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 101-125 of 691 records)

Company Matrix No. Size First Recording Date Title Primary Performer Description Role Audio
Victor B-19279 10-in. 3/15/1917 Zyczenie Marya Zajaczkowska [i.e., Marie Zayonchkowska] Female vocal solo, with orchestra composer  
Victor C-19781 12-in. 5/14/1917 Nocturne in F sharp major Ignace Jan Paderewski Piano solo composer  
Victor CVE-19781 12-in. 8/18/1927 Nocturne in F sharp major Ignace Jan Paderewski Piano solo composer  
Victor C-19782 12-in. 5/14/1917 Etude in G flat major Ignace Jan Paderewski Piano solo composer  
Victor B-19782 10-in. 5/14/1917 Etude in G flat major Ignace Jan Paderewski Piano solo composer  
Victor B-19784 10-in. 5/14/1917 Mazurka in C major Ignace Jan Paderewski Piano solo composer  
Victor C-19923 12-in. 5/18/1917 Waltz in C-sharp minor Ignace Jan Paderewski Piano solo composer  
Victor C-19924 12-in. 5/18/1917 Waltz in A-flat major Ignace Jan Paderewski Piano solo composer  
Victor C-19941 12-in. 5/23/1917 Nocturne in F major Ignace Jan Paderewski Piano solo composer  
Victor C-19942 12-in. 5/23/1917 Waltz in F Ignace Jan Paderewski Piano solo composer  
Victor C-19943 12-in. 5/23/1917 Polonaise militaire Ignace Jan Paderewski Piano solo composer  
Victor C-20024 12-in. 6/7/1917 Maiden's wish George Falkenstein ; Maud Powell Violin solo, with piano composer  
Victor B-20697 10-in. 9/25/1917 Grandmother's minuet Kitty Cheatham Female vocal solo, with orchestra composer  
Victor B-21931 10-in. 5/22/1918 Mazurka Victor Herbert's Orchestra Orchestra composer  
Victor C-22269 12-in. 10/3/1918 Nocturne in E flat Jascha Heifetz Violin solo, with piano composer  
Victor C-22502 12-in. 1/7/1919 Berceuse, op. 57 Alfred Cortot Piano solo composer  
Victor CVE-22502 12-in. 10/26/1926 Berceuse Alfred Cortot Piano solo composer  
Victor B-22504 10-in. 1/8/1919 Tarantelle Alfred Cortot Piano solo composer  
Victor C-22507 12-in. 1/8/1919 Funeral march Alfred Cortot Piano solo composer  
Victor B-22509 10-in. 1/9/1919 Etude in G flat major Alfred Cortot Piano solo composer  
Victor C-22511 12-in. 1/9/1919 Sonata in B minor : Finale Alfred Cortot Piano solo composer  
Victor B-22559 10-in. 1/27/1919 Melody polonaise Alfred Cortot Piano solo composer  
Victor C-22640 12-in. 3/20/1919 Nocturne Mischa Elman Violin solo, with piano composer  
Victor B-22936 10-in. 6/23/1919 Etude, op. 25, no. 9 Guiomar Novaës Piano solo composer  
Victor B-23132 10-in. 9/3/1919 Love's messenger waltz, op. 64 Amelita Galli-Curci Soprano vocal solo, with orchestra composer  
(Results 101-125 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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