Frederic Chopin

Born in 1810 in Zelazowa Wola, an outstanding musician and composer who fully dedicated himself to one instrument - the piano. Evidence of this dedication can be seen in numerous ballads, etudes, preludes, and scherzos written by Chopin. His father was French and a teacher, while his mother was Polish and a noblewoman. At the age of 7, he began taking piano lessons from Professor Wojciech Zywny, and a year later, during his recital, he played a complex concert by Adalbert Gyrowetz. From 1826 to 1829, he studied at the Warsaw Conservatory.
At the age of 20, he left his country to perform concerts in Prague, Dresden, and Vienna. Upon hearing about the Russian invasion of Poland, Chopin refused to return and perform in the besieged country. He never returned to his homeland, although his work is saturated with Polish elements. Chopin composed mazurkas, polonaises, and other Polish dances and songs (e.g. 4 Mazurkas Op. 17, Polonaise in A major Op. 50, Polonaise in A-flat major Op. 53, G major Wish), through which he wanted to show his love for his country. Interestingly, Chopin's music, particularly the Polonaise in A major, was played on Polish radio to lift the spirits of the Polish people as Hitler's troops approached Warsaw. When the Polonaise stopped playing, Poles realized that the country had been taken over.
Finally, in 1831, he moved to Paris, which became the heart of the Polish emigration during the partitions. There, Chopin became a respected professor and pianist, quickly surrounded by famous artists and composers such as Balzac, Bellini, Berlioz, Delacroix, Heine, Liszt, Schumann, who quickly recognized his genius. His works were published in Paris, Leipzig, and London. From 1836, he battled tuberculosis, so in 1848, he went on concert tours to Manchester, Glasgow, and Edinburgh in search of money. Upon his return to Paris a year later, he lost the fight against the disease and was buried in the Père Lachaise cemetery in Paris. His funeral took place at the Church of St. Magdalene, attended by crowds of people. The artist's heart was placed in his homeland - in the Church of the Holy Cross in Warsaw.
Chopin's music is characterized by incredible lightness and delicacy, refined harmony, and sweet, original melodies. His work influenced composers like Franz Liszt, Richard Wagner, Sergei Rachmaninoff, and Claude Debussy. The majority of Chopin's works are written for the piano, including two piano concertos (Piano Concerto No. 1 in E minor Op. 11 and Piano Concerto No. 2 in F minor Op. 21) composed by the artist while still in Poland, where the piano is the most important instrument, and the orchestra in the background is nothing more than accompaniment. Also noteworthy are impromptus, lullabies, fantasies, nocturnes, and Chopin's ballads, as well as the Funeral March and Cello Sonata in G minor Op. 65, one of the few chamber works written by the composer.

See also:
Chopin in Nohant. Past, present and future