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 226-250 of 714 records)

Company Matrix No. Size First Recording Date Title Primary Performer Description Role Audio
Victor BVE-35963 10-in. 8/13/1926 Instrumental combinations, no. 5 Victor Orchestra Instrumental ensemble composer  
Victor CVE-37125 12-in. 12/13/1926 Prelude in A flat major Ignace Jan Paderewski Piano solo composer  
Victor CVE-37126 12-in. 12/13/1926 Etude in E major Ignace Jan Paderewski Piano solo composer  
Victor BVE-37127 10-in. 12/13/1926 Etude G flat major, op. 10, no. 5 (Black keys) Ignace Jan Paderewski Piano solo composer  
Victor BVE-37455 10-in. 3/19/1927 Waltz in A flat major Sergei Rachmaninoff Piano solo composer  
Victor CVE-37465 12-in. 4/5/1927 Nocturne in E flat major Sergei Rachmaninoff Piano solo composer  
Victor BVE-38207 10-in. 3/4/1927 The bee Alexander Schmidt Violin solo, with piano composer  
Victor CVE-41494 12-in. 2/6/1928 Impromptu in A flat major Sigrid Onégin Contralto vocal solo, with piano composer  
Victor CVE-42572 12-in. 3/29/1928 Funeral march Mark Andrews Pipe organ solo composer  
Victor BVE-43412 10-in. 3/26/1928 Mazurka in C sharp minor Vladimir Horowitz Piano solo composer  
Victor BVE-45045 10-in. 5/15/1928 Impromptu in A flat, op. 29 Harold Bauer Piano solo composer  
Victor CVE-45509 12-in. 5/22/1928 Valse brillante, op. 18 (in E flat) Ignace Jan Paderewski Piano solo composer  
Victor BVE-45510 10-in. 5/22/1928 Etude in C minor, op. 10, no. 12 (Revolutionary) Ignace Jan Paderewski Piano solo composer  
Victor CVE-45515 12-in. 5/24/1928 Funeral march, part 1 Ignace Jan Paderewski Piano solo composer  
Victor CVE-45516 12-in. 5/24/1928 Funeral march, finale Ignace Jan Paderewski Piano solo composer  
Victor CVE-47866 12-in. 10/25/1928 Nocturne in F sharp major Muri Silba Piano solo composer  
Victor CVE-47897 12-in. 11/8/1928 Etude in E major Nina Koshetz Soprano vocal solo, with piano composer  
Victor CVE-47898 12-in. 11/8/1928 Berceuse Nina Koshetz Soprano vocal solo, with piano composer  
Victor CVE-51804 12-in. 4/12/1929 Sonata : First movement, part 1 Sergei Rachmaninoff Piano solo composer  
Victor CVE-51858 12-in. 6/25/1929 Prelude in C minor S. Archer Gibson Organ solo composer  
Victor BVE-55391 10-in. 9/6/1929 Orpheus : Andante Bruno Reibold ; Victor Orchestra Orchestra composer  
Victor BVE-55905 10-in. 9/9/1929 Waltz in G flat major Myrtle C. Eaver Piano solo composer  
Victor BVE-56181 10-in. 10/4/1929 Etude, op. 10, no. 3 Léon Thérémin Theremin solo, with piano composer  
Victor CVE-58644 12-in. 1/31/1930 Valse brillante Rudolph Ganz Piano solo composer  
Victor BVE-58688 10-in. 3/4/1930 Etude in F major, op. 10 Vladimir Horowitz Piano solo composer  
(Results 226-250 of 714 records)

Citation

Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Chopin, Frédéric," accessed October 9, 2024, https://adpprod2.library.ucsb.edu/names/102587.

Chopin, Frédéric. (2024). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved October 9, 2024, from https://adpprod2.library.ucsb.edu/names/102587.

"Chopin, Frédéric." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2024. Web. 9 October 2024.

DAHR Persistent Identifier

URI: https://adpprod2.library.ucsb.edu/names/102587

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