Frederick Chopin (SHO-pan or sho-PAN)

Born February 22, 1810 near Warsaw, Poland

Died October 17, 1849

Nationality: Polish and French

Period/Style: Classical/Early Romantic

About the composer:

Frederick Chopin gets the credit for making the piano a popular solo instrument. His compositions for solo piano helped set the standard for piano music that followed.  He was a great pianist and the music he wrote for the piano is quite difficult for most players, but very beautiful. Chopin loved his homeland, but because of poor health (tuberculosis) and political reasons, he had to leave his country.  He moved to Paris (the climate was better there) and lived there for the rest of his life, but he never forgot his homeland.  He wrote music that used some of the familiar Polish dances he remembered from his younger days called “mazurka” and “polonaise.”  As you can tell from his birth and death dates, Chopin died at an early age.  However, his music lives on in these lovely piano pieces.

About the music:

Mazurkas

The mazurka is a polish folk dance in triple time with a lively tempo, with a heavy accent on the third or second beat. Even the Polish national anthem is a mazurka!  Many composers from other countries also wrote mazurkas, but Chopin is the one we remember as the first Polish classical composer to use this dance in his music.

Polonaises

The Polonaise, which originated in Poland, is a stately dance in triple time (ONE-two-three, ONE-two-three), somewhat like a waltz.  In this music we hear strains of Polish folk songs, and the rhythms and personality of the most characteristic of all Polish folk dances.

Suggested activities:

You don’t have to be a professional dancer to move to music. Divide your class into groups and see if you can make up some dance steps to this music. It might be easier than you think!

Can you find out what was happening politically in Poland during Chopin’s life that would make him want to leave his own country?