Frédéric Chopin

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. 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".

Chopin was born in Żelazowa Wola in the Duchy of Warsaw and grew up in Warsaw, which in 1815 became part of Congress Poland. 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. At 21, he settled in Paris. Thereafter – in the last 18 years of his life – he gave only 30 public performances, preferring the more intimate atmosphere of the salon. He supported himself by selling his compositions and by giving piano lessons, for which he was in high demand. Chopin formed a friendship with Franz Liszt and was admired by many of his other musical contemporaries, including Robert Schumann.

After a failed engagement to Maria Wodzińska from 1836 to 1837, he maintained an often troubled relationship with the French writer Aurore Dupin (known by her pen name George Sand). A brief and unhappy visit to Mallorca with Sand in 1838–39 would prove one of his most productive periods of composition. In his final years, he was supported financially by his admirer Jane Stirling, who also arranged for him to visit Scotland in 1848. For most of his life, Chopin was in poor health. He died in Paris in 1849 at the age of 39, probably of pericarditis aggravated by tuberculosis.

All of Chopin's compositions include the piano. They are mostly for solo piano, though he also wrote two piano concertos, some chamber music, and 19 songs set to Polish lyrics. His piano pieces are technically demanding and expanded the limits of the instrument; his own performances were noted for their nuance and sensitivity. Chopin's major piano works include mazurkas, waltzes, nocturnes, polonaises, the instrumental ballade (which Chopin created as an instrumental genre), études, impromptus, scherzi, preludes, and sonatas, some published only posthumously. Among the influences on his style of composition were Polish folk music, the classical tradition of J. S. Bach, Mozart, and Schubert, and the atmosphere of the Paris salons, of which he was a frequent guest. His innovations in style, harmony, and musical form, and his association of music with nationalism, were influential throughout and after the late Romantic period.

Chopin's music, his status as one of music's earliest celebrities, his indirect association with political insurrection, his high-profile love life, and his early death have made him a leading symbol of the Romantic era. His works remain popular, and he has been the subject of numerous films and biographies of varying historical fidelity. Among his many memorials is the Fryderyk Chopin Institute, which was created by the Parliament of Poland to research and promote his life and works. It hosts the International Chopin Piano Competition, a prestigious competition devoted entirely to his works.

Birth and Death Data: Born February 22, 1810 (Żelazowa Wola), Died October 17, 1849 (Paris)

Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1900 - 1951

Roles Represented in DAHR: composer

= Recordings are available for online listening.
= Recordings were issued from this master. No recordings issued from other masters.

Recordings (Results 26-50 of 691 records)

Company Matrix No. Size First Recording Date Title Primary Performer Description Role Audio
Victor A-902 7-in. 1/13/1904 Nocturne in E flat Alexander Heindl Cello solo composer  
Victor B-902 10-in. 1/13/1904 Nocturne in E flat Alexander Heindl Cello solo composer  
Victor B-1952 10-in. 11/15/1904 Mädchuns Wunsch Marcella Sembrich Soprano vocal solo, with piano composer  
Victor B-2047 10-in. 12/13/1904 Chopin's waltz Sousa's Band Band composer  
Victor C-3025 12-in. 1/19/1906 Nocturne in E flat Joseph Hollman Cello solo, with piano composer  
Victor C-3489 12-in. 6/26/1906 Chopin's nocturne in E flat Rosario Bourdon Cello solo, with orchestra composer  
Victor B-4671 10-in. 7/11/1907 The bee Maud Powell Violin solo, with piano composer  
Victor C-4874 12-in. 10/9/1907 Aimez-moi Marcella Sembrich Soprano vocal solo, with piano composer  
Victor C-4875 12-in. 10/9/1907 Maiden's wish Marcella Sembrich Soprano vocal solo, with piano composer  
Victor C-4939 12-in. 1/6/1907 Nocturne in D flat Frank La Forge Piano solo composer  
Victor C-4940 12-in. 11/19/1907 Ballade no. 3 in A flat major Frank La Forge Piano solo composer  
Victor C-4990 12-in. 1/6/1908 Waltz in C sharp minor Frank La Forge Piano solo composer  
Victor C-8813 12-in. 4/9/1910 Nocturne in E flat Mischa Elman Violin solo, with piano composer  
Victor C-9321 12-in. 7/25/1910 Nocturne in E flat Victor E. Sorlin Cello solo, with piano composer  
Victor C-9720 12-in. 12/20/1910 Nocturne in G major Frank La Forge Piano solo composer  
Victor B-9721 10-in. 12/20/1910 Nocturne in F sharp major Frank La Forge Piano solo composer  
Victor C-9732 12-in. 12/21/1910 Polonaise in A flat, op. 53 Frank La Forge Piano solo composer  
Victor B-9734 10-in. 12/22/1910 Etude in F minor, op. 25 no. 3 Frank La Forge Piano solo composer  
Victor C-9739 12-in. 12/23/1910 Nocturne in E flat Frank La Forge Piano solo composer  
Victor B-9858 10-in. 1/28/1911 Kommt ein Vögel geflogen Charles Kellogg Whistling solo composer  
Victor B-10119 10-in. 4/1/1911 Funeral march Vessella's Italian Band Band composer  
Victor B-10497 10-in. 5/25/1911 Waltz in C sharp minor Frank La Forge Piano solo composer  
Victor C-10502 12-in. 5/26/1911 Sonata no. 2 : Funeral march Frank La Forge Piano solo composer  
Victor B-10666 10-in. 6/30/1911 Polonaise militaire Charles Gilbert Spross Piano solo composer  
Victor B-10791 10-in. 7/20/1911 Mazurka Rybowiak Orchestra Orchestra composer  
(Results 26-50 of 691 records)

Citation

Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Chopin, Frédéric," accessed March 28, 2024, https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/102587.

Chopin, Frédéric. (2024). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved March 28, 2024, from https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/102587.

"Chopin, Frédéric." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2024. Web. 28 March 2024.

DAHR Persistent Identifier

URI: https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/102587

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