Frédéric Chopin (1810–1849)

How to say the name:

‘Chopin’ is said like Show-pan. ‘Frédéric is said like ‘Fre-der-ric’.

Born:

1st March 1810 (or possibly 22nd February—see below) in Żelazowa Wola (near Warsaw), Poland.

Chopin’s grave in Paris

Died:

17th October 1849 in Paris, France.

Buried:

Père Lachaise Cemetery in Paris (although his heart is buried in Holy Cross Church, Warsaw).

Type of Music:

Classical music from the romantic period.

some famous pieces:
  • ‘Minute Waltz’ (Waltz in D flat major, Op. 64, No. 1)
  • Funeral March (third movement from the Piano Sonata No. 2 in B-flat minor, Op. 35)
Some great pieces:
  • Piano Concertos Nos. 1 and 2.
  • Études Op.10 and Op. 25. (See below for a video.)
  • Berceuse.
  • Plus many waltzes, mazurkas, polonaises and nocturnes. (See below for a video of one well-known nocturne.)
Some interesting facts:
  • He started composing when he was only 7 years old!
  • He played the piano for the Tzar (like a king) of Russia when he was 15. The Tzar liked it so much that he gave Chopin a diamond ring.
  • Most of his music is written for the piano.
  • His piano music was so new that he needed to write his own piano exercises to help him learn how to play it! These exercise are his Études.
  • Much of Chopin’s music is very beautiful (see, for example, the first video below). However it can also be very angry as well (see, for example, the first video below).

Here is a video of Chopin’s Nocture Op. 9 No. 2.

Chopin’s Nocture Op. 9, No. 2

And here is a video of Chopin’s Étude Op. 10, No. 12, sometimes known as The Revolutionary Étude. This is a very angry piece. It expresses how Chopin felt about what had just happened in his homeland of Poland. At that time Russia ruled Poland. However the Polish people had just tried to get rid of their Russian rulers. But they failed. And this is why Chopin was so angry.

Chopin’s Étude Op. 10, No. 12

Choose another composer of classical music.
Picture credits:
  1. Frédéric Chopin. This is a photograph by Louis-Auguste Bisson. It is the only known photograph of Chopin. The image is in the public domain. Click here for the source of this image, along with the relevant copyright information.
  2. Chopin’s grave in Paris. This photograph can be used for any purpose. Click here for the source of this image, along with the relevant copyright information.
Video credits:
  1. Yundi Li plays Chopin Nocturne Op. 9 No. 2. Yundi Plays Chopin!
  2. Freddy Kempf – Chopin, Etude Op.10 No. 12. Freddy Kempf is an English pianist, born in 1977 in London to a German father and a Japanese mother. Having resided in London for many years and studying at the Royal Academy of Music, he now lives in Berlin. There is a lot more information about Freddy Kempf on the video’s YouTube page.