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 1-25 of 691 records)

Company Matrix No. Size First Recording Date Title Primary Performer Description Role Audio
Berliner 01191 7-in. Apr. 1900 Waltz Sousa's Band Band composer  
Berliner 01192 7-in. Apr. 1900 Polonaise Sousa's Band Band composer  
Victor [Pre-matrix A-]317 7-in. 10/2/1900 Chopin's waltz Sousa's Band Band composer  
Victor [Pre-matrix B-]317 10-in. 12/16/1902 Chopin's waltz Sousa's Band Band composer  
Victor [Pre-matrix A-]318 7-in. 10/2/1900 Chopin's polonaise Sousa's Band Band composer  
Victor [Pre-matrix B-]318 10-in. 12/16/1902 Chopin's polonaise Sousa's Band Band composer  
Victor [Pre-matrix A-]364 7-in. 10/2/1900 Chopin's mazurka Sousa's Band Band composer  
Victor [Pre-matrix A-]472 7-in. 10/27/1900 Chopin's waltz Frank Badollet Flute solo composer  
Victor [Pre-matrix B-]472 10-in. 2/4/1902 Chopin's waltz Frank Badollet Flute solo composer  
Victor [Pre-matrix A-]641 7-in. 1/26/1901 Chopin's funeral march Kendle's First Regiment Band Band composer  
Victor [Pre-matrix B-]641 10-in. 9/17/1902 Chopin's funeral march Kendle's First Regiment Band Band composer  
Victor [Pre-matrix A-]1669 7-in. 10/9/1902 Nocturne in E flat Alexander Heindl Cello solo, with piano composer  
Victor [Pre-matrix B-]1669 10-in. 10/9/1902 Nocturne in E flat Alexander Heindl Cello solo, with piano composer  
Victor [Pre-matrix A-]2124 7-in. 3/30/1903 Soldiers William H. Thompson Male vocal solo composer  
Victor [Pre-matrix B-]2124 10-in. 3/30/1903 Soldiers W. H. Thompson Male vocal solo composer  
Victor [Pre-matrix C-]2210 12-in. between 1901 and 1903 Nocturne Theodore Pusinelli ; Victor Grand Concert Band Band, with clarinet soloist composer  
Victor [Pre-matrix B-]3026 10-in. 1/14/1901 Chopin's funeral march Kendle's First Regiment Band Band composer  
Victor [Pre-matrix B-]3209 10-in. 3/16/1901 Nocturne in E flat Alexander Heindl Cello solo composer  
Victor A-310 7-in. 8/18/1903 Waltz and mazurka Sousa's Band Band composer  
Victor B-310 10-in. 8/18/1903 Waltz and mazurka Sousa's Band Band composer  
Victor B-807 10-in. 12/10/1903 Sonata no. 2 Arthur Pryor's Band Band composer  
Victor CVE-807 12-in. 10/9/1926 Funeral march Arthur Pryor's Band Band composer  
Victor C-807 12-in. 12/10/1903 Chopin's funeral march Arthur Pryor's Band Band composer  
Victor A-851 7-in. 12/18/1903 Polonaise Arthur Pryor's Band Band composer  
Victor B-851 10-in. 12/18/1903 Polonaise Arthur Pryor's Band Band composer  
(Results 1-25 of 691 records)

Citation

Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Chopin, Frédéric," accessed March 18, 2024, https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/102587.

Chopin, Frédéric. (2024). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved March 18, 2024, from https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/102587.

"Chopin, Frédéric." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2024. Web. 18 March 2024.

DAHR Persistent Identifier

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

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