Fryderyk Frantisek Chopin is a great Polish composer, representative of the art of romanticism. He was born in the small town of Zhelyazov Vol, located near Warsaw. His father Nicolas was of French descent, and Justin's mother was a local resident.
Musical impressions of childhood
Frederic began studying piano at the age of six. The young musician was very lucky with the teacher. Pianist Wojciech Alive brought up from ¢ to
In early childhood, Frederic met with Italian opera, very popular in all parts of Europe. At the beginning of the 19th century, vocal art was not too difficult for perception. A wide circle of listeners was attracted by bright theatrical productions and beautiful catchy melodies that could be sung. And although Chopin’s work does not contain any opera, he acquired and for the rest of his life retained a taste for flexible and plastic melodies.
Salon art
Another source of music for the future composer was the so-called salon performance. A major representative of this art was Mikhail Oginsky. He is known today thanks to his famous Polonaise.
Salon is one of the forms of leisure activities for representatives of the wealthy layers of European society of the 19th century. This social practice has been described in many literary works, for example, by Leo Tolstoy and Honore de Balzac. In the salons, people not only talked, but also listened to music. The largest pianists and violinists of those times gained fame precisely thanks to performances at various social events.
Frederic Chopin played the piano in local salons from the age of 12. He loved this modest home art. Chopin's work bears a vivid imprint of salon music. Of the pianists invited to a social event, bravura virtuosity and sentimental ease of performance were often required. But Chopin is alien to the excessive entertainment and banality inherent in this direction of art.
Early work
The work of Frederic Chopin was discovered by two polonaises, which he wrote at the age of seven, possibly influenced by the work of the same name by Mikhail Oginsky. Another source of works by the future composer is Polish musical folklore. Frederic was introduced to him by his mother, who was a good pianist, as well as an amateur singer.
Young Chopin studied at the Warsaw Lyceum, while simultaneously studying music under the guidance of private teachers. He comprehended not only playing the piano, but also composition. Later Frederic entered the Main School of Music of the Polish capital.
In Poland, Chopin’s career developed successfully thanks to the generous patronage of patrons. In particular, the famous aristocratic Chetvertinsky family took care of the young pianist. On the wave of success, Chopin was invited to tour in Austria, where he left in 1829.
Emigration and its causes
The concerts of the young musician were very successful in Europe. He was admired by the famous composers of the time, Robert Schumann and Franz Liszt. Chopin's work was at the peak of popularity. During the composer's stay on tour in his homeland, an uprising occurred.
Freedom-loving Poles rebelled against the Russian Empire. Large-scale unrest that swept the country lasted about two years. In 1831, after the siege of Warsaw, they were crushed by the Russian army. After the victory, the actions of the occupation authorities became even tougher.
Chopin was an ardent supporter of Poland's independence. After the defeat of the uprising, he decided not to return to his homeland. The direct response to these tragic events was the study of "Do Minor", called "Revolutionary." The composer composed it in early September 1931, immediately after the fall of besieged Warsaw.
Sad events in Poland divided Chopin's work into two major periods. The young musician chooses Paris for permanent residence, in which he spends the rest of his days, periodically going on tour. The composer never saw his homeland again.
New life in Paris
In Paris, Chopin led an active creative and pedagogical activity. In that historical period, the capital of France was the center of the political and cultural life of Europe. After the July Revolution of 1830, Parisian society earnestly supported supporters of the struggle for the independence of Poland. The largest artists of that time selflessly helped the composer in the early years of his emigration.
Chopin's life and work are inextricably linked with the activities of his contemporaries - famous artists. New friends of the composer were the artist Eugene Delacroix, writers Heinrich Heine and Victor Hugo, composers Ferenc Liszt and Vincenzo Bellini, musicologist Francois Fetis.
Disease and career ending virtuoso
A few years after settling in Paris, Chopin gave concerts in England and Germany, where he met with prominent composers Robert Schumann and Felix Mendelssohn. Then, in the mid-30s, he was overtaken by a disease - pulmonary tuberculosis.
The poor health of the young musician did not allow him to continue his career as a pianist virtuoso. He stopped performing in large halls. Creativity F. Chopin from this time boils down to writing a series of piano works, which paved his way into the history of music.
As a pianist, he limited his performances to small salons and chamber concert halls. He played mainly for his friends, colleagues and people with similar artistic tastes and passions.
Chamber halls and a friendly audience determined the uniqueness of Chopin's music. She is very personal, intimate. It seems that the composer exposes his suffering soul to the audience. The work of F. Chopin is inextricably linked with the piano. For other instruments, he did not write.
Love of life
While in Paris, the composer met with the famous French writer Aurora Dudevant, who published her books under the male pseudonym Georges Sand. This woman enjoyed scandalous fame in Parisian society. She wore men's clothing and defiantly smoked cigars. The local elite was periodically haunted by rumors of her many connections.
Briefly describing Chopin's life and work, it can be argued that without George Sand he would not have been himself. She became not only the composer's mistress, but also his friend. The writer was older than Chopin. She already had two children - a boy and a girl.
The great musician often visited in the family castle, which became a haven for many friends of Aurora and her lover. She adored stormy fun and parties that lasted until dawn. The sick composer endured her entertainment with great difficulty. However, their romance lasted more than ten years.
Winter in Mallorca
No matter how talented Chopin, his biography and work are inextricably linked with George Sand. Especially popular among lovers of romantic stories is the legend of their joint trip to Mallorca. The Spanish island in the Mediterranean is today a tourist paradise. Then, in the distant 19th century, it was an abandoned, deserted and gloomy place. The splendor of nature was combined with the moody morals of the locals and poor living conditions.
Chopin, whose biography and work is largely due to an incurable disease, survived one of the most difficult periods on this island. Lovers wanted to spend a warm winter in Mallorca away from the Paris gossip. But the winter turned out to be very rainy and cold, and the negative attitude of local residents to lovers was frankly aggressive. They could not rent a house and were forced to settle in an abandoned monastery, where the cold raged. This winter, the composer's health deteriorated significantly.
During her life in Mallorca, George Sand missed Parisian luxury. Yearned and Chopin. A brief biography and the work of the composer make this winter on the island especially bright. The musician composed several excellent works here. After returning to France, the writer published the book Winter in Mallorca.
Romanticism and piano
Chopin’s work can be briefly defined as romanticism in all its manifestations. His numerous piano miniatures are like different facets of a single diamond. The composer wrote very few large works. Most famous among them is his second sonata, and especially its third part - the mourning march.
Chopin's piano miniatures are combined in cycles. Polish mazurkas and polonaises are poetic plays imbued with homesickness. The most lyrical works of the composer are preludes. They go through all the work of Chopin. Briefly, these compositions can be described as short plays covering all 24 keys. Preludes are solved in various genres. For example, the A major play reproduces the rhythmic basis of the mazurka. And the prelude "C Minor" resembles an elegy.
Genres in Chopin's music
Chopin's piano work is due to a multifaceted synthesis. The combination in one short topic of the intonations of different, sometimes contrasting, genres leads to a high concentration of tension of the musical tissue. Compressed in an eight-cycle melody, hints of march, nocturne and pathetic recitation seem to blow up the theme from the inside. Their potential is revealed throughout the composition, building a complex drama.
As noted by German musicologists, the work of Friedrich Chopin (as he is called in Germany) was influenced by Robert Schumann, especially his piano cycles. However, the music of this great composer is unusually original. Confirmation is the so-called Polish cycles - mazurkas and polonaises.
Mazurkas and polonaises
Mazurkas are very diverse. Among them are graceful and refined miniatures, as well as plays written in a folk spirit. There are also shiny ball mazurki. Most of these works are not difficult in terms of virtuosity. Technically, they are easy to execute. Their deep musical meaning makes them difficult to understand, a special subtlety of perception is required from the listener.
Like all of Chopin’s works, works written in the polonaise genre are lyrical poetic miniatures. But at the same time they have the character of bright and brilliant dances. Among them there are miniatures of different contents: tragic, solemn and refined. A pianist performing polonaises needs to have strong fingers and wide hands. This is necessary in order to cope with the polyphonic chords that underlie the works.
If you try to formulate Chopin’s work in a few words, his summary will be as follows: the greatest genius of the romantic era, he was the musical idol of Europe. Deprived of his homeland an exile, he died very early, at 39 years old. For most of his life, Chopin suffered from an incurable disease that limited his virtuoso career. He fully understood the love of hundreds of fans and the only woman who knew how to understand him. She had the same talent as himself. His tragic and at the same time happy fate is in music. And she is immortal.