Frederic Chopin

Chopin was one of the greatest composers of music for the piano. He was also a fine pianist, performing concerts and demonstrating to audiences the full range and power of the piano, which in his day was a new and modern instrument.Chopin was born in Poland and he spent most of his life in France.
But he never forgot his native country and he often used rhythms and melodies from Polish folk music in his works.Frederic Chopin was born near Warsaw, Poland, on february 22 1810.
His father was a Frenchman who had settled in Poland; his mother was Polish.
Chopin, like Mozart, first showed his musical genius when as a young child he began to imitate his older sister as she practised on the piano. He was composing musical pieces before he understood how to write them down. By the time he was 8 he gave his first public concert.
He was only 15 when one of his compositions was published.In 1829, when chopin was 19, he went on a concert tour.
He was so well received in Paris that he decided to live there, and he never returned to Poland. However, the folk music of his native land had a great influence on his musical style; rhythms and melodies of two Polish dances, the mazurka and polonaise, can be heard in many of his compositions.