Frederic Chopin was born March 1, 1810 in the Duchy of Warsaw in Poland. He was not very old when his potential was recognized. In fact, he was regarded as a child prodigy pianist. As early as seven, Frederic Chopin was performing in front of an audience and composed two of his first pieces in the same year. When he was a young man, he left Poland and would never return. He eventually made his way to Paris where he worked as a piano teacher and a composer. He did not perform very often as most of his time was put into his teaching and personal work, though he did perform in a few concerts from time to time.The first instrument that Frederic Chopin learned to play was the piano. He was creative from the start, making up his own tunes, and received his first piano lessons from his older sister. He was six years of age when he received his first professional lessons and it was not long before his skill and talent surpassed that of his teacher. The same year that he first began performing in public, he composed G minor and B flat major, two polonaises. In 1926, he went to the Warsaw conservatory, which was a part of the Warsaw University and studied with Jozef Elsner for a period of three years. It was after this that he left Poland and would eventually make his way to Paris. When he first arrived in Paris, he was uncertain about whether he would remain there or not; however, it would soon become his home. He would remain there for some time and travel around while he performed. He eventually married and had two children. Later, his health deteriorated and he eventually past away from tuberculosis.
From the start, Frederic Chopin was different from other composers and musicians, such as Mozart and Beethoven. He was more innovative, more creative and more experimental with music than the great ones before him. In fact, he created new forms of music that was beautiful and was more of an emotional expression of Chopin's. He made innovations in waltz, impromptu, prelude and many other existing forms of music. This particular musician and composer made an incredible impact on music. He introduced a change from the original forms that would greatly influence the future of music. He was the first composer to write ballads and pieces of music separately, and changed etudes, among other genres, into expressive and emotional pieces.
Much of his music was also thought to be influenced by his beloved homeland, Poland. Many of his pieces were an effort to celebrate the culture of his homeland. Even though he left Poland to grow in his musical career, his heart was always rooted there and much of his inspiration came from the home he loved so much. Even after Russia regained control of Poland, which was a main reason why he could never return home, he continued to show his love for Poland through his music in a number of compositions.
by Victor Epand
