Frederic Chopin: biography of one of the best composers of the XIX century

F. Chopin, whose biography today is the topic of our conversation, is a talented Polish composer and pianist. Frederick was born on March 1, 1810 in a small town near Warsaw. The musical talent of the boy manifested itself in his early childhood: already at the age of six he enjoyed playing the piano with pleasure, he tried to compose music himself. A significant role in this played his teacher, V. Zhivny.

Study and the beginning of the path

When Frederic turned 8, he first publicly acted as a pianist. At that time, Chopin, whose biography as a composer begins very early, already wrote several pieces of polonaise and one of his marches.

From 1823 to 1826, Frederic studied at the Warsaw Lyceum, and immediately managed to enter the Warsaw Higher School of Music. Almost all this time his mentor was Yu. Elsner, a talented teacher and musician. It was with his help that Chopin wrote his first serious works, among them - variations on the theme of Mozart, 1st Sonata, Nocturne E minor, rondo (including rondo for two pianos).

After finishing his studies, Frederic goes to Vienna (1829), where he performs his works for the general public. And a year later, in Warsaw, an independent concert was organized for him, marking the beginning of a series of solo performances.

The Vienna period

Further F. Chopin, whose biography still remains the subject of study of many researchers, moves to Vienna for some time (1830-1831). Here, life literally begins to boil around him: the young composer regularly visits various concerts, gets acquainted with the luminaries of the music world of that period, visits theaters, and regularly visits the picturesque surroundings of the city. This situation allows him to reveal his talent on the new side and inspires him to many wonderful works. Autumn of 1831 Frederic meets in Stuttgart. It is here that he is overtaken by the news of the failure of the uprising in Poland and the fall of Warsaw. Under the strong impression of tragic events, the composer wrote the subsequently named "revolutionary" Etude C minor, as well as two extraordinarily tragic preludes - D minor and A minor. The list of his works also replenishes several concerts for piano and orchestra, polonaise for cello and piano, Polish songs for the words of Mickiewicz and Witwicki and many other wonderful compositions.

The Boiling Life in Paris

The next important stage, which takes place Frederic Chopin, whose biography has already left its imprint in the history of Vienna, is life in Paris. It is here that the composer and musician begins to closely associate with Liszt, Bellini, Berlioz, Mendelssohn. However, the range of his communication is not limited to the music sphere. Also Frederic with pleasure communicates with talented writers and artists of the brush - Hugo, Balzac, Lamartine, Heine, Delacroix, J. Sand. On February 26, 1832, the composer's first concert took place in Paris, during which he performed a concert for two pianos, as well as variations on Mozart's Don Juan theme.

A large number of concerts occurred in 1833-1835. But the period from 1836 to 1837 became decisive in the personal life of the composer: the engagement with Maria Vodzinskaya was canceled, and Chopin himself became friends with J. Sand.

"Golden" time in the history of the work of Chopin

The highest flourishing of Chopin's works was in 1838-1846. His most perfect and impressive works were written during this period. Among them are sonatas No. 2 and No. 3, ballads, polonaise-fantasy, scherzo, nocturnes, barcarole, polonaises, preludes, mazurkas, etc. Winter Frederic usually spent in his beloved Paris, and for the summer moved to Noan, The estate of Georges Sand. Only one winter (1838-1839), Chopin was forced to spend in the south, in Mallorca, because of sharply deteriorated health. Being on the Spanish island, he managed to finish 24 more foreplay.

last years of life

Difficult for the composer was May 1844 - it was then that his father died, and his death, Frederic took extremely hard. Finally, his strength broke with the break with J. Sand (1847), the love of his entire life. November 16, 1848, at a Polish evening in London, Chopin, whose biography still excites the hearts, appeared for the last time. After that, the state of health did not allow him to speak or engage with students. In the winter of 1849, Frederic finally fell. Neither the care of faithful friends, nor even the arrival in Paris of Louis, the beloved sister of the composer, could not alleviate his suffering, and after a grievous agony he died. It happened on October 17, 1849.

To this day, the contribution that Frederic Chopin has made to the development of musical art remains truly invaluable. Biography brief, of course, can not describe all the exciting moments of his life. However, many biographical researchers have tried to be as accurate as possible and to uncover the whole way of this extraordinary personality in more detail. Among them - I. Khitrik, A. Solovtsov, L. Sinyavr, L. A. Mazel.