A short biography of Frederic Chopin is the most important. Frederic Chopin - biography, information, personal life

Frederic Francois Chopin Born on March 1 (or February 22), 1810 in the village of Zhelyazova-Wola, near Warsaw - died on October 17, 1849 in Paris. Polish composer and virtuoso pianist, teacher.

Author of numerous works for piano. The largest representative of the Polish musical art. He interpreted many genres in a new way: he revived the prelude on a romantic basis, created a piano ballad, poeticized and dramatized dances - mazurka, polonaise, waltz; turned the scherzo into an independent work. Enriched harmony and piano texture; combined classic form with melodic richness and fantasy.

Chopin's compositions include 2 concertos (1829, 1830), 3 sonatas (1828-1844), fantasy (1842), 4 ballads (1835-1842), 4 scherzos (1832-1842), impromptu, nocturnes, etudes, waltzes, mazurkas, polonaises, preludes and other works for piano, songs.

Chopin, before leaving for the west, lived in the territory that is part of Russian Empire, due to the fact that Poland ceased to exist as a state back in 1795, and Warsaw, following the results Napoleonic Wars, was located on the territory that had ceded to the Russian Empire.

In 1830, news arrived that an uprising for independence had broken out in Poland. Chopin dreams of returning to his homeland and taking part in the battles. The preparations are over, but on the way to Poland he was caught by terrible news: the uprising was crushed, the leader was taken prisoner. Chopin deeply believed that his music would help native people achieve victory. "Poland will be brilliant, powerful, independent!" - so he wrote in his diary. Frederic Chopin's last public concert took place on November 16, 1848 in London. The composer bequeathed that his heart be transported to Poland after his death.

The composer's father, Nicolas Chopin (1771-1844), from a simple family, moved from France to Poland in his youth.

Since 1802, he lived on the estate of Count Skarbek Zhelyazov-Vol, where he worked as a teacher of the count's children.

In 1806 Nicolas Chopin married Justine Krzyzanowska (1782-1861), a distant relative of the Skarbeks Tekla. The Krzyzhanovski (Krzhizhanovski) family of the Pig coat of arms dates back to the 14th century and owned the village of Krzyzhanovo near Koscian.

Vladimir Krzhizhanovsky, the nephew of Justina Krzyzhanovskaya, also belonged to the Krzyzhanovsky family. According to the surviving evidence, the composer's mother received a good education, owned French, was extremely musical, played the piano well, possessed beautiful voice. Frederick owes his first musical impressions to his mother, the love of folk melodies instilled from infancy.

In the autumn of 1810, some time after the birth of his son, Nicolas Chopin moved to Warsaw. In the Warsaw Lyceum, thanks to the patronage of the Skarbeks, he got a place after the death of the teacher, Pan Mahe. Chopin was a French teacher and German and French literature, maintained a boarding school for pupils of the lyceum.

The intelligence and sensitivity of the parents soldered all family members with love and had a beneficial effect on the development of gifted children. In addition to Frederic, there were three sisters in the Chopin family: the eldest, Ludwika, married to Endrzeevich, who was his especially close and devoted friend, and the younger sisters, Isabella and Emilia. The sisters had versatile abilities, and Emilia, who died early, had an outstanding literary talent.

Already in childhood, Chopin showed extraordinary musical ability. He was surrounded by special attention and care. Likewise, he amazed those around him with musical "obsession", inexhaustible imagination in improvisations, and innate pianism. His susceptibility and musical impressionability manifested themselves violently and unusually. He could cry while listening to music, jump up at night to pick up a memorable melody or chord on the piano.

In its January issue for 1818, one of the Warsaw newspapers placed a few lines about the first musical play, composed by the composer, students still in primary school. “The author of this Polonaise,” the newspaper wrote, “is a student who is not yet 8 years old. It - real genius music, with the greatest ease and exceptional taste. Performing the most difficult piano pieces and composing dances and variations that delight connoisseurs and connoisseurs. If this child prodigy had been born in France or Germany, he would have drawn more attention to himself.

The young Chopin was taught music by giving him great expectations. The pianist Wojciech Zhivny (1756-1842), a Czech by birth, began to study with a 7-year-old boy. The classes were serious, despite the fact that Chopin, in addition, studied at one of the Warsaw schools. The boy's performing talent developed so rapidly that by the age of twelve, Chopin was not inferior to the best Polish pianists. Zhivny refused to study with the young virtuoso, saying that he could teach him nothing more.

After graduating from college and completing seven years of studies with Zhivny, Chopin began his theoretical studies with the composer Josef Elsner.

The patronage of Prince Anton Radziwill and the princes Chetvertinsky introduced Chopin into high society, which was impressed by Chopin's charming appearance and refined manners.

Here is what Franz Liszt said about it: “The general impression of his personality was quite calm, harmonious and did not seem to require additions in any comments. Chopin's blue eyes shone more with intelligence than they were veiled with thoughtfulness; his soft and thin smile never turned bitter or sarcastic. The subtlety and transparency of the color of his face tempted everyone; he had curly blond hair, a slightly rounded nose; he was of small stature, frail, thin build. His manners were refined, varied; the voice is a little tired, often muffled. His manners were full of such decency, they had such a seal of blood aristocracy that he was involuntarily met and received like a prince ... to no interests. Chopin was usually cheerful; his sharp mind quickly found the funny even in such manifestations that not everyone catches the eye..

Trips to Berlin, Dresden, Prague, where he attended concerts of outstanding musicians, contributed to his development.

Since 1829, Chopin's artistic activity began. He performs in Vienna, Krakow, performing his works. Returning to Warsaw, he leaves it forever on November 5, 1830. This separation from his homeland was the cause of his constant hidden grief - longing for his homeland. To this was added at the end of the thirties a love for, which gave him more grief than happiness in addition to parting with his bride.

Having passed Dresden, Vienna, Munich, he arrived in Paris in 1831. On the way, Chopin wrote a diary (the so-called "Stuttgart Diary"), reflecting his state of mind during his stay in Stuttgart, where he was seized by despair due to the collapse of the Polish uprising. During this period, Chopin wrote his famous "Revolutionary Etude".

Chopin gave his first concert in Paris at the age of 22. The success was complete. Chopin rarely performed in concerts, but in the salons of the Polish colony and the French aristocracy, Chopin's fame grew extremely rapidly. There were composers who did not recognize his talent, such as Kalkbrenner and John Field, but this did not stop Chopin from gaining many loyal fans, both in artistic circles and in society. The love for teaching music and pianism was hallmark Chopin, one of the few great artists who devoted a lot of time to this.

In 1837, Chopin felt the first attack of lung disease (with most likely, it was tuberculosis). The connection with George Sand (Aurora Dupin) coincides with this time. Staying in Mallorca with George Sand had a negative impact on Chopin's health, he suffered from bouts of illness there. However, many greatest works, including 24 preludes, were created on this Spanish island. However, he spent a lot of time countryside in France, where George Sand had an estate in Nohant.

A ten-year cohabitation with George Sand, full of moral trials, greatly undermined Chopin's health, and a break with her in 1847, in addition to causing him considerable stress, deprived him of the opportunity to relax in Nohant.

Wanting to leave Paris in order to change the situation and expand his circle of acquaintances, Chopin went to London in April 1848 to give concerts and teach. This turned out to be his last trip. Success, a nervous, stressful life, a damp British climate, and most importantly, a periodically aggravated chronic illness lungs, - all this finally undermined his strength. Returning to Paris, Chopin died on October 5 (17), 1849.

About Chopin deeply mourned the whole music world. Thousands of fans of his work gathered at his funeral. According to the wish of the deceased, at his funeral famous artists of that time, Mozart's Requiem, a composer whom Chopin put above all others, was performed (and he called his Requiem and the Jupiter symphony his favorite works), and his own prelude No. 4 (E minor) was also performed. In the Père Lachaise cemetery, Chopin's ashes rest between the graves of Luigi Cherubini and Bellini. Chopin's heart was, according to his will, sent to Warsaw, where it was walled up in a column of the Church of the Holy Cross.

Everyone knows the name of the great composer Frederic Chopin. He is a prominent representative of romanticism in music. Creative works Chopin influenced the subsequent development of music, as well as his followers. Historical contribution composer in music is undeniable.

Future great composer was born in 1810 in a small village near Warsaw. Frederick has always had a love for music. His mother was famous pianist and instilled a love for music. Pianist V. Zhivny regularly gave lessons to the young Chopin. In 1818, an article was published stating that Chopin - genius child, since he not only repeated complex compositions but he also composed. At the Lyceum he met great composers, famous artists, writers. close friend, and later the writer George Sand became a lover. She was different sharp mind, as well as a stable life position.

In 1837, Chopin felt a lung disease, it was tuberculosis. Together with his wife, George Sand and her two children went to Mallorca. The change of residence negatively affected the composer's well-being, but he continued to write. Relations with his beloved deteriorated significantly, stress negatively affected the health of the composer. Frederic Chopin died in 1849, his body was buried in Paris.

Chopin's music was admired, he gave concerts in Warsaw, Paris and last years life in London. Very often he gave concerts for free, so until the end of his days he studied music with his students. The composer completely changed the understanding of many genres: he turned the scherzo into separate genre, poetized waltz, mazurka and other dances, classical genres enriched with imagination. Frederic Chopin was proud of his waltzes, which played a significant role in his work. Musicologists argue that it is possible to trace the relationship between the composer's personal tragedy and his waltzes. Frederic Chopin is a real genius of music and has long been a favorite composer of connoisseurs not only classical music.

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Frederic Francois Chopin is a world famous composer, brilliant musician, who dedicated his work to his native Poland, an incomparable "piano poet".

He was born in February 1810 in Poland in a small village near Warsaw. The mother of the future composer played the piano beautifully and sang. My father played the violin and flute. Parents raised their son and three daughters in an atmosphere of tenderness, harmony and love for poetry and music, which could not but affect the work of the future genius.

Musical inclinations appeared in little Frederick in early childhood. Chopin's first mentor was the Czech musician V. Zhivny. Already at the age of 9, the boy composed waltzes, mazurkas and polonaises. Thanks to his virtuoso piano playing, Frederik became famous throughout Poland by the age of 12. Getting an education at the Higher School of Music in Warsaw, the musician took lessons from famous composer Y. Elsner.

After graduating in 1827, Chopin actively gives concerts not only in Poland, but also in Germany and Austria, which brings him great success. great musician in 1831 he moved to Paris. His fame spreads and numerous fans appear.

Chopin not only composes, but also begins to teach music. He creates a unique method of teaching pianists.
The composer loved to travel a lot. He was familiar with G. Berlioz, F. Mendelssohn, F. Liszt, O. Balzac, V. Hugo and other prominent personalities of that time.

Not distinguished by good health since childhood, in 1848 the seriously ill composer gave last concert in London. On October 5 the following year, he died.

According to the will, after his death, his heart was delivered to his homeland, where it was immured in the Warsaw Church of the Holy Cross.

Chopin's talent can be compared with such geniuses as Mozart and Tchaikovsky. A brilliant representative of romanticism in music, the founder of the national Polish composer school, Chopin left his descendants a huge legacy musical compositions for piano. He wrote two large-scale concertos, three sonatas, known in numerous orchestral performances. Chopin pioneered the ballad genre, and his nocturnes and etudes amaze classical music lovers with their grace and nobility.

The style of such well-known musical compositions as "Autumn Waltz", nocturnes "Nocturno in C sharp minor", "Spring Rhapsody", etudes "Revolutionary", "Garden of Eden" can be traced in lyrical works contemporary performers.
In honor of Frederic Chopin in Poland is held international competition pianists are called many educational establishments and erecting monuments.

Nowadays being tanned is very fashionable. Many girls and even men want to have beautiful dark skin. To do this, some sunbathe under the sun, visit a solarium or use special creams.

Name: Frederic Chopin

Age: 39 years old

Place of Birth: Zielyazova Wola, Poland

A place of death: Paris, France

Activity: Polish composer, pianist, teacher

Family status: was not married

Frederic Chopin - Biography

Polish composer who created works for the piano that formed the basis of learning to play the piano. In the arsenal of compositions, Chopin does not have music for orchestra composed by him, but this does not detract from his skill as the creator of the Polish music school piano games.

Childhood, composer's family

Frederick's father was a teacher who was often hired as a tutor for the children. mother was intelligent noble origin. Music and poetry are the two main art forms, which were given great attention in the family. In the family, in addition to the only son, there were three girls. Only the boy inherited from his mother the ability to play the piano: she knew how to sing and play the piano beautifully. The whole biography of Chopin, as a composer, was formed thanks to the upbringing laid down in him by his parents. The musical instrument did not tire the boy for hours, he enjoyed learning new works, picking up familiar melodies.

From the age of five, the child had already performed with concerts, at the age of seven he was assigned to the well-known pianist Wojciech Zhivny in Poland, who managed to make a piano virtuoso out of a gifted child in five years. In parallel, he was taught composition by Józef Elsner. The young man loves to travel, visit theaters in Berlin, Prague and Dresden. Chopin came to Russia, conquered Alexander I with his playing, and was awarded the imperial diamond ring. Fate favored the gifted young man and entered many successful moments of the musician's life into the pages of the biography.

Concert activity of Chopin

The concerts that made Chopin popular, he begins to give from the age of nineteen. Warsaw and Krakow applauded the talent. The musician goes on tour to Germany, where he learns that an uprising, in favor of which he always spoke out, was suppressed in his homeland. It was impossible to return to Poland, and Frederick was hiding in Paris. The musician is applauded by Vienna and the entire capital of France. Many famous composers admired the musical genius of Chopin. Among them were the German and Hungarian composer Franz Liszt.

Chopin's work

The fate of the Motherland excites the composer, and he composed 4 ballads about his beloved country based on the verses of Adam Mickiewicz. He did not limit himself to this and wrote dance melodies, offering admirers of his talent mazurkas, waltzes, polonaises. He is autobiographical in his music, at the same time bringing it closer to folk music.

In his composition and performance, the nocturne familiar to everyone sounds in a new way. Now it's not a quiet night song. This is a description of nature with deep lyrical overtones with tragic experiences of the composer. During the period of Chopin's passion for Bach's work, he created twenty-four preludes, which also expand the possibilities of this classical musical work.

Pedagogical activity of the composer

The Polish composer distinguished himself as ingenious creator unique methodology, which began to be used in teaching young pianists. The teacher had many pupils and pupils, but only one name entered the history of Polish music: the pianist and music editor Adolf Gutman. Chopin had many friends among real masters in the field of literature, painting and photography. Most of them created portraits of the composer.

Frederic Chopin - biography of personal life

In the personal life of the composer, not everything was as cloudless as in his work. She was full of tragedy. Frederick inherited from his mother a sensitive, tender and vulnerable soul. But he did not find happiness and peace in his women. The first to whom he opened his heart was the young Maria Wodzińska, born in the same way as him, in Poland. An engagement took place, after which the parents from the side of the bride decided to make sure that their daughter's fiancé was wealthy. financial well-being the composer seemed insufficient to them, and the wedding did not take place. Chopin reflected all his grief in music.

A year later, he became interested in the baroness. She walked in a man's suit, was an ardent feminist, wrote novels, signing them "George Sand". At the time of her acquaintance with the composer, she was 33 years old, and Frederick was 27 years old. The relationship was hidden from the public for a long time. Meetings of lovers took place on the island of Mallorca, the climate and tension in relations caused Chopin to weaken his body, he fell ill with tuberculosis. This pair noted strong will imperious countess, and spinelessness and subordination of the young composer.

Chopin's death

Frederic Chopin was getting worse. The final break with his beloved plunged the musician into despondency, but he undertakes a trip to the UK with concerts. On the journey, he was accompanied by a student, Jane Stirling. After returning to Paris, he gave several more musical performances, fell ill and did not get out of bed until his death.

Frédéric François Chopin (February 22, 1810 – October 17, 1849) was a Polish pianist, composer and world famous person. He became famous for creating mazurkas, waltzes and polonaises of incredible beauty and virtuoso performance.

Childhood

Frederic Chopin was born on February 22 in the village of Zhelyazova-Wola, which was located near Warsaw, into a semi-aristocratic family. His father was not a noble family and lived in France before his marriage, where he met his future wife, with whom he later left for Poland. Frederick's mother was an aristocrat with a fairly common and noble family and rich pedigree. Her great-grandfathers were managers and very important people of their time, so Frederick's mother had a good education, knew about highest etiquette and was able to play several musical instruments, including the piano. By the way, it was she who instilled in the future composer such big love to music and everything connected with it.

In addition to Frederick, the family had three more daughters who were also talented and outstanding personalities. The eldest, Ludvika, had excellent vocal abilities and was very close to her brother, helping him in everything. The younger ones, Emilia and Isabella, wrote poetry and composed small melodies. However, while still a small child, Frederick lost one of his sisters - Emilia. She died from the plague, which at that time raged in many small villages in Warsaw.

Youth and manifestation of talent

The talent of the young pianist was visible to the naked eye to everyone who encountered him at least once. Frederick could listen to his favorite works for hours, emotionally react to new melodies and did not even sleep at night, trying to compose as quickly as possible. another work. At the same time, the boy was talented not only in music. He wrote poetry with equal success, picked up melodies and managed to study perfectly in one of the Warsaw schools.

His desire for beauty was fully supported by his father and mother. They sincerely believed that in the future their son would become a world star and gain popularity that would be noted by scientists and biographers for several more generations. By the way, caring parents helped Chopin get his earliest popularity.

After the 8-year-old boy finished writing "Polonaise", they turned to the editorial office of one of the local newspapers, asking them to write about this event, and in parallel to become the first critics musical genius their son. A month later, in fact, an article appeared in the newspaper with enthusiastic responses. This could not but affect the confidence of the young genius and his inspiration to write new works.

And since Chopin needed to study theory in parallel (he was self-taught until the age of 8), his parents hired the Czech teacher Wojciech Zhivny, who gladly began to tell the boy about music and share his own compositions with him. However, at the age of 12, the piano teacher left young talent, stating that Frederick had already received all the knowledge.

Creation

Today it is difficult to find at least one person who has not heard the brilliant works of Frederic Chopin at least once. All of them are saturated with soul, tragic and melodic, they show the deepest feelings and thoughts of every listener. At the same time, Chopin tried to convey to the listener not only the incredible beauty of music, but also with its help to dedicate it to the history of his native country.

The era in which Chopin lived and worked is rightfully called one of the best in classical music. musical culture. After Mozart, who allowed everyone to plunge into the wonderful sound of classical music, Chopin did much more for the people.

He opened the world to romanticism, which can be achieved not only with the help of visual arts, but also musical works. His sonatas, like Beethoven's sonatas, had romantic notes that were felt from the very first chords and immersed listeners in a warm and pleasant world of sounds.

If we talk about numbers, then in his short, but incredibly active and full life, Frederic Chopin managed to create 58 mazurkas, 16 polonaises, 21 nocturnes, 17 waltzes, 3 piano sonatas, 25 preludes, 4 impromptu, 27 etudes, 4 scherzos, 4 ballads, as well as many works for piano and orchestra, songs, rondos, boleros, cello sonatas and even lullabies.

Chopin's composing technique is very unconventional and in many respects deviates from the rules and techniques adopted in his era. Chopin was an unsurpassed creator of melodies, he was one of the first to introduce Slavic modal and intonational elements hitherto unknown to Western music and thus undermined the inviolability of the classical harmonic system that had developed by the end of the 18th century.

Fryderyk Franciszek Chopin is a Polish composer and pianist who lived and worked in France for a long time (therefore, the French transcription his name). Chopin is one of the few composers who wrote almost exclusively for the piano. He did not write an opera or a symphony, he was not attracted by the choir, there is not a single one in his legacy string quartet. But his numerous piano pieces in various forms - mazurkas, polonaises, ballads, nocturnes, etudes, scherzos, waltzes, and so on - are universally recognized masterpieces. Chopin was a true innovator, often deviating from classical rules and norms. He created a new harmonic language and discovered forms designed to accommodate a new, romantic content.

Life. Fryderyk Chopin was born in 1810, probably on February 22, in Zhelyazova Wola near Warsaw. His father Nikol (Mikolay) Chopin, a French émigré, served as a tutor and school teacher; mother was brought up in a noble family. Already as a child, Chopin showed bright musical abilities; at the age of 7 he was taught to play the piano, and in the same year a little polonaise in G minor, composed by him, was published. Soon he became the darling of all the aristocratic salons in Warsaw. In the rich houses of the Polish nobility, he acquired a taste for luxury and emphasized sophistication of manners.

In 1823 Chopin entered the Warsaw Lyceum, continuing to study music privately with Joseph Elsner, director of the Warsaw Conservatory. In 1825 he was invited to speak to Russian emperor Alexander I, and after the concert he received an award - a diamond ring. At the age of 16, Chopin was admitted to the conservatory; her graduation in 1829 formally ended musical education Chopin. In the same year, in an effort to acquaint publishers and the public with his art, Chopin gave two concerts in Vienna, where critics highly appreciated his works, and ladies - excellent manners. In 1830, Chopin played three concerts in Warsaw, and then went on a tour of Western Europe. While in Stuttgart, Chopin learned about the suppression Polish uprising. It is believed that the fall of Warsaw was the reason for composing the C minor etude, which is sometimes called "revolutionary". This happened in 1831, and after that Chopin never returned to his homeland.

In 1831 Chopin settled in Paris. He liked to perform at the homes of his friends and patrons, although he often spoke of them with irony. He was greatly appreciated as a pianist, especially when he performed his own music in small home gatherings. In his entire life, he gave no more than three dozen public concerts. His performing style was very peculiar: according to contemporaries, this style was distinguished by an extraordinary rhythmic

freedom - Chopin was, so to speak, a pioneer of rubato, he articulated a musical phrase with great taste, prolonging some sounds at the expense of reducing others.

In 1836 Chopin went to the Czech Republic to see his parents. While in Marienbad, he became infatuated with the young Polish Maria Wodzińska. However, their engagement was soon broken off. In the autumn of the same year in Paris, he met outstanding woman- Baroness Dudevant, about whose life there was a lot of gossip in Paris and who by that time had gained wide literary fame under the pseudonym George Sand. Chopin was then 28 years old, Madame Sand - 34. Their union lasted eight years, and most they spent this time at the writer's family estate in Nohant. A nightmare for Chopin, who was never in good health, was the winter of 1838–1839, spent with George Sand in Mallorca (Balearic Islands). The combination of bad weather with the disorder of the household seemed to have had a detrimental effect on his already tuberculosis-ridden lungs. In 1847, Chopin's relationship with George Sand finally deteriorated as a result of the musician's interference in the relationship of his girlfriend with his children from his first marriage. This circumstance, together with a progressive illness, plunged Chopin into a state of black melancholy. Last time he spoke in Paris on February 16, 1848. Eight days later, a revolution broke out that overthrew King Louis Philippe. The composer's friends took him to England, where, already very ill, he played with Queen Victoria and gave several concerts - the last of them took place on November 16, 1848. A week later he returned to Paris. Unable to give lessons anymore, Chopin was forced to accept generous help from his Scottish admirer Jane Stirling. The composer's sister, Ludwika, came from Poland to take care of the patient; French friends did not leave him any attention either. Chopin died in his Parisian apartment on Place Vendôme on October 17, 1849. In accordance with his desire, at the funeral service in the church of St. Madeleine heard fragments of Mozart's requiem.

Music. Chopin's composing technique is very unconventional and in many respects deviates from the rules and techniques adopted in his era. Chopin was an unsurpassed creator of melodies, he was one of the first to introduce Slavic modal and intonational elements hitherto unknown to Western music and thus undermined the inviolability of the classical harmonic system that had developed by the end of the 18th century. The same goes for rhythm: using the formulas of Polish dances, Chopin enriched Western music with new rhythmic patterns. He developed purely individual - laconic, self-contained musical forms, which are the most

in the best way corresponded to the nature of his equally original melodic, harmonic, rhythmic language.

Piano pieces of small forms. These pieces can be conditionally divided into two groups: predominantly "European" in melody, harmony, rhythm, and distinctly "Polish" in color. The first group includes most of the etudes, preludes, scherzos, nocturnes, ballads, impromptu, rondos and waltzes. Specifically Polish are mazurkas and polonaises.

Chopin composed about three dozen etudes, the purpose of which is to help the pianist overcome specific artistic or technical difficulties(for example, in the performance of passages in parallel octaves or thirds). These exercises belong to the highest achievements of the composer: like Bach's Well-Tempered Clavier, Chopin's etudes are, first of all, brilliant music, brilliantly revealing the possibilities of the instrument; didactic tasks fade into the background here, and often they are not remembered.

Although Chopin first mastered the genres of piano miniatures, he did not limit himself to them. So, during the winter spent in Mallorca, he created a cycle of 24 preludes in all major and minor keys. The cycle is built on the principle “from small to large”: the first preludes are laconic vignettes, the last ones are real dramas, the range of moods is from complete serenity to furious impulses. Chopin wrote 4 scherzos: these large-scale pieces, filled with courage and energy, take pride of place among the masterpieces of world piano literature. More than twenty nocturnes belong to his pen - beautiful, dreamy, poetic, deeply lyrical revelations. Chopin is the author of several ballads (this is his only genre of a program character), impromptu, rondos are also presented in his work; his waltzes are especially popular.

"Polish" genres. Chopin impressed Paris with his original mazurkas and polonaises, genres that reflected Slavic dance rhythms and harmonic language typical of Polish folklore. These charming, colorful pieces for the first time introduced a Slavic element into Western European music, which gradually but inevitably changed those harmonic, rhythmic and melodic schemes that the great classics of the 18th century. left to their followers. Chopin composed more than fifty mazurkas (their prototype is a Polish dance with a triple rhythm, similar to a waltz) - small pieces in which typical melodic and harmonic turns sound in Slavonic, and sometimes something oriental is heard in them. Like almost everything written by Chopin, the mazurkas are very pianistic and require great skill from the performer - yes

if they do not contain obvious technical difficulties. The polonaises are larger than the mazurkas both in length and texture. Polonaise-fantasy and Polonaise, known as "military", would be enough to secure Chopin one of the first places among the most original and skillful composers of piano music.

Large forms. From time to time Chopin turned to major musical forms. Perhaps his highest achievement in this area should be considered an excellently constructed and very convincing dramaturgy fantasy in F minor, composed in 1840-1841. In this work, Chopin found a model of form that fully corresponded to the nature of the thematic material he had chosen, and thus solved a problem that was beyond the power of many of his contemporaries. Instead of following the classical patterns of sonata form, he allows the idea of ​​the composition, the melodic, harmonic, rhythmic features of the material to determine the structure of the whole and the ways of development. In the barcarolle, Chopin's only piece this genre(1845–1846), a whimsical, flexible melody in 6/8 time signature, typical for the songs of the Venetian gondoliers, varies against the background of an unchanged accompaniment figure (in the left hand).

Chopin wrote three piano sonatas. The first, in C minor (1827), is a youthful work that is rarely performed today. The second, in B minor, appeared a decade later. Its third movement is a world-famous funeral march, and the finale is a whirlwind of octaves, like "the wind howling over the graves." Considered a failure in form, the Second Sonata, performed by great pianists, appears as a strikingly unified work. Chopin's last sonata, in B-flat minor (1844), has a through structure that unites its four movements and is one of Chopin's highest achievements.

Other writings. Chopin also owns a number of works for piano and orchestra and a few chamber pieces. For piano and orchestra, he created Andante spianato and a polonaise in E-flat major, two concertos (E minor and F minor), a fantasy on a Polish theme, a rondo-krakowiak, and variations on a theme by Mozart La ci darem la mano (aria from the opera Don Juan). Together with the cellist A.J. Franchomme, he composed the Grand Concert Duo for cello and piano on themes from Meyerbeer's Robert the Devil, a sonata in G minor, an introduction and a polonaise for the same composition, as well as a trio in G minor for piano, violin and cello. Chopin created a number of songs for voice and piano to Polish texts. In all compositions with the orchestra, the author's inexperience in the field of instrumentation is evident, and almost always changes are made to the scores during performance.