Fryderyk Franciszek Chopin (b. Zelazowa Wola, 1810 d. Paris, 1849)
Chopin was very disciplined, even at a very young age. As a child, he slept with wooden wedges in between his fingers in an attempt to extend his reach. Luckily he gave up this habit before his bone structure was damaged.
At the age of eight years old, Chopin was already a published composer. By 1818, he had composed two Polonaises and upon reviewing his works, the Warsaw Press regarded Chopin “a true musical genius.”
During this time, Chopin’s talent was in high demand, making him a regular at the Polish Viceroy’s Belvedere palace. He highly impressed the Duke Constantine by improvising a march in his honor that he later had scored and was played by the military band during parades.
By the year 1827, Chopin’s list of compositions now included: a lost Ecossaise, a Mazurka in A minor, a Funeral March in C minor, and his first Nocturne in E minor, a genre which until that time had been usually associated with the Irish composer John Field.
After a performance in Vienna, Chopin wrote home that “everyone clapped so loudly after each variation that I [he] had difficulty hearing the orchestral tutti.” On March 17, 1830, he played his F minor Concerto for an audience of 900 people, although he had realized he did not enjoy being a public piano player.
In 1830, Chopin returned to Vienna, where he stayed for over a year. Afterwards, he spent a month in Munich, two weeks in Stuttgart, and finally landed in Paris in 1832.
Chopin immediately felt at home in Paris. He took lessons with Frederic Kalkbrenner, who landed him a performance in the Salle Pleyel on February 26, 1832. With the help of this performance, Chopin became very accepted by other new and up-and-coming musicians, such as Berlioz, Hiller, and Liszt.
During the winter of 1832, Chopin made most of his income from charging excessively high teaching fees. For the next two years, Chopin still avoided playing in large halls and decided upon intimate salons instead. However, he intelligently sold his publishing rights to companies in France, England and Germany, where his music was also sold.
From 1834 through 1839, Chopin was well established as a teacher, composer, and salon performer. His works throughout this time included two Polonaises, his first Scherzo and his first Ballade.
For the next several years, Chopin composed during the summers and taught during the winters, however, his health severely deteriorated. In 1848, Chopin gave his last performance in London as more of a fundraiser for Polish causes rather than monetary gain. Afterwards, he was no longer strong enough to teach or perform. At this time, one of his pupils, Jane Stirling, asked to marry him and his response was that he was “closer to a coffin than a marriage bed.” In October 17, 1849, Chopin died of consumption in the presence of his sister Ludwika, Sand’s daughter Solange, and his pupil Adolphe Guttman.
Posted 8 November 2007