Frédéric Chopin

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Biography

Born: 1810   Died: 1849   Period: Romantic
Frédéric Chopin has long been recognized as one of the most significant and individual composers of the Romantic age. The bulk of his reputation rests on small-scale works that in other hands would have been mere salon trifles: waltzes, nocturnes, preludes, mazurkas, and polonaises (the last-named two groups reflecting his fervent Polish nationalism). These works link poetically expressive melody and restless harmony to high technical demands. Read more Even his etudes survive as highly appealing concert pieces by emphasizing musical as well as technical values.

His birth date is a matter of controversy; the town registration of his birth specifies February 22, but Chopin always gave the date as March 1. His father was French, his mother Polish; he was raised in Warsaw by a family that mingled with intellectuals and members of the middle and upper classes, and as a teenager he spent two summers in the country, where he was exposed to Polish folk music. By the age of eight he was recognized as a child prodigy, performing in elegant salons and beginning to write his own pieces. Early on he studied composition with Josef Elsner, then took classes in various other music subjects as well as art and literature at the Warsaw Lyceum. In 1826 he enrolled at the University of Warsaw. He gave his first recital in Vienna in 1829, and over the next few years he performed at home and through much of German and Austria as well as in Paris. Feeling limited by Warsaw's cultural provincialism and uncomfortable with the publicity surrounding his performances there, he settled in Paris in 1832 and established himself as an exorbitantly paid piano teacher. In Paris he composed extensively, but limited his performances mainly to private salons.

In 1838 he began an affair with French novelist George Sand. The couple, along with Sand's children, spent a harsh winter in Majorca, where Chopin's health plummeted and he was diagnosed with consumption (tuberculosis). Chopin settled in with Sand in France, composing steadily although his increasing perfectionism slowed his output. By the mid-1840s, though, his health and romantic situation both had deteriorated. The affair ended in 1847 after, among other things, Sand had portrayed their relationship unflatteringly in her 1846 novel Lucrezia Floriani. Chopin then made an extended visit to the British Isles, but returned to Paris to die in 1849. Read less

Featured Frédéric Chopin CDs & DVDs:

Chopin: The Mazurkas / Mirian Conti
Chopin: The Mazurkas / Mirian Conti
Release Date: 11/09/2010   Label: Steinway & Sons  
Catalog: 30003   Number of Discs: 2
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Chopin: Etudes / Maurizio Pollini
Chopin: Etudes / Maurizio Pollini
Release Date: 10/25/1990   Label: Deutsche Grammophon  
Catalog: 413794   Number of Discs: 1
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Chopin Complete Edition [17-CD Set]
Chopin Complete Edition [17-CD Set]
Release Date: 01/26/2010   Label: Deutsche Grammophon  
Catalog: 001382602   Number of Discs: 17
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Chopin 200th Anniversary Edition - Complete Works
Chopin 200th Anniversary Edition - Complete Works
Release Date: 01/26/2010   Label: Emi Classics  
Catalog: 67117   Number of Discs: 16
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Chopin: Etudes / Nikolai Lugansky
Chopin: Etudes / Nikolai Lugansky
Release Date: 08/01/2000   Label: Erato  
Catalog: 80228   Number of Discs: 1
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Work: Ballade for Piano no 1 in G minor, B 66/Op. 23

Browse 1-25 of 262 Available Recordings
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  • 1.
    Chopin, Brahms: Ballades / Cedric Tiberghien
    Chopin, Brahms: Ballades / Cedric Tiberghien
    Label: Harmonia Mundi   Catalog: 501943 Release Date: 06/11/2013   Number of Discs: 1
    Composer:  Frédéric Chopin,  Johannes Brahms
    Performer:  Cédric Tiberghien
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  • 2.
    Music From And Inspired By The Pianist
    Music From And Inspired By The Pianist
    Label: Sony   Catalog: 2081 Release Date: 05/21/2013   Number of Discs: 1
    Composer:  Frédéric Chopin,  Wojciech Kilar
    Performer:  Janusz Olejniczak,  Hanna Wolczedska,  Wladyslaw Szpilman
    Conductor:  Tadeusz Strugala
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  • 3.
    Byron Janis - The Complete RCA Album Collection
    Byron Janis - The Complete RCA Album Collection
    Label: Rca   Catalog: 548440 Release Date: 04/16/2013   Number of Discs: 12
    Composer:  Ludwig van Beethoven,  Franz Schubert,  George Gershwin,  Ferde Grofé  ... 
    Performer:  Byron Janis
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  • 4.
    Ashkenazy - 50 Years on Decca
    Ashkenazy - 50 Years on Decca
    Label: Decca   Catalog: 001820202 Release Date: 04/02/2013   Number of Discs: 50
    Composer:  Sergei Rachmaninov,  Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky,  Robert Schumann,  Ludwig van Beethoven  ... 
    Performer:  Vladimir Ashkenazy,  Boris Belkin,  Daniel Barenboim,  Fou Ts'ong  ... 
    Conductor:  Kiril Kondrashin,  Anatole Fistoulari,  Lorin Maazel,  Uri Segal  ... 
    Orchestra/Ensemble:  Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra,  London Symphony Orchestra,  London Wind Soloists  ... 
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  • 5.
    Beethoven: Piano Sonata No 3; Ravel, Chopin / Arthur Rubinstein
    Beethoven: Piano Sonata No 3; Ravel, Chopin / Arthur Rubinstein
    Label: Ica Classics   Catalog: 5095 Release Date: 03/26/2013   Number of Discs: 1
    Composer:  Ludwig van Beethoven,  Maurice Ravel,  Frédéric Chopin
    Performer:  Artur Rubinstein
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  • 6.
    Chopin: Ballades, Impromptus, Preludes, Nocturnes / Yuan Sheng
    Chopin: Ballades, Impromptus, Preludes, Nocturnes / Yuan Sheng
    Label: Piano Classics   Catalog: 49 Release Date: 03/12/2013   Number of Discs: 3
    Composer:  Frédéric Chopin
    Performer:  Yuan Sheng
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  • 7.
    Chopin: 3 Sonatas, 4 Ballades, 4 Scherzos / Vassily Primakov
    Chopin: 3 Sonatas, 4 Ballades, 4 Scherzos / Vassily Primakov
    Label: Lp Classics   Catalog: 5638090319 Release Date: 03/01/2013   Number of Discs: 2
    Composer:  Frédéric Chopin
    Performer:  Vassily Primakov
    CD: $26.99
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  • 8.
    Chopin: Solo Piano Music / Sung-Suk Kang
    Chopin: Solo Piano Music / Sung-Suk Kang
    Label: Meridian Records   Catalog: 84588 Release Date: 02/12/2013   Number of Discs: 1
    Composer:  Frédéric Chopin
    Performer:  Sung-Suk Kang
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  • 9.
    Chopin: Piano Pleyel 1843 & Pianino Pleyel 1834
    Chopin: Piano Pleyel 1843 & Pianino Pleyel 1834
    Label: Paraty   Catalog: 112110 Release Date: 01/08/2013   Number of Discs: 1
    Composer:  Frédéric Chopin
    Performer:  Fortepiano] Knut [Piano Jacques
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  • 10.
    Alfred Cortot: Anniversary Edition
    Alfred Cortot: Anniversary Edition
    Label: Emi Classics   Catalog: 04907 Release Date: 11/19/2012   Number of Discs: 40
    Composer:  Isaac Albeniz,  Claude Debussy,  Frédéric Chopin,  Franz Liszt  ... 
    Performer:  Alfred Cortot,  Pablo Casals,  Jacques Thibaud,  Charles Panzera  ... 
    Orchestra/Ensemble:  International String Quartet
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  • 11.
    Fifty Shades Of Emotions
    Fifty Shades Of Emotions
    Label: Belmondo   Catalog: 53 Release Date: 11/13/2012   Number of Discs: 3
    Composer:  Antonio Vivaldi,  Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart,  Samuel Barber,  Johann Sebastian Bach  ... 
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  • 12.
    Murray Perahia - The First 40 Years
    Murray Perahia - The First 40 Years
    Label: Sony   Catalog: 191256 Release Date: 11/06/2012   Number of Discs: 73
    Composer:  Johann Sebastian Bach,  Béla Bartók,  Ludwig van Beethoven,  Robert Schumann  ... 
    Performer:  Murray Perahia,  Michael Cox,  Leonore Smith,  Kenneth Sillito  ... 
    Conductor:  Murray Perahia,  Bernard Haitink,  Zubin Mehta,  Sir Colin Davis  ... 
    Orchestra/Ensemble:  Academy of St. Martin in the Fields,  Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra,  Amadeus String Quartet members  ... 
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  • 13.
    Chopin: Famous Piano Works / Pavlos Hatzopoulos, Vladimir Bunin
    Chopin: Famous Piano Works / Pavlos Hatzopoulos, Vladimir Bunin
    Label: Hänssler Classic   Catalog: 94612 Release Date: 09/25/2012   Number of Discs: 2
    Composer:  Frédéric Chopin
    Performer:  Pavlos Hatzopoulos,  Vladimir Bunin
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  • 14.
    Icon - John Ogdon
    Icon - John Ogdon
    Label: Emi Classics   Catalog: 04637 Release Date: 09/18/2012   Number of Discs: 17
    Composer:  Paul Dukas,  Henri Dutilleux,  Florent Schmitt,  Béla Bartók  ... 
    Performer:  John Ogdon
    Conductor:  Sir Malcolm Sargent,  Lawrence Foster,  Paavo Berglund,  John Pritchard  ... 
    Orchestra/Ensemble:  Philharmonia Orchestra,  New Philharmonia Orchestra,  Royal Philharmonic Orchestra  ... 
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  • 15.
    Chopin: Four Ballades / D'Ascoli
    Chopin: Four Ballades / D'Ascoli
    Label: Nimbus   Catalog: 7726 Release Date: 08/14/2012   Number of Discs: 1
    Composer:  Frédéric Chopin
    Performer:  Bernard d'Ascoli
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  • 16.
    Leonard Shure In Concert At Jordan Hall
    Leonard Shure In Concert At Jordan Hall
    Label: Bridge   Catalog: 9374 Release Date: 08/14/2012   Number of Discs: 2
    Composer:  Frédéric Chopin,  Johannes Brahms,  Robert Schumann
    Performer:  Leonard Shure
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  • 17.
    Chopin: Piano Encores
    Chopin: Piano Encores
    Label: Decca   Catalog: 001706302 Release Date: 07/24/2012   Number of Discs: 1
    Composer:  Frédéric Chopin
    Performer:  Zoltán Kocsis,  Claudio Arrau,  Bella Davidovich,  Nikita Magaloff  ... 
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  • 18.
    Chopin: 4 Ballads; Nocturnes, Op. 48; Scherzo, Op. 31 [on Pleyel]
    Chopin: 4 Ballads; Nocturnes, Op. 48; Scherzo, Op. 31 [on Pleyel]
    Label: Fryderyk Chopin Society   Catalog: 26 Release Date: 07/10/2012   Number of Discs: 1
    Composer:  Frédéric Chopin
    Performer:  Wojciech Switala
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  • 19.
    Chopin: 4 Ballady; Nokturny Op. 48; Scherzo B-moll Op. 31 [on Steinway]
    Chopin: 4 Ballady; Nokturny Op. 48; Scherzo B-moll Op. 31 [on Steinway]
    Label: Fryderyk Chopin Society   Catalog: 211 Release Date: 07/10/2012   Number of Discs: 1
    Composer:  Frédéric Chopin
    Performer:  Wojciech Switala
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  • 20.
    Chopin: Mazurki, Walce, Nokturny, Polonezy
    Chopin: Mazurki, Walce, Nokturny, Polonezy
    Label: Fryderyk Chopin Society   Catalog: 30 Release Date: 04/10/2012   Number of Discs: 1
    Composer:  Frédéric Chopin
    Performer:  Janusz Olejniczak
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  • 21.
    Chopin: 4 Ballades, 4 Impromptus / Amir Katz
    Chopin: 4 Ballades, 4 Impromptus / Amir Katz
    Label: Oehms   Catalog: 402 Release Date: 03/27/2012   Number of Discs: 1
    Composer:  Frédéric Chopin
    Performer:  Amir Katz
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  • 22.
    Chopin: Piano Works, Vol. 2 / Lortie
    Chopin: Piano Works, Vol. 2 / Lortie
    Label: Chandos   Catalog: 10714 Release Date: 03/27/2012   Number of Discs: 1
    Composer:  Frédéric Chopin
    Performer:  Louis Lortie
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  • 23.
    Chopin: Piano Concerto No. 1 / Maurizio Pollini
    Chopin: Piano Concerto No. 1 / Maurizio Pollini
    Label: Emi Classics   Catalog: 6787072 Release Date: 03/26/2012   Number of Discs: 1
    Composer:  Frédéric Chopin
    Performer:  Maurizio Pollini
    Conductor:  Paul Kletzki
    CD: $12.99
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  • 24.
    Vladimir Horowitz - The Video Collection [6-DVD Set]
    Vladimir Horowitz - The Video Collection [6-DVD Set]
    Label: Sony   Catalog: 907209 Release Date: 03/06/2012   Number of Discs: 6
    Composer:  Domenico Scarlatti,  Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart,  Sergei Rachmaninov,  Alexander Scriabin  ... 
    Performer:  Vladimir Horowitz
    Conductor:  Carlo Maria Giulini
    Orchestra/Ensemble:  Milan Teatro alla Scala Orchestra
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  • 25.
    Music Of Frederic Chopin / Melody Fader
    Music Of Frederic Chopin / Melody Fader
    Label: Centaur Records   Catalog: 3172 Release Date: 02/28/2012   Number of Discs: 1
    Composer:  Frédéric Chopin
    Performer:  Melody Fader
    CD: $17.99
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