Friederik Frantisek Chopin - great Polishcomposer, representative of the art of romanticism. He was born in the small town of Zhelyazovo Volia, located near Warsaw. His father, Nicolas, was of French descent, and Justin's mother was a local resident.
Musical impressions of childhood
Learning to play the piano, Frederic began insix years. The young musician was very lucky with the teacher. Pianist Wojciech Lively brought up his ward on the works of Bach and Mozart. From a young age, Chopin studied and absorbed great and talented music.
In his early childhood, Frederick became acquainted withItalian opera, very popular in all corners of Europe. In the early 19th century, vocal art was not too difficult to perceive. A wide circle of listeners attracted bright theatrical performances and beautiful memorable melodies that could be hummed. And although Chopin's work does not contain a single opera, he has acquired and for the rest of his life has preserved the taste for flexible and plastic melodies.
Salon art
Another source of music for the future composerwas the so-called salon performance. A major representative of this art was Mikhail Oginski. He is known today because of his famous Polonaise.
Salon - one of the forms of leisurerepresentatives of the well-to-do strata of European society of the 19th century. This public practice has been described in many literary works, for example, by Leo Tolstoy and Honore de Balzac. In the salons people not only communicated, but also listened to music. The largest pianists and violinists of those times gained fame precisely thanks to speeches at various secular events.
Frederic Chopin played the piano at the localsalons from 12 years. He loved this modest home art. Creativity Chopin bears a bright imprint of salon music. From the pianists invited to social events, bravura virtuosity and sentimental ease of performance were often required. But Chopin is alien to the excessive entertainment and banality that are characteristic of this direction of art.
Early Creativity
Creativity Frederic Chopin open twopolonaise, which he wrote at the age of seven, possibly being influenced by the same name by Mikhail Oginski. Another source of the composer's future works is Polish musical folklore. With him, Frederik was introduced to her mother, who was a good pianist, and also a singer-amateur.
Young Chopin studied at the Warsaw Lyceum, in parallelengaged in music under the guidance of private teachers. He comprehended not only the piano playing, but also the composition. Later Frederic entered the Main School of Music of the Polish capital.
In Poland, Chopin's career developed successfullythanks to the generous patronage of patrons. In particular, the famous aristocratic Chetvertinsky family cared about the young pianist. On the wave of success, Chopin was invited to tour Austria, where he left in 1829.
Emigration and its causes
Concerts of the young musician used in Europetremendous success. He was admired by the famous composers of the time, Robert Schumann and Franz Liszt. Creativity Chopin was at the peak of popularity. During the stay of the composer on tour in his homeland there was an uprising.
The freedom-loving Poles rebelledRussian Empire. Large-scale popular unrest that engulfed the country, lasted about two years. In 1831, after the siege of Warsaw, they were crushed by the Russian army. After the victory, the actions of the occupation authorities became even tougher.
Шопен был горячим сторонником независимости Poland. After the defeat of the uprising, he decided not to return to his homeland. A direct response to these tragic events was a study in C minor, dubbed Revolutionary. The composer composed it in early September 1931, immediately after the fall of besieged Warsaw.
Печальные события в Польше разделили творчество Chopin for two major periods. The young musician chooses Paris for permanent residence, in which he spends the rest of his days, occasionally going on tour. The composer never saw his homeland again.
New life in Paris
В Париже Шопен вел активную творческую и pedagogical activity. In that historical period, the capital of France was the center of the political and cultural life of Europe. After the July Revolution of 1830 in Paris society strongly supported supporters of the struggle for the independence of Poland. The greatest artists of the time unselfishly helped the composer in the early years of his emigration.
Chopin's life and work are inextricably linked toactivities of his contemporaries - famous artists. The composer's new friends were the artist Eugene Delacroix, the writers Heinrich Heine and Victor Hugo, the composers Franz Liszt and Vincenzo Bellini, the musicologist Francois Fetis.
Disease and ending career virtuoso
A few years after settling in ParisChopin gave concerts in England and Germany, where he met with outstanding composers Robert Schumann and Felix Mendelssohn. Then, in the mid 30s, he was overtaken by a disease - pulmonary tuberculosis.
Young musician’s poor health preventedhim to pursue a career as a pianist virtuoso. He stopped performing in large halls. From this time, F. Chopin's creative work boils down to writing a number of piano works, which paved his way to the history of music.
Как пианист он ограничил свои выступления small salons and chamber concert halls. He played mainly for his friends, colleagues and people with similar artistic tastes and tastes.
Chamber halls and friendly audiencedetermined the uniqueness of Chopin's music. She is very personal, intimate. It seems that the composer exposes his suffering soul to the audience. F. Chopin's work is inextricably linked with the piano. For other tools, he did not write.
Love of all life
Будучи в Париже, композитор познакомился со famous French writer Aurora Dudevan, who published her books under the male pseudonym George Sand. This woman enjoyed in Parisian society scandalous fame. She wore men's clothes and pointedly smoked cigars. The local beau monde occasionally stirred rumors about her many connections.
If characterize the life and work of Chopinbriefly, it can be argued that without George Sand he would not be himself. She became not only the composer's mistress, but also his friend. The writer was older than Chopin. She already had two children - a boy and a girl.
The great musician often visited the family castle,which became a haven for numerous friends of Aurora and her lover. She loved the great fun and parties that lasted until dawn. The sick composer endured her entertainment with great difficulty. Nevertheless, their romance lasted more than ten years.
Winter in Mallorca
Как бы талантлив ни был Шопен, биография и his work is inextricably linked with George Sand. Especially popular among lovers of romantic stories is the legend of their joint journey to Majorca. The Spanish island in the Mediterranean today is a tourist paradise. Then, in the distant 19th century, it was an abandoned, desolate and gloomy place. The magnificence of nature was combined with the gloomy manners of the locals and poor living conditions.
Шопен, биография и творчество которого во многом caused by an incurable disease, experienced on this island one of the most difficult periods. The lovers wanted to spend a warm winter in Mallorca away from Parisian gossip. But the winter was very rainy and cold, and the negative attitude of local residents towards lovers was frankly aggressive. They were unable to rent housing and were forced to settle in an abandoned monastery, where the cold was raging. This winter the composer's health has deteriorated significantly.
During the life in Mallorca, George Sand missedParisian luxury. Sad and Chopin. A brief biography and work of the composer make this winter on the island especially bright. The musician composed some wonderful pieces here. After returning to France, the writer published the book Winter in Mallorca.
Romanticism and piano creativity
Творчество Шопена кратко можно определить как Romanticism in all its manifestations. His many piano miniatures are like different facets of a single diamond. The composer wrote very few major works. The most famous among them is his second sonata, and especially its third part - the mourning march.
Chopin's piano miniatures are combined into cycles.Polish Mazurkas and Polonaises are poetic plays imbued with homesickness. The most lyrical works of the composer are preludes. They go through all the work of Chopin. Briefly, these compositions can be described as short pieces covering all 24 keys. Preludes are solved in various genres. For example, a major major play reproduces the rhythmic basis of a mazurka. And the prelude "C Minor" reminds an elegy.
Genres in Chopin's Music
Фортепианное творчество Шопена обусловлено multifaceted synthesis. The combination of intonations of different, sometimes contrasting, genres in one short theme leads to a high concentration of musical tissue tension. Hints of march, nocturne, and pathetic declamation, compressed into an eight-stroke melody, seem to explode the topic from the inside. Their potential is revealed throughout the composition, building a complex drama.
As noted by German musicologists, creativityFriedrich Chopin (as they call him in Germany) was influenced by Robert Schumann, especially his piano cycles. However, the music of this great composer is extraordinarily original. The proof is the so-called Polish cycles - mazurkas and polonaises.
Mazurkas and Polonaises
Mazurkas are very diverse.Among them are graceful and refined miniatures, as well as plays written in the spirit of the people. There are also shiny ballroom mazur. Most of these works are not difficult in terms of virtuosity. Technically, they are simple to perform. A deep musical meaning makes them difficult to understand; a special subtlety of perception is required from the listener.
Like all the works of Chopin, works,written in the genre of polonaise, are lyrical poetic miniatures. But at the same time they have the character of bright and brilliant dances. Among them are miniatures of different content: tragic, solemn and exquisite. A pianist performing polonaises needs to have strong fingers and wide hands. This is necessary in order to cope with the polyphonic chords underlying the works.
If you try to articulate in a fewIn words, the work of Chopin, a brief summary of it will be: the greatest genius of the romantic era, he was the musical idol of Europe. Deprived of his exile, he died very early, at 39 years old. For most of his life, Chopin suffered from an incurable disease that limited his virtuoso career. He fully realized the love of hundreds of fans and the only woman who managed to understand him. She had the same talent as himself. His tragic and at the same time happy fate is in music. And she is immortal.
