Frédéric Chopin

William Smialek

Ed. by Ewa M. Thompson, Rice University
The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.5.2.05: French Writing and Culture: The Nineteenth-Century , 1800-1900.
Vol. editors: Edward Forman (University of Bristol), Nigel Harkness (University of Newcastle upon Tyne), Tim Unwin (University of Bristol), David Williams (University of Sheffield), Jennifer Yee (University of Oxford)

Domains

Classical Music

Dates

Born 22 Feb 1810
Died 17 Oct 1849
Activity 1830-1849

Places

Born in Poland
Active in France; Poland

Activities

Primary

Composer

Resources

Life

Fryderyk Franciszek Chopin was a Polish composer and pianist whose artistic creations embraced the expressive strengths of his instrument and drew upon the folk idiom of his homeland. The son of a Polish noblewoman, Justyna Krzyżanowska, and a French expatriate who had settled in Poland during the Napoleonic period, Chopin was born in Żelazowa Wola near Warsaw and received his early musical training from Adalbert Żywny (1756–1842). A recently discovered baptismal record puts his birth at 22 February 1810, rather than 1 March 1810 as previously assumed.

Chopin was introduced to Polish folk traditions during vacations in Szafarnia, in his youth. Owing to his talent for playing the piano he became the …

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901 words

Citation: Smialek, William. "Frédéric Chopin". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 28 July 2010 [https://staging.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=867, accessed 22 November 2024.]

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