Frédéric Chopin

Frederic Chopin (1810 - 1849) was a romantic with a classicist's heart. His superbly crafted minatures redefined keyboard music in an era when others sought to emulate the epic style of Beethoven's Piano Sonatas. Chopin found it difficult to compose large-scale musical structures nor was he happy with working with an orchestra. His short life was marred by enforced exile, disintegrating personal relationships and ill health though ever since his death he has been revered as the greatest of the Romantic performer-composers.

Chopin was born in the Duchy of Warsaw in 1810. Poland, like Germany and Italy, was more a romantic ideal rather than a political reality. Poland also had the misfortune of being surrounded by powerful countries and throughout its history was subject to invasions from all sides, suffering a series of ignominious divisions between the great powers. The Poles made a stand in the 'Cadet Revolution' of 1830-31 but were crushed by the might of the Russian Empire which were rulers of Poland during this period. Many Poles left the country at this time. Chopin had left just prior to the outbreak of hostilities to seek his reputation and fortune as a supremely gifted concert pianist and composer. The failure of the revolution to earn Poland its freedom devastated the young man and he would never return to his homeland.

The decision to settle in Paris proved to be particularly far-sighted. It was while he was in Paris that Schumann heard Chopin play and was to utter the immortal statement 'Hats off, gentlemen! A genius'. Unlike his contemporary, Liszt, Chopin was not a flashy showman and his understated style perfectly suited the decorous Paris salon. This was reflected in the type of music that Chopin was composing. He eschewed large scale works, even in his solo piano music. The two piano concertos, while containing many memorable ideas and fabulous passagework are let down by the indifferent orchestrations. The Piano Sonatas too, do not fully cohere despite their periods of episodic power. Chopin was a master of the minature, and could, from a short piano piece, wring as much emotion as from a whole sonata.

It is has to be said, however, that Chopin was something of a snob. He courted the higher echelons of Paris society and counted amongst his patrons the weathly, Rothschilds. He was also friendly with the greatest musicians and composers of the era included Liszt, Bellini, Rossini, Mendelssohn and Paganini. Materially Chopin did not suffer for his art; it was his frail body that was ultimately to let him down.

In 1836 Chopin met George Sand (real name the Countess Marie d'Agolt), a socialite who had strong links to the musical community in Paris. They fell in love and in 1838 they retired to the scenic village of Valldemossa in Majorca principally for the dry air as Chopin was suffering from tuberculosis. Isolated and undisturbed in his mountain retreat Chopin was able to complete some of his finest works there, including the second Ballade, the Preludes and the Second Piano Sonata, however his health continued to decline and eventually the couple had to abandon Majorca and after a number of sojourns in various places ended back in Paris.

Despite his serious illness Chopin continued to play and compose for the next ten years but his steady decline affected his relationship with Sand and they parted ways in 1847. After a tour of England and Scotland in 1848 he returned to Paris now close to death's door. In October 1849 he died in his apartment in Paris and was buried at one of the city's great cemeteries, the Père Lachaise, where to this day fresh flowers are still laid at his grave.

Key Works: Piano Concertos Nos. 1 & 2, Cello Sonata, Ballades, Etudes, Impromptus, Mazurkas, Nocturnes, Piano Sonatas Nos. 1 - 3, Polonaises, Scherzi, Waltzes

Key Artists: Martha Argerich, Daniel Barenboim, Claudio Arrau, Vladimir Ashkenazy, Vladimir Horowitz, Maurizio Pollini, Anton Rubinstein