The Composer Frederic Chopin - Essay Example

Number] Frederic Chopin – An Introduction Frederic Chopin is a legend in history of western ical music. He was a Polish born musician who migrated to Paris. There he socialised within the spheres of artists in the 19th century in order to establish himself as a symbol of Romantic musician. The image of Frederic Chopin was that of an exceptionally talented pianist who constantly visited the Warsaw salons in order to play his initial compositions which were inspired by the national rhythms and the melodies from early days in Poland (Ellis 746). At the age of eight he composed first of his Mazurkas and Polonaises. At the time when he left his country due to the ongoing revolution he gave his first ever concert of piano as well as the Etudes Op 10 which established his genius talent (Jonson 49). After going on to Germany and then Austria in his quest of establishment as musician he finally found his base at Paris where he then spent major part of his life. Despite his Nostalgia for Poland, his homeland, he enjoyed an immense success in Paris. He was said to be at the heart of growing Romanticism, the aspirations of whom he had perfectly adhered. Western classical music falls into three categories, of which Chopin was an integral part of the second, romantic and classical in the nineteenth century. In the instrumental classic western music Piano and the Violin occupied the highest ranks. Chopin has piano in all of his compositions which made him very important in the history of western classical music. Biography: Frederic Chopin was born on 1st March 1810 near Warsaw at Zelazowa-Wola, his birth date on his birth certificate although was written as 22nd February 1810. His father had French origin where as his mother was Polish, he was the third child. His first musical teacher was Czech musician, Adalbert Ziwny. He got into one of the first colleges in Warsaw with support of Prince Antoine Radziwill, who was a music composer himself and aimed to protect talents of artists. His protection and musical abilities opened gateway for Chopin into high end Polish circles (Ellis 746). At college he learnt theory regarding his art from the director of conservatoire in Warsaw as well as an experienced musician, Joseph Elsner. He was perfectly trained by the time he left his hometown to go to Vienna in 1829, where the debuted as pianist. Chopin had his own style and individuality which made him stand out especially in the variation set on La ci darem; these stirred the attention of Robert Schumann. When he left Vienna in 1831 his intention was to go to London, but instead in between he got to Paris and permanently settled there. He reached the height of his career there. Frederic’s connection with George Sand (Madame Dudevant) was a significant feature of his life. She was the one who accompanied him in 1839 to Majorca, when his health started declining. It was majorly to her credit that he recovered for the time being by her regular care. The end of their relationship in 1847 broke him up. He died two years later on 17th October 1849, finally giving in to the heart disease he had been fighting for ten years. In a year before he died he got to visit England, where he enjoyed the enthusiasm of his many admirers. He was buried in Pere Lachaise (Hedley 292). Theme of work: Romantic music movement and the other type of arts were at their height during the period of 1830’s as well as 1840’s. This movement defined almost the whole of nineteenth century. There were a lot of great composers during this period which filled expression in romanticism spirit, yet none of them as exceptionally as Frederic Chopin. His approach to romanticism was obvious in the rich harmonic shades he used, the poetic expression’s which were intense as well as the attention he payed to music’s sensual qualities (Jonson 89). The romanticism is also prevalent in Chopin’s preference for the short solos of piano known as the character pieces; these communicate the sense of immediacy and impulsiveness which was highly valued by the Romantics in nineteenth century. Chopin however did a lot more than only writing the music soaked in romanticism spirit. He in several ways embodied a character of classic romantic: a genius who was lonely and condemned by tuberculosis, a musician who was visionary, too polished for the acclaim of public, who was sought as well as won by contemporaries like Paganini as well as Liszt. The exquisite sensitivity of Chopin made him leave the spot light of concert stages and just retreat to Parisian high end society salons. This seemed to place him above the showmanship and business that highlighted the life of concert during the period of second third nineteenth century. This accompanied with his discretion to appear in the public helped enhance his romantic aura, even when he was alive. His Works: Ballade No. 3 in A-flat Major, Opus 47: the four ballades by Chopin are amid his complex compositions; the title entails a narrative verse. During Chopin’s lifetime these compositions were linked to the poems of Adam Mickiewicz, who was a Polish writer also in exile living in Paris, implying that there is where Chopin got the inspiration from. Although no concentrate connection was found between Chopin’s work and the verses from Mickiewicz’s poems. These compositions did not seem to have basis of any firm program. He composed No.3 in the A flat Major, Opus 47 during period of 1840 t0 1841 winters and showcased it at one of the few concerts by him in 1842 February at Paris. This composition was usually relaxed and amiable for Chopin’s style. The rhythmic inflection served to even the passages where the restless keyboard and the minor key harmonies conveyed an alarming tone. Frederic throughout the course of these compositions presented a series of the thematic ideas although each of the compositions grew out from the first phase of work. Impromptu in C-Sharp Minor, Opus 66: the last four compositions by Chopin were under the title of Impromptu; out of those this one was the most characteristic. It has the combination of song like melody, write of the virtuoso keyboard, rhythmic fluidity and the broad design of A-B-A which is signature of composer’s style. The passionate opening makes way for the melody of irresistible lyricism, which made it appropriate for a famous song called ‘im always chasing rainbows’ (Huneker 93). The Preludes: on his arrival at Majorca in 1838, November Chopin had sketches for a Preludes set (Opus 28) which he finished at the island and Bach volumes. This work was clearly inspired by ‘The well tempered Clavier’ a set of Bach’s keyboard preludes. Like these pieces the preludes by Chopin had a methodical traversal of the complete 24 major as well as minor keys. Similarly each of these focused on a certain musical concern, these included the figuration type of keyboard, a certain mood or singular melody. With this though, the comparison of preludes by Chopin and Bach’s music ends. This is because the preludes by Chopin symbolized a romantic character. Among these preludes number 15 in D-flat Major became especially popular. Although each of these small compositions evoke a certain special mood and passes this on though a seemingly spontaneous yet compressed musical expression. This set of preludes occupies a wide array of moods and textures of keyboard as well as sonorities. His fame and contribution in Music: When Chopin moved to Paris he got a lot of praise from accomplished composers such as Schumann and Liszt etc. he got fame fast in Paris. He usually played only for the private audiences, he did give a few rare concerts yet he withdrew from them. He was famous for his improvising skill. He was innovative, a wide array of his compositions are linked directly to the Polish forms of music like Mazurka and dance. He used many ideas as well as styles from the folk music of Poland. Frederic Chopin also became an established teacher. A lot of the compositions by him were written to guide his students like the preludes, nocturnes, impromptus, mazurkas and waltzes. These were not as complex and complicated as the other works by him on large scale for the performances at concerts like the ballades, barcarolle, scherzos and sonatas, which were only composed to be performed by him. Chopin’s way of writing music was very creative. It was sometimes pretty simple with just a tune and accompaniment; it was still filled with variation and captured interest. The sustaining pedal in a piano was used by him in a certain way which none of the composers has ever done before. This produced delicacy while playing as well as when he was composing; this was considered to be highly innovative. It made him very popular; His music was then published in London, Leipzig and Paris. A measure of Chopin’s fame can be assessed from the fact that at his funeral there was a crowd of 1849, 3000. Work Cited Authur Hedley. "Frydeyk Franciszek Chopin". In Stanley Sadie (Ed). The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musician, 2nd ed. 1980, p292. Print Ashton Jonson. A Handbook to Chopins Works. London: BoD – Books on Demand, 2010. Print James Huneker. Chopin: The Man and His Music. NY: Echo Library, 2007. Print Katharine Ellis. “François-Joseph Fétis.” in Stanley Sadie (Ed). The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musician, New York: Macmillan Publishers Limited, 2001, vol. 8, p746. Print Read More