Frederyk Chopin (1810-1849), a Polish Composer well known
for his innovative compositions for piano. Why is he so important though?
Here are some facts about Chopin:
- Chopin composed music solely for the piano
- His compositions include:
- 200 Solo Piano Pieces
- 27 ètudes
- 24 Preludes
- 6 works for piano and orchestra
- 20 songs
- 4 chamber works
- His compositional style opened up new possibilities for piano players whether they were amateurs or professionals. [1]
- Young Chopin:
· By the age of 7 he published his first
pieces and played his first public concert as a soloist.[2]
·
He composed and wrote poetry from the age of 6 (Link)
·
He didn't need to practice much. His playing came natural to him (Link)
- Professional Chopin:
·
He was very popular but disliked big gatherings
and concerts. (Link)
·
Chopin was friends with Franz Liszt (Link)
- He was very fond of Bach (Link)
Did You Know?
· Chopin never married.
He fell in love with Maria Wodzinski, (the
daughter of his parents’ friend) and were set to get married. However, the
wedding was postponed due to his bad health. The morning he left Dresden he
composed ‘The Farewell Waltz’ since their relationship ended. (Link)
· Following that, he then went on to have a 9
year affair with novelist Aurore Dudevant, known by her pseudonym George Sand.
©2019
[1] Peter J. Burkholder, Donald Jay Grout and Claude V. Palisca, A History of Western Music, 8th Edition, (New York & London, W.W. Norton & Company, 2010)
[2] Burkholder, Grout, Palisca, A History of Western Music
[3] Burkholder, Grout, Palisca, A History of Western Music
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