain. The hint of unabating rain at Majorca during their time together was written by George Sand in one of her memoirs, which was subsequently used by Chopin's publishers.

Chopin was a virtuoso pianist, much like his idol John Field. Chopin's interest in the extension of piano technique is demonstrated in his 25 etudes (studies), which he began writing in his teenage years. In these pieces, Chopin had successfully managed to combine technological advances with great expressive and musical quality.

Chopin's music has remained both a challenge and a joy to pianists until this day!