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Frederic Chopin

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Frederic Chopin (1810-1849) was called the "poet of the piano." He wrote a great deal of Romantic piano music, and it was very songful and expressive. His music made the Romantic era the piano's golden age.

Chopin was born in Poland to a French father and a Polish mother. His father had immigrated to Warsaw, married a lady-in-waiting to a countess and taught French to the sons of nobility.

Chopin was a musically gifted child and was educated at the Conservatory of Warsaw. When he was twenty-one, he left for Paris and spent the rest of his career there. Yet, the Polish people view Chopin as their national composer.

The circle that Chopin traveled in included musicians such as Liszt and Berlioz; literary figures such as Victor Hugo, George Sand, and Alexandre Dumas; the poet, Heinrich Heine; and the painter, Eugene Delacroix.

George Sand was the pen name for Aurore Dudevant, and their romantic relationship lasted for eight years. They parted in bitterness eventually, probably due to her need to dominate and Chopin's need to be controlled.

Chopin seemed to be ruled by his emotions and was greatly influenced by the leading intellectuals of France during the 1830's.

1838-1846 were Chopin's productive years, yet his health grew progressively worse. He died of tuberculosis in Paris at the age of thirty-nine, and thousands mourned his passing.

His music was centered around the piano, and he is credited with originating the modern piano style. The piano is unable to sustain tone for any length of time, yet Chopin incorporated methods where the tone was held. He used widely spaced chords in the bass, sustained by the pedal, which set up different tones that surrounded the melody.

Tempo rubato is "robbed time" or "borrowed time" in music. Chopin used it sparingly, but it remains an essential part of his style. He taught his students to play the accompaniment in strict time, yet the melody was hurried or slowed a little. And the "borrowing" was repaid before the end of the phrase. Thus, if the beginning of a melodic phrase is played quickly, it is slowed before the end of the musical phrase, which is like a sentence.

Chopin's delicate ornaments are difficult to play, but they add greatly to his music. Trills, grace notes, and runs prolong the single tone of the main melody. It has been said that he told his students that "everything must be made to sing."