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 76-100 of 714 records)

Company Matrix No. Size First Recording Date Title Primary Performer Description Role Audio
Victor B-12078 10-in. 6/6/1912 Aime-moi Rita Fornia Soprano vocal solo, with upright piano composer  
Victor B-12306 10-in. 8/8/1912 Nocturno Neapolitan Trio Instrumental trio composer  
Victor C-12431 12-in. 9/30/1912 Nocturne Gutia Casini Cello solo, with piano composer  
Victor B-12475 10-in. 10/3/1912 Nocturne in F sharp major Frank La Forge Piano solo composer  
Victor C-12592 12-in. 11/7/1912 Polonaise militaire Vessella's Italian Band Band composer  
Victor B-12592 10-in. 11/7/1912 Polonaise militaire Vessella's Italian Band Band composer  
Victor C-12974 12-in. 3/8/1913 Le cygne (The swan) Eugene Lutsky ; Efrem Zimbalist Violin solo, with piano composer  
Victor C-13351 12-in. 5/24/1913 Birds in the woods Victor Orchestra Orchestra composer  
Victor C-13353 12-in. 5/24/1913 Nocturne Victor Orchestra Orchestra composer  
Victor C-13490 12-in. 6/25/1913 Nocturne de Chopin Sascha Jacobsen Violin solo, with piano composer  
Victor C-13852 12-in. 9/24/1913 Berceuse Frank La Forge Piano solo composer  
Victor C-13860 12-in. 9/25/1913 Prelude in D flat major Frank La Forge Piano solo composer  
Victor BVE-14207 10-in. 11/19/1926 Spring song Alice Green Female vocal solo, with piano composer  
Victor B-14207 10-in. 12/15/1913 Spring song Olive Kline Female vocal solo, with piano composer  
Victor B-14646 10-in. 3/30/1914 Rustic dance Victor Orchestra Orchestra composer  
Victor C-14775 12-in. 4/29/1914 Prelude in A flat major Ignace Jan Paderewski Piano solo composer  
Victor C-14776 12-in. 4/29/1914 Polonaise militaire in A major Ignace Jan Paderewski Piano solo composer  
Victor C-14777 12-in. 4/29/1914 Valse in C sharp minor Ignace Jan Paderewski Piano solo composer  
Victor C-14782 12-in. 4/30/1914 Etude in F major Ignace Jan Paderewski Piano solo composer  
Victor B-15940 10-in. 4/23/1915 Mazurka in A minor Fritz Kreisler Violin solo, with piano composer  
Victor C-16334 12-in. 8/6/1915 Angel's dream Conway's Band Band composer  
Victor B-16680 10-in. 10/19/1915 Szynkareczko Tadeusz Wroński Male vocal solo, with orchestra composer  
Victor C-17891 12-in. 6/18/1916 Funeral march Richard Keys Biggs Organ solo composer  
Victor B-18575 10-in. 10/24/1916 Moment musicale William H. Reitz Xylophone solo, with orchestra composer  
Victor B-18957 10-in. 1/4/1917 Mazurka, op. 68, no. 2 Charles Kellogg Whistling solo, with piano composer  
(Results 76-100 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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