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: Waltz for Piano in A flat major, B 131/Op. 42 "Grande Valse"

Browse 1-25 of 139 Available Recordings
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  • 1.
    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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  • 2.
    Live In Warsaw - Evgeni Bozhanov Plays Chopin, Schubert, Debussy, Scriabin, Liszt
    Live In Warsaw - Evgeni Bozhanov Plays Chopin, Schubert, Debussy, Scriabin, Liszt
    Label: Profil   Catalog: 12015 Release Date: 08/28/2012   Number of Discs: 1
    Composer:  Frédéric Chopin,  Franz Schubert,  Claude Debussy,  Alexander Scriabin  ... 
    Performer:  Evgeni Bozhanov
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  • 3.
    Complete Waltzes & Impromptus / Vladimir Feltsman
    Complete Waltzes & Impromptus / Vladimir Feltsman
    Label: Nimbus   Catalog: 6184 Release Date: 08/14/2012   Number of Discs: 1
    Composer:  Frédéric Chopin
    Performer:  Vladimir Feltsman
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  • 4.
    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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  • 5.
    Best Of Chopin
    Best Of Chopin
    Label: Berlin Classics   Catalog: 300342 Release Date: 07/10/2012   Number of Discs: 2
    Composer:  Frédéric Chopin,  Alois Melichar
    Performer:  Sebastian Knauer,  Marc Laforet,  Peter Schreier,  Elfrun Gabriel  ... 
    Conductor:  Robert Hanell,  Kurt Masur
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  • 6.
    Germany - A Musical Visit To The Munich Project And Nuremberg Toy Museums
    Germany - A Musical Visit To The Munich Project And Nuremberg Toy Museums
    Label: Naxos   Catalog: 2110304 Release Date: 05/29/2012   Number of Discs: 1
    Composer:  Felix Mendelssohn,  Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart,  Ludwig van Beethoven,  Edvard Grieg  ... 
    Performer:  Péter Nagy
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  • 7.
    Moritz Rosenthal - The Complete Recordings
    Moritz Rosenthal - The Complete Recordings
    Label: Apr (Appian)   Catalog: 7503 Release Date: 02/14/2012   Number of Discs: 5
    Composer:  Moritz Rosenthal,  Frédéric Chopin,  Franz Liszt,  Claude Debussy  ... 
    Performer:  Moritz Rosenthal
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  • 8.
    Chopin: Waltzes; Barcarolle; Nocturne Op. 27 No. 2; Mazurka Op. 50 No. 3 / Lipatti
    Chopin: Waltzes; Barcarolle; Nocturne Op. 27 No. 2; Mazurka Op. 50 No. 3 / Lipatti
    Label: Emi Classics   Catalog: 85186 Release Date: 01/24/2012   Number of Discs: 1
    Composer:  Frédéric Chopin,  Unspecified
    Performer:  Dinu Lipatti
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  • 9.
    Arthur Rubinstein - The Complete Album Collection
    Arthur Rubinstein - The Complete Album Collection
    Label: Rca   Catalog: 193691 Release Date: 01/10/2012   Number of Discs: 144
    Composer:  Frédéric Chopin,  Isaac Albeniz,  Franz Schubert,  Johannes Brahms  ... 
    Performer:  Artur Rubinstein,  Robert Maas,  Germain Prévost,  Alphonse Onnou  ... 
    Conductor:  Albert Coates,  Sir John Barbirolli,  Sir Thomas Beecham,  Walter Susskind  ... 
    Orchestra/Ensemble:  London Symphony Orchestra,  Pro Arte String Quartet members,  Royal Philharmonic Orchestra  ... 
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  • 10.
    Chopin: Tableaux Intimes
    Chopin: Tableaux Intimes
    Label: Fidelio Musique   Catalog: 34 Release Date: 10/25/2011   Number of Discs: 1
    Composer:  Frédéric Chopin
    Performer:  Jean-Pascal Hamelin
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  • 11.
    Chopin: The Complete Waltzes / Stephen Hough
    Chopin: The Complete Waltzes / Stephen Hough
    Label: Hyperion   Catalog: 67849 Release Date: 08/09/2011   Number of Discs: 1
    Composer:  Frédéric Chopin
    Performer:  Stephen Hough
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  • 12.
    Chopin: Polonez; Etiudy; Sonata; Koncert
    Chopin: Polonez; Etiudy; Sonata; Koncert
    Label: Fryderyk Chopin Society   Catalog: 604605 Release Date: 07/12/2011   Number of Discs: 2
    Composer:  Frédéric Chopin
    Performer:  Lukas Geniusas
    Conductor:  Antoni Wit
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  • 13.
    Nocturnal: Chopin, Scriabin / Albert Tiu
    Nocturnal: Chopin, Scriabin / Albert Tiu
    Label: Centaur Records   Catalog: 3093 Release Date: 05/24/2011   Number of Discs: 1
    Composer:  Alexander Scriabin,  Frédéric Chopin
    Performer:  Albert Tiu
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  • 14.
    Svenska Tangenter: Svenska Pianister Fore 1950
    Label: Collector's Classics   Catalog: 21681 Release Date: 05/24/2011   Number of Discs: 5
    Composer:  Martha Ohlson,  Emil Sjögren,  Wilhelm Stenhammar,  Erik Gustaf Geijer  ... 
    Performer:  Martha Ohlson,  Emil Sjögren,  Wilhelm Stenhammar,  John Forsell  ... 
    Conductor:  Erik Tuxen,  Sixten Ehrling,  Sten Frykberg,  Hans Leygraf  ... 
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  • 15.
    Chopin: Ballets
    Chopin: Ballets
    Label: Emi Classics   Catalog: 49834 Release Date: 05/17/2011   Number of Discs: 2
    Composer:  Frédéric Chopin,  John Lanchbery
    Performer:  Philip Gammon,  Ronald Smith,  Dmitri Alexeev,  Andrei Gavrilov  ... 
    Conductor:  Robert Irving,  John Lanchbery
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  • 16.
    Chopin / Evgeni Bozhanov
    Chopin / Evgeni Bozhanov
    Label: Fuga Libera   Catalog: 579 Release Date: 03/08/2011   Number of Discs: 1
    Composer:  Frédéric Chopin
    Performer:  Evgeni Bozhanov
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  • 17.
    Complete 78-RPM Solo Recordings / Percy Grainger
    Complete 78-RPM Solo Recordings / Percy Grainger
    Label: Apr (Appian)   Catalog: 7501 Release Date: 03/08/2011   Number of Discs: 5
    Composer:  Edvard Grieg,  Franz Liszt,  Charles Villiers Stanford,  Percy Aldridge Grainger  ... 
    Performer:  Percy Aldridge Grainger
    Orchestra/Ensemble:  Columbia Concert Band
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  • 18.
    Brailowsky Plays Chopin
    Brailowsky Plays Chopin
    Label: Rca Victor Gold Seal   Catalog: 68164 Release Date: 02/14/2011   Number of Discs: 2
    Composer:  Frédéric Chopin
    Performer:  Alexander Brailowsky
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  • 19.
    Dinu Lipatti: Studio Recordings 1950
    Dinu Lipatti: Studio Recordings 1950
    Label: Opus Kura   Catalog: 7054/55 Release Date: 02/08/2011   Number of Discs: 2
    Composer:  Johann Sebastian Bach,  Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart,  Ferruccio Busoni,  Wilhelm Kempff  ... 
    Performer:  Dinu Lipatti
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  • 20.
    Mordecai Shehori Plays Chopin, Vol. 1: 19 Waltzes
    Mordecai Shehori Plays Chopin, Vol. 1: 19 Waltzes
    Label: Cembal D'amour   Catalog: 156 Release Date: 01/25/2011   Number of Discs: 1
    Composer:  Frédéric Chopin
    Performer:  Mordecai Shehori
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  • 21.
    Samson Francois - L'edition Integrale [36-CD Set]
    Samson Francois - L'edition Integrale [36-CD Set]
    Label: Emi Classics   Catalog: 46106 Release Date: 01/25/2011   Number of Discs: 36
    Composer:  Franz Liszt,  Robert Schumann,  Sergei Prokofiev,  Frédéric Chopin  ... 
    Performer:  Samson François,  Pierre Barbizet
    Conductor:  Constantin Silvestri,  Paul Kletzki,  Witold Rowicki,  André Cluytens
    Orchestra/Ensemble:  Philharmonia Orchestra,  French National Radio Symphony Orchestra,  Orchestre de la Société du Conservatoire Paris
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  • 22.
    Richard Burnett - Keyboard Collection
    Label: Amon Ra   Catalog: 6 Release Date: 01/11/2011   Number of Discs: 1
    Composer:  Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart,  Felix Mendelssohn,  Frédéric Chopin,  John Field  ... 
    Performer:  Richard Burnett
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  • 23.
    Chopin: Ballada F-moll; Nokturny Es-dur, As-dur; Barkarola; Mazurki Op. 30
    Chopin: Ballada F-moll; Nokturny Es-dur, As-dur; Barkarola; Mazurki Op. 30
    Label: Fryderyk Chopin Society   Catalog: 613 Release Date: 01/10/2011   Number of Discs: 1
    Composer:  Frédéric Chopin
    Performer:  Miroslav Kultyshev
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  • 24.
    Chopin: Complete Piano Works
    Chopin: Complete Piano Works
    Label: Brilliant Classics   Catalog: 94089 Release Date: 12/14/2010   Number of Discs: 15
    Composer:  Frédéric Chopin
    Performer:  Bella Davidovich,  Louis Lortie,  Adam Harasiewicz,  Alwin Bär  ... 
    Conductor:  Dimiter Manolov,  Sir Neville Marriner,  Dmitri Kitayenko
    Orchestra/Ensemble:  Sofia Philharmonic Orchestra,  Philharmonia Orchestra,  Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra
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  • 25.
    Last Recital At Besancon (Sept. 16, 1950)
    Last Recital At Besancon (Sept. 16, 1950)
    Label: Opus Kura   Catalog: 7056 Release Date: 12/14/2010   Number of Discs: 1
    Composer:  Johann Sebastian Bach,  Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart,  Franz Schubert,  Frédéric Chopin
    Performer:  Dinu Lipatti
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