Chopin

Teacher's Score: 9/10


Frederic Francois Chopin was born in Poland in 1810 in the Romantic era. He displayed a musical gift in his childhood. He began his education at the Conservatory of Warsaw with Josef Elsner, who was the director of the conservatory. At the age of 19, he had a mild infatuation with the young singer Constantia Gladkowska, which inspired him to compose Adagio of his Concerto in F-minor. Still in Warsaw, he played in salons of Polish aristocrats who would later become his patrons and supporters in Paris. Before leaving for Vienna, his friends sang a farewell cantata in his honour. Chopin wept, convinced that he'll never see Warsaw again.

In Vienna, he heard news that Warsaw was revolting against the Tsar. Gloomy visions of massacred friends and family tormented him. He left in the summer for Stuttgart and learned that Warsaw was captured by the Russians. His grief (he worried that his friends and family were being killed) led him him to write the Revolutionary Etude. In 1831, he arrived at Paris, which was the centre of the new Romanticism, and he spent the rest of his career here. His circle of friends included musicians (Liszt, Berlioz, Rossini, Meyerbeer), literary figures (Hugo, Balzac, Lamartine, George Sand, de Musset, Dumas) a poet (Heine), and a painter (Delacroix). Chopin was emotional and was influenced by these French people. His primary sources of income were from teaching and publishing compositions. Because he was shy, he rarely performed at public recitals, but rather played in salons and other intimate settings. Chopin met Aurore Dudevant, or George Sand, through Liszt. In 1838, he had a friendship with Sand, 34 years old at that time. She had a need to rule, and Chopin had a need to be ruled. Sand accounted Chopin's work habit: he was fussy over details, and he would shut himself in his room for days, while modifying one bar 100 times. In the next 8 years,he spent summers at Sand's chateau in Nohant. These were some productive years for him, but his health grew worse. His relationship with Sand worsened, and they parted at the end. Chopin's creative energy lost momentum in his mid 30s, now it came to an end. In 1849, he returned to Paris suffering from tuberculosis, and he died a few months later. His funeral was his greatest triumph, where thousands came to honour him (though Sand stayed away). Chopin's own funeral march from his Piano Sonata in B-flat major was played. Chopin was a true Pole - his dying wish was for his body to be returned to Poland.

Chopin was one of the most original and imaginative artists of the Romantic era. His life centred around the piano. He transformed the limitations of the piano into sources of beauty (the limitation is the inability to sustain the tone). He used tempo rubato (the state that the player can not follow the strict time values, so he or she could hurry a little here and hesitate a little there), and delicate ornaments (trills, grace notes, runs). He created the modern piano style. He also believed that "everything must be made to sing". His piano life was so popular, many of his works are part of the piano's standard repertory.

Chopin wrote mostly short lyric piano pieces, but also wrote preludes, etudes, nocturnes, scherzos, polonaises, impromptus, 4 ballads, mazurkas, waltzes, 3 sonatas, 2 piano concertos, and chamber music. Because of his Polish heritage, he had a Polish taste in many of his works. His works included Fantasy in F minor, Nocturne in C minor, Polonaise in A-flat major, Op. 53, and "Revolutionary" Etude in C minor, Op.48, No. 1.

Teacher's Comments:
For the last paragraph, do not write all of Chopin's works AFTER Chopin's works' genres, but say "genre" such as "work".