Chopin, Frédéric François (1810–1849)

Polish composer and pianist. He made his debut as a pianist at the age of eight. As a performer, Chopin revolutionized the technique of pianoforte-playing, turning the hands outward and favouring a light, responsive touch. His compositions, which include two piano concertos and other orchestral works, have great changes of mood, and flowing rhythms.

From 1831 he lived in Paris, France, where he became known in the fashionable salons, although he rarely performed in public. In 1836 the composer Franz Liszt introduced him to George Sand (Madame Dudevant), with whom he had a close relationship in 1838–46. During this time she nursed him in Mallorca for tuberculosis, while he composed intensively and for a time regained his health. His music was used as the basis of the ballet Les Sylphides by Mikhail Fokine in 1909 and orchestrated by Alexander Gretchaninov (1864–1956), a pupil of Mikhail Rimsky-Korsakov.

Chopin's father was professor of French at Warsaw University, Poland. Chopin began piano lessons at the age of six, played at a musical evening aged seven (when he first published a work, a Polonaise in G minor), and in public at eight. From 1822 he took composition lessons with Józef Elsner, and made great progress in both composition and improvisation. He left the Warsaw Conservatory in 1827 and played in Vienna, Austria, in 1829. On his return he fell in love with the singer Konstancja Gładkowska, who appeared at the third of his public concerts in 1830. He left Poland that year, played in Vienna and Munich and visited Stuttgart, where he heard of the taking of Warsaw by the Russians during the November Uprising. He went to Paris in October 1831 and decided to remain there. He appeared frequently in public and gave private lessons, especially in French and Polish aristocratic circles.

He met Maria Wodzińska at Dresden in 1835 and at Marienbad in 1836. They fell in love and became secretly engaged, but the engagement was broken off by her family. In 1838 he visited George Sand at Nohant, France, where she held house parties in the summer. Most summers were spent at Nohant until 1847, when a family quarrel between Sand and her children led to one with Chopin and they parted. The last ten years of his life were a continual struggle against illness, and he gave his last public concert in February 1848, but continued to teach and play at private houses. His pupil Jane Stirling took him to Scotland in August 1848 for a rest at the country house of her brother-in-law, Lord Torphichen. Chopin afterwards played at Manchester, Glasgow, and Edinburgh, and went to London in November. In January 1849 he was back in Paris in a critical state of health and finance, but was supported by wealthy friends until his death.

Chopin's music, written almost exclusively for solo piano, was the most important of the 19th century in the development and perfection of a Romantic style. It is entirely original, and although the melodies seem simple, the harmony, rhythm, and form can be complex. He was among the first to use the thumb freely on black keys. Many of his pieces, with eerie or echo effects or fairylike accompaniments, require the player to use a particularly subtle kind of finger technique and pedalling. They are a good test of the varied resources of the skilled pianist.

Works Piano and orchestra two concertos in E minor and F minor (1829–30); four other works with orchestra including Andante Spianato (1834).

Solo piano 50 mazurkas in 13 sets (1830–49), 27 studies, 26 preludes (24 in all keys), Op. 28 (1836–39), 19 Nocturnes, 14 waltzes (1827–41), 16 polonaises, 4 ballades in G minor, F, A♭, F minor (1831–42), 4 impromptus, 4 scherzos in B minor, B♭ minor, C♯ minor, E (1831–39), 3 rondos, Barcarolle in F♯, Berceuse, Bolero, Fantasy in F minor, Tarantella, and other miscellaneous piano pieces.

Chamber 3 sonatas in C minor (1828), B♭ minor (1839), B minor (1844), piano trio (1829); cello and piano sonata (1832).