Fryderyk Franciszek Szopen, known by his French name Frédéric François Chopin, was born in Zelazowa Wola on March 1, 1810. He was a Polish composer and pianist, one of the great masters of romantic music who, from an early age, proved to have an exceptional musical sensitivity. When his family moved to Warsaw, Chopin was entrusted to the Bohemian violinist and pianist Zywny, who introduced him to the study of the piano and composition. These were the only lessons that Chopin took, and they ended in 1822; the Polish pianist continued his studies as a self-taught. He enrolled in the high school where his father taught French then he enrolled in the conservatory, where he studied composition with Elsner until 1829 (at that time he composed the Rondò op. 1). In August 1829 he gave two concerts in Vienna with great success; he returned to Vienna in December 1830 where he gave mediocre concerts; following the Russian repression of the November Uprising (1830), at the age of 21 he moved to Paris where he had a great debut and became friends with other composers such as Franz Liszt and Berlioz. In the French capital he gave numerous concerts in aristocratic salons and began an intense and lucrative teaching activity, meeting great artists such as Eugène Delacroix. Chopin taught regularly and composed until his death on October 17, 1849. In the summer of 1835, during a trip to Germany, Chopin met Schumann and Maria Wodzinska with whom he was engaged, but the marriage could not be celebrated due to the opposition of the father of the girl, in fact Chopin was not at all in good health. In Paris he also met the writer George Sand, with whom he had an affair; at the end of 1838 he went with her to Mallorca (this was one of the most productive periods in terms of composition) and lived with her until 1847 (the year of separation). After breaking up with George Sand and the worsening of his illness, Chopin fell into a deep depression which probably hastened his death. In 1848 he held his last concert in London. He is thought to have died of pulmonary tuberculosis. During the last period of his life, Chopin was assisted by one of his Scottish pupils, Jane Stirling, who together with his sister convinced him to move to England. However, the harsh English climate and the worldly life in which the sisters wanted to drag him considerably worsened the composer's health. Back in Paris, his health suddenly deteriorated and on October 17, 1849, at 2 am, he was declared dead. At his side, in the last moments of his life, his close friends, including Eugène Delacroix, Delfina Potocka - to whom he had dedicated one of his most famous waltzes - and his most beloved sister, Ludwika. His funeral takes place in Paris, where his body was then buried, while his heart was placed inside an urn and taken to the church of the Holy Cross in Warsaw. His last words are significant in this regard: “When this earth will suffocate me, I beg you to have my body opened for me not buried alive”.
Although his production is not very extensive and includes almost exclusively composition for piano (the only significant exceptions are the two concertos, four further compositions for piano and orchestra and the sonata op. 65 for piano and cello), Chopin is considered one of the greatest composers of his century due to the fact that by the age of 20 he was already writing pages of indisputable originality and maturity. A key component of Chopin's training is his sensitivity to Polish folk song. A decision by Chopin can be seen in the Studies op. 10, in the Scherzo op. 20 and in the Ballade op. 23, in which the contamination between popular and learned music is overcome. Once he arrived in Paris, Chopin had the need to conquer success which led him to the writing of pieces of great beauty such as the Nocturnes op. 27, however, devoid of the revolutionary tension that characterized the pieces of 1830-1831. Tension that appears in the works following the breakup of the engagement with Wodzinska, such as the Preludes op. 28 and the Ballade op. 38. With these works Chopin opened a very productive season which saw the creation of very important pages for piano literature, such as the Polonaise op. 44 and op. 53, the Ballade op. 52 and the Nocturnes op. 62. His piano style was highly individual and often technically demanding, but he always maintained the right nuances and considerable expressive depth. The main influences on his musical style consisted of Polish folk music and the works of J. S. Bach. The innovations that Chopin brought in style, form and harmony and his association of music with nationalism were influential throughout the Romantic period and beyond. His universal success as a composer, his association (even if only indirectly) with the Polish insurrection, his love life and early death made Chopin an important symbol of romanticism.