One of the most innovative pianists of the 19th century, Frederic Chopin changed the course of piano literature with his original harmonic ideas and adventurous pieces.

His father a French émigré and his mother a lady-in-waiting to a Polish countess, Frederic Chopin grew up in a cultured household outside of Warsaw. Chopin expressed an interest in the piano at an early age and took lessons from Josef Elsner and Wojciech Zywny. At the age of 16, he entered the newly established Warsaw Conservatory. Graduating after three years, Chopin began to make name for himself performing concerts in Vienna and Warsaw. Even with such early success, he decided to leave Poland for Paris in 1831 due to the country’s political instability and his own musical ambition.

The move turned out to be a fruitful one as Paris was the centre of Romantic pianism during the 1830s, and Chopin quickly became one the movement’s leading figures. Introductions by talented friends such as Liszt, Schumann, and Pleyel allowed Chopin easy entrance into the elite Parisian salons, a key venue for artists of the time. There, he quickly became a sought after teacher and performer of great renown, known for his sensitive, artistic playing and skilled improvisations. Chopin developed numerous artistic connections and friendships through these private concerts and ran in Paris’ highest cultural circles. His friendships and associations included such diverse and talented individuals as writers Victor Hugo and Alexander Dumas, poet Heinrich Heine, and painter Eugene Delacroix. 

His most famous acquaintance, however, was with novelist George Sand (born Aurore Dudevant) with whom he had a romantic relationship beginning in 1838. Spending much of his time at Sand’s Nohant estate, this period coincided with one of Chopin’s most compositionally fertile. Writing almost exclusively for piano, he composed both large-scale virtuosic works, evident in his scherzos, polonaises, and piano concertos, as well as small, intimate portrait pieces, represented best by his preludes and nocturnes. These works feature a unique and original harmonic language that would influence such composers as Liszt, Grieg, Debussy, and Rachmaninov.

In 1847, the romance with Sand ended badly. The following year, Chopin visited Britain for an extended period, seeking a change of scenery. Unfortunately, his health, a constant concern throughout his life, began to deteriorate rapidly. Returning to Paris, Chopin died of turberculosis at the age of 39. Over 3,000 people attended his funeral where his own funeral march from the B-flat-minor Piano Sonata was played as a fitting tribute.