Frédéric Chopin: The Pianist's Composer

Frédéric Chopin was a Polish French composer and pianist of the Romantic period and is best known for his solo pieces for piano; particularly, the twenty-one nocturnes that he wrote between the years 1827 and 1846, which are considered among the finest short solo works for the piano.

Chopin’s works for solo piano include about 61 mazurkas, 16 polonaises, 26 preludes, 27 études, 21 nocturnes, 20 waltzes, 3 sonatas, 4 ballades, 4 scherzos, 4 impromptus, and many individual pieces—such as the Barcarolle, Opus 60 (1846); the Fantasia, Opus 49 (1841); and the Berceuse, Opus 57 (1845)—as well as 17 Polish songs.

Early Life

Frédéric Chopin was born in the little town of Żelazowa Wola close to Warszawa. His father, Nicolas Chopin, was a Frenchman from Lorraine who emigrated to Poland at the age of sixteen. There, he married Justyna Krzyżanowska, a poor relative of the Skarbek family who he worked for. Chopin was their second child, he had an elder sister by the name of Ludwika, as well as two younger sisters, Izabela and Emilia, who presumably died from tuberculosis at the age of fourteen.

In October 1810, the family moved to Warsaw where Nicolas acquired a position teaching French at the Warsaw Lyceum in the Saxon Palace. Chopin lived with his family on the palace grounds where they kept a boarding house for male students. The mother, an amateur pianist, gave lessons to the boys in the boarding house. It is said that she was Chopin's first teacher and the one who sparked his interest in the piano. However, his first professional music mentor was Wojciech Żywny, who also taught his elder sister Ludwika, to whom Chopin dedicated his polonaise in A-flat major of 1821.

Żywny's simple instruction was left behind by Chopin as he quickly pioneered his own approach to piano and was allowed to develop musically, unrestrained by formal discipline and academic rules. It became quickly apparent that Chopin was a child prodigy. At the age of seven, he began performing publicly and composed two polonaises in G minor and B-flat major.

The family relocated to a building adjacent to the Kazimierz Palace where the Warsaw Lyceum had been reestablished after the Saxon Palace was requisitioned by Warsaw's Russian governor for military use. During this time, he was invited to the Belweder Palace as a playmate to the son of Grand Duke Konstantin Pavlovich of Russia, the ruler of Russia Poland. On some occasions, he would play the piano for Konstantin and even composed a march for him called Julian Ursyn Niemcewicz.

Musical Education

From September 1823 to 1826, Chopin attended the Warsaw Lyceum where he received organ lessons from the Czech musician Wilhelm Würfel during his first year. During his three subsequent years, he undertook a course taught by Silesian composer Józef Elsner at the Warsaw Conservatory, studying music theory, figured bass, and composition. Elsner, a Romantically inclined composer, let Chopin explore his individual imagination unrestricted by pure academic demands. At the conservatory, he received instruction in harmony and composition in piano playing where he was allowed to implement his interest in the folk music of the Polish countryside.

It was during this time that he also became intrigued by a newly invented instrument known as the aeolomelodicon, a combination of piano and mechanical organ. He performed his own improvisation as well as part of a concerto by Moscheles on this instrument in May 1825. His concert was so successful that he received an invitation to give a recital on a similar instrument, the aeolopantaleon, before Tsar Alexander I who presented him with a diamond ring after the performance.

To broaden his musical experience, Chopin's parents found the money to send him off to Vienna where he made his performance debut in 1829. His second concert there was equally successful followed by his Piano Concerto No.2 in F Minor and Piano Concerto No.1 in E Minor. His first études were also written at this time to assist himself and others in mastering the technical skills of his new style of piano playing.

After presenting his works to the Warsaw public he left Poland and headed for Germany and Italy for further study. He had not gone any further than Vienna when news reached him of the Polish revolt against Russian rule which caused him to remain in Vienna until July when he decided to make his way to Paris .

Paris: The Centre of Romanticism

In the 1830s, Paris was considered the cultural and musical centre of Europe where art and politics, culture, and history influenced each other to great extents.

Chopin's unique and poetic style of playing brought him many friends in literary and musical circles. These included Liszt, Bellini, Berlioz, and Meyerbeer who admired his music. Those who were close to him described Chopin as having two distinct personalities: in private, he was warm and loving; while publicly, he was very polite but cold and distant.

Chopin’s works from his first years in Paris include the Nocturnes of Opp. 9 and 15 (1830-32), the 12 Etudes, Op. 25 (1835-37), dedicated to Liszt’s mistress, the Comtesse Marie d’Agoult, the Scherzo in B-flat minor, Op. 31 (1837), the Sonata in B-flat minor, Op. 35 (1837), and the G minor Ballade, Op. 23.

Chopin established himself as one of the most expensive and sought-after piano teachers in the city once he gained the patronage of the Nathaniel de Rothchild family. His better social position in Paris circles allowed him to settle in the quiet streets of Cité Bergère where elegant houses in the Empire style were located.

While the furnished apartment on the second floor of house number 4 met his requirements, Chopin decided to move again; this time to a luxurious neighborhood along Chausée D'Antin. His new piano works at this time included the Ballade in G Minor (1831-35), the Fantaisie Impromptu (1835) and many smaller pieces such as mazurkas and polonaises inspire by his Polish nationalism.

Early in 1837, Chopin fell seriously ill and his respiratory problems began to badly trouble him. At the same time, Franz Liszt introduced him to woman named George Sand, a notorious cigar smoker and trouser-wearing novelist. Repulsed by her lack of traditional feminine qualities, Chopin asked Liszt if she was indeed a woman. Nevertheless, the two developed a romantic relationship and spent three months together in Majorca where Chopin completed his 23 preludes in each of the major and minor keys. However, his condition worsened and he was unable to enjoy the pleasures of the island.

San took great care of Chopin, attending to his every need. They spent almost nine years together but eventually ended their relationship. This separation along with his deteriorating health broke Chopin. His weight alarmingly decreased and his coughing became continuous.

Death

Two years later, Chopin developed tuberculosis at the age of 37 which thereafter limited his musical activity. He only composed a few pages of music and played his last concert in Paris on February 16, 1848.

He eventually died in Paris in 1849 a year later. On his deathbed, he requested that Mozart's Requiem be sung at his funeral which was to be held at the Church of the Madeleine. Furthermore, he had a fear of being buried alive and asked to be cut open to make sure he was dead before burial. As a result, his funeral was delayed for nearly two weeks while the church considered his wishes.

Although he is buried in the Père Lachaise cemetery in Paris, his heart is entombed in a pillar in the Church of the Holy Cross in Warsaw. It is said that there has never been a day since his death that flowers have not been placed on his grave.