Elizabeth Pham

Mr. Mullinax
Vocal Music III
5/19/16
Frdric Chopin Historical
Frdric Chopin is a Polish composer and pianist born around the time when the
Romantic Period of music began. He is one of the composers who paved the way
during this period by breaking the formal rules of Classical music to write expressive,
dramatic, and more emotional music. Chopins love of music began in his home where
his mother and father were both talented musicians. His father played the flute and
violin, while his mother played the piano. He begged his mother to let him try to play the
piano and it was soon clear that he was a child prodigy. He began composing and
performing in public by the young age of 7.
As an adult, Chopin was invited to play piano recitals in many countries where he
met other musicians. During his trip to Vienna, a revolt caused him to not be able to
return home, so he moved to Paris and stayed there for the rest of his life. Many other
composers such as Robert Schumann and Felix Mendelssohn called him a genius and
said he was a perfect virtuoso. Although Chopin was a very talented pianist, he did not
tour or perform in big concert halls like his counterparts Franz Liszt or Mozart. He
preferred to play at smaller performances at peoples houses. His playing style was
often soft and gentle, and he was rather shy.
Chopins compositions were usually very difficult and full of chromatic passages.
He used a new technique called rubato to add emotion into his pieces. Rubatos are

used to speed up or slow down at times while playing to be more expressive. Unlike
other Romantic composers, Chopin did not give his works descriptive titles. His pieces
are just called waltz, polonaise, or etude followed by the key signature and number.
Chopin died young but was still able to compose over 230 works including ballades,
scherzos, piano sonatas, preludes, etudes, impromptus, mazurkas, nocturnes,
polonaises, and waltzes.