MI:
LIBRARY: PEOPLE:
CHOPIN
Frédéric Chopin
March 1, 1810 -to- Oct. 17, 1849
romantic
Piano
Nicholas, Chopin’s Father, was a tutor for the wealthy aristocrats,
one of whom he eventually married and later became father to Chopin. As time
passed, Nicholas became a French teacher and Chopin himself would attend the
school for several years at which point in time his musical talents
(particularly those at the piano) were revealed.
At age seven he went to study with the old Wojciech (Adalbert) Zywny whose
teachings would be ignored by Chopin as he developed his own unique style very
quickly. He soon gained much fame in the area on account of his gorgeous
technique and compositions (he wrote highly successful works at the age of
seven). At 16, Chopin was enrolled in the new Warsaw School of Music which was
lead by Joseph Elsner, who already had been instructing Chopin in Music Theory
for some time. While Chopin studied much theory at the School, he taught himself
most of his piano skills.
It was becoming apparent to Chopin’s parents that he was in need of a more
active learning area. Therefore, they gathered the necessary funds to send him
to Vienna where he performed and was very successful writing many famous themes
in the late 1820’s. He would later travel to Paris where he would create
musical ties with many other young music prodigies including Liszt.
Upon meeting the novelist George Sand she persuaded him into marriage and
they, along with her children, went to the island of Majorca where they lived
happily until Chopin became ill with tuberculosis. Upon hearing this, the owner
of the villa ordered their departure and between this fact and the lack of a
suitable concert piano, Chopin’s health only declined.
He eventually recovered, but shortly after his marriage began to fail him,
and their love was soon over. Chopin's health was still declining, after a final
performance in London, November 16, 1848, he returned to Paris where he would
later die.
