Among the influences on his style of composition were Polish folk music, the classical tradition of J. S. His major piano works also include mazurkas, waltzes, nocturnes, polonaises, the instrumental ballade (which Chopin created as an instrumental genre), études, impromptus, scherzos, preludes, and sonatas, some published only posthumously. His piano writing was technically demanding and expanded the limits of the instrument, his own performances noted for their nuance and sensitivity. Most are for solo piano, though he also wrote two piano concertos, a few chamber pieces, and some 19 songs set to Polish lyrics. He died in Paris in 1849 at the age of 39, probably of pericarditis aggravated by tuberculosis.Īll of Chopin's compositions include the piano. For most of his life, Chopin was in poor health. In his final years, he was supported financially by his admirer Jane Stirling, who also arranged for him to visit Scotland in 1848. A brief and unhappy visit to Mallorca with Sand in 1838–39 would prove one of his most productive periods of composition. Chopin formed a friendship with Franz Liszt and was admired by many of his other musical contemporaries, including Robert Schumann.Īfter a failed engagement to Maria Wodzińska from 1836 to 1837, he maintained an often troubled relationship with the French writer Amantine Dupin (known by her pen name, George Sand). He supported himself by selling his compositions and by giving piano lessons, for which he was in high demand. Thereafter – in the last 18 years of his life – he gave only 30 public performances, preferring the more intimate atmosphere of the salon. A child prodigy, he completed his musical education and composed his earlier works in Warsaw before leaving Poland at the age of 20, less than a month before the outbreak of the November 1830 Uprising.
He has maintained worldwide renown as a leading musician of his era, one whose "poetic genius was based on a professional technique that was without equal in his generation." Ĭhopin was born in Żelazowa Wola in the Duchy of Warsaw and grew up in Warsaw, which in 1815 became part of Congress Poland.
Hang on while I look his name up ‒ Dang Thai Son.Frédéric François Chopin (born Fryderyk Franciszek Chopin 1 March 1810 – 17 October 1849) was a Polish composer and virtuoso pianist of the Romantic period who wrote primarily for solo piano. The problem is that something’s missing ‒ possibly the music. This is not to denigrate the achievement of this years’s winner, a perfectly capable and technically very proficient pianist whose playing gleams with the same brilliance as his hair or jacket.
Feel free to judge for yourself, rounds 2 & 3 and the concerto on YouTube.
Something similar will happen now as Hyuk Lee is poised to make a confident rise into the hearts and minds of audiences everywhere. A case in point is the winner from 1980, the year when Pogorelich was launched into stardom despite his failure to bag a single prize while the actual laureate was quickly forgotten about by everyone (can’t be bothered to look his name up). Their moment to shine now comes every five years, judging contestants in Warsaw. Over the years the jury process has become way too dominated by some prize-winners from previous years, the ones that despite their big win for some reason failed to make a big career.