Frederic Chopin - His Music and His Life

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Frederic Chopin was born on March 1, 1810 in Warsaw, Poland and passed away on October 17, 1849 in Paris, France.Chopin's father was French, his mother Polish. At the age of eight, the child prodigy already performed on stage. At the age of 19, Chopin started his first successful tour to Vienna, Austria.

His first composition has been published and printed in 1825. During that time, a successful virtuoso career could be only begin in Paris, a reason why Chopin moved there in 1830 after stop overs in Vienna and Munich.

Saying good-bye to his native land made Chopin become rather melancholy. He took a small amount of Polish native soil with him - but he was never able to return to his home country. Only his heart was buried in Poland - following Chopin's last will.

Most artists in Paris, such as Franz Liszt, Hector Berlioz, Heinrich Heine or Giacomo Meyerbeer received Chopin willingly, joyfully and with open arms. Also in Germany, Chopin received innumerable "fanatic fans". Unfortunately, signs of the fatal tuberculosis appeared.

In 1838, Chopin travelled to the Spanish Mediterranean island Mallorca, but the mild climate couldn't cure him any more. In 1848, Chopin travelled to England. There, the climate became his death-dagger. The last part o his funeral ceremony was the performance of Mozart's "Requiem".

Chopin composed only for piano, except 17 Polish Traditionals. Already Beethoven and Schubert have composed difficult piano works. But Chopin's compositions exceeded the technical capabilities of many virtuosos since that time. Every piece shows its own characteristics in shape and rhythm. 

Chopin's compositions characterized his daily moods: sweet dreams, sounds of colorful and impressionistic strings, and lively and vivaacious outbursts of passions. His two piano concerts f-minor from 1829 and e-minor from 1830 are classical music treasures.