Frédéric François Chopin (1810-1849) is called “the poet of the piano”. Everything he composed was for piano, or had a piano somehow involved. He was also a small, sickly, half-Polish half-French man with an air of sophistication. He was also a viral-video-worthy rageaholic.
He taught himself piano and somehow found new sounds, forms, harmonies, melodies, and styles that would change music forever. Yes, he taught himself. Don’t let that fact leak out to piano students angrily wanting to quit lessons or we might get us another music history making composer. And nobody wants that! His romantic partner of 10 years was a woman named George (look her up). She was awesome too.
There’s an actual photograph of Chopin you can see here. He looks like he’s about to angrily and sophisticated-ly cough up one of his infected lungs and then get back to writing the best piece you’ve ever heard in your life. After being granted the sweet release of death, his body still warm, some people slathered plaster on his face and left hand and made casts of them. Next time you’re in Rapperswil, Poland, you can see the face cast at a museum. Replicas of both the face cast and the hand cast are for sale on the internet. And they cut his heart out, too, and buried it in his beloved-Poland. Secretly. Interesting story. His life would make a great movie.
*5’7″ 100 lbs.
The Prelude Op. 28, No. 20, in C minor by Frédéric Chopin has been dubbed the “Funeral March” by Hans von Bülow but is commonly known as the “Chord Prelude” due to its slow progression of quarter note chords.[1]
Waltz in A Minor, B. 150
Prelude in B Minor, Op. 28 No. 6
Prelude in E Minor, Op. 28 No. 4 “Suffocation”
Largo in E♭ Major, Op. posth.