Chopin's Influence On Modern Music

Music, throughout history, has been the marker of change in each era. Every period of music with its own distinct style and execution showcasing the change in the values of that time. This is the reason you can listen to multiple eras throughout our world’s history and hear a timeline of our pasts. Listening through the Baroque with composers such as Bach and Vivaldi, or the Classical period with proteges like Mozart or Beethoven. However the period this paper discusses is the Romantic era that brought us great composers like Frederick Chopin, yet another child prodigy who helped shape the next period of music and brought us into the modern music we know today. Chopin, a man who lived during a time of Russian revolutions, and the strife and

turmoil that made him the man he was and the composer he was to become whom people still analyze and enjoy to this day.
Frederic Francois Chopin, born Fryderyk Franscizek Chopin, was born in what is now Warsaw, Poland on March 1, 1810 to father Nicholas Chopin and mother Justyna Krzyzanowska, an aristocrat whom his father worked for the family (Samson, Jim. Chopin. ). Chopin began his schooling with his father, an immigrant from France who worked as a tutor for the wealthy families of Warsaw. By age seven Chopin had published his first composition and by age eight, he performed publicly for the first time and by eleven he was performing for the tsar of Russia, Alexander I, for which he received a diamond ring from the tsar for the performance ("Frederic Chopin." Encyclopedia Britannica Online). It is believed that he first began learning on the piano from his mother and her sisters ("Frederic Chopin." Encyclopedia Britannica Online) however he began with his first professional tutor in 1816 atthe age of six until 1821 with painist Wojciech Zywny. At age sixteen he was enrolled at the Warsaw Conservatory of Music ( the Warsaw Lyceum) where he began receiving instruction for playing the organ with Wilhelm Wurfel. For the next three years he continued studying music theory with Josef Elsner. After this he spent time traveling to new countries for pleasure as well as to perform in new cities such as Berlin and Vienna.
He was still traveling at the time shortly before the Polish revolt in 1830, due to his absence from Poland at the time the revolt broke out he was unable to return to his home country. Instead he settled in France at the age of twenty one, where he had joint citizenship due to his father. Even though he officially lived in Paris for the majority of the rest of his life he continued to travel Europe playing small shows.
After this rocky period, Chopin became well known, even to the point where many consider him the first celebrity musician ("Frederic Chopin Biography." Bio.com) and was held in high demand for his private in performances amongst his fellow Parisians.

Despite his status as a composer he gave a mere 30 public performances, where he prefered the more intimate shows in the homes of friends (Samson, Jim. Chopin.). Although Chopin enjoyed this rich lifestyle he often lost his money due to his extravagant customs and would more often than not live with no money, spending much of his wealth entertaining friends and spent considerable amounts in fitting into the same expensive behaviors as his acquaintances. He often lived with friends eventually making back his lost wealth by selling his compositions and teaching local students at schools and

universities.
Throughout his lifetime, he was rumored to have been with several women, however only three have been documented with proof.

Although Chopin never actually got married, he was engaged to a woman named Maria Wodzinska from 1835- 1836 and had a continuous love affair while living in Warsaw to a young woman named Constantia Gladkowska. However, his most well known affair in 1836 when Chopin met the novelist Aurore Dudevant, better known as George Sand. The importance of this relationship resulted in Chopin’s most productive period of composing. During this time he produced such works as Fantaisie in F Minor (composed 1840-41), Barcarolle (1845-46), Polonaise-Fantaisie(1845-46), the ballades in A-flat major (1840-41) and F minor (1842), and the Sonata in B Minor (1844).
After Chopin's relationship with Aurore Dudevant ended due to a strained relationship with Dudevant’s daughter ("Frederic Chopin." Encyclopedia Britannica Online), his health began to decline rapidly, even more rapidly than it had in the past. After leaving Dudevant he began to be financially funded by an admirer named Jane Stirling, who arranged for him to travel to Scotland for a public concert. During this time he traveled a tour of the British isles This same tour happened to be his one of his last public

appearance.
Chopin's returned to Paris, France and appeared for the last time on February 16, 1848 at Salle Pleyel, in his adopted home where he lived for a short time before his death. He was joined by his sister and her family to provide comfort for the dying Chopin. He died a year later on October 17, 1849 at age 39. His major works included mazurkas, waltzes, nocturnes, polonaises, etudes, impromptus, scherszos, as well as preludes and sonatas, some released only after his death. His body was buried at Pere Lachaise cemetery, but his heart was interred in a church in Warsaw, near the place of his birth. The cause of his death has been argued by scholars; many believed he suffered from an undiagnosed form of epilepsy and possibly cystic fibrosis, although his official diagnoses and cause of death was said to be tuberculosis.
Through history, Chopin has been considered one of the great celebrity musicians and has helped mark the beginning of modern music. His compositions helped mark the Romantic period of music with his own style and execution marking it the music of change for this era. His distinct style is the reason you can listen to his works and compositions and pinpoint the time in history it took place.