
Whether or not morbid thoughts (and Chopin had plenty of them) affected the piece, it is a work of strange, ineffable beauty that is more than the sum of its parts. When he wrote it, Chopin was only four years away from his death and had suffered from tuberculosis for many years.
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Emotionally, though, there is much more to this piece the central section is full of mystery and a fantastical, valedictory atmosphere hangs over the whole. Some commentators have suggested it could be based on Adam Mickiewicz’s epic poem Konrad Wallenrod – a romantic tale, written three years before the Ballade, featuring a mysterious hero, a long-lost beloved, concealed identities, ferocious battles and a cataclysmic suicide.Ĭhopin’s Barcarolle is based on the idea of a Venetian gondola song: it features a lilting, rocking accompaniment and an Italianate melody rich in cascades of thirds and sixths – Chopin’s passion for Italian bel canto opera is evident. It is a highly dramatic piece, its ballade nature defined by its lilting rhythm and long-spun, bard-like melodies ferocious and impassioned outbursts interrupt and transform its themes until it ends in a startling coda of stark, wild gestures. Listen to the best Chopin works on Apple Music and Spotify and scroll down to explore our selection of ten essential piano masterpieces by the great composer.Ĭhopin was only 21 when he created the first and most popular of his ballades. No other composer has contributed as many significant works to the piano’s repertoire. Chopin invented the concept of the instrumental Ballade and his major piano works also include Sonatas, Mazurkas, Waltzes, Nocturnes, Polonaises, Études, Impromptus, Scherzos and Préludes, some published only after his death. His beautiful melodies blended lush bel canto lyricism with Classical restraint. 10 (1839) Chopin’s tudes, of which there are 27 in total, formed the foundations for a new style of piano playing, and comprise some of the most fiendish works. Among the influences on his style of composition were Polish folk music, the classical tradition of JS Bach, Mozart and Schubert and the atmosphere of the Paris salons of which he was a frequent guest. Musicologist Henry Finck once said: If all piano music in the world were to be destroyed, excepting one collection, my vote should be cast for Chopin’s Preludes. Chopin was born in the small village of Zelazowa Wola, in the Duchy of Warsaw, to a Polish mother and French-expatriate father, and was a child prodigy pianist. He was one of the great masters of Romantic music and wrote primarily for solo piano. 1971.Frédéric Chopin (1 March 1810 – 17 October 1849) was a Polish composer and virtuoso pianist. Bloomington and Indianopolis: Indiana University Press. The Age Of Chopin: Interdisciplinary Inquiries. During this crucial time in his life, Chopinīibliography: Rink J., Samson J. He was later accepted to the Warsaw Conservatory of Music, where his father taught as a professor and was instructed by Wilhelm Würfel, who was a renowned pianist and scholar. It was at this time that Chopin had an opportunity to socialize and interact with the country folk and examine their customs and traditions with his friends Dominik Dziewanowski and Julian Fontana. At the age of thirteen, he enrolled in the Warsaw Lyceum where his composition teacher, Josez Elsner, called him a piano genius. No other composer has enhanced and augmented the perception of Western piano music during the Romantic Era than Chopin.Ĭhopin officially began piano lessons at the age of seven with Wojciech Żywny and this lasted for five years but ended thereafter with the realization that Chopin surpassed his teacher 's own abilities. He transformed instrumental genres into solo piano pieces and wrote specifically for the solo piano. His influences included Haydn, Mozart, Clementi and Beethoven. As a result of his inventive and somewhat complicated pieces, Chopin was considered one of the most prolific and imaginative composers in the Romantic Era who had a tremendous impact on piano music. He was called a "child prodigy" and "little Mozart" and at the age of seven he had already composed two Polonaise, the first in G and the second in B flat. Being that both his parents were musicians, his mother a pianist and his father a violinist, Chopin was encouraged to develop and expand his already apparent musical gift. Both Mikolaj Nicolas and Tekla Justyna Chopin played a major role in Fryderyk 's academic and musical tutelage by ensuring that he was well taught by means of home schooling. His mother, Tekla Justyna Krzyżanowska, was of Polish descent and his father, Mikolaj Nicolas Chopin, was a French expatriate. Fryderyk Franciszek Chopin (Frédéric François Chopin) was born on March 10th, 1810 in Żelazowa Wola, Poland.
