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Frédéric Chopin (Polish: Fryderyk (Franciszek) Chopin , sometimes Szopen ; French: Frédéric (François) Chopin ; English family name pronunciation IPA: /ʃoʊˈpæn/) (March 1, 1810, - October 17, 1849) was a Polish virtuoso pianist and piano composer of the Romantic period. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest composers for the piano. Chopin was born in the village of Żelazowa Wola, Duchy of Warsaw, to a Polish mother and French-expatriate father. Hailed in his homeland as a child prodigy, at the age of twenty Chopin left Poland forever. In Paris, he made a career as performer, teacher and composer, and he adopted the French version of his given names, Frédéric-François. From 1837 to 1847 he had a turbulent relationship with the French writer George Sand (Aurore Dudevant). Always in frail health, at 39 in Paris he succumbed to pulmonary tuberculosis. All of Chopin's extant work includes the piano in some role (predominantly as a solo instrument), and his compositions are widely considered to be pinnacles of the piano's repertoire. Although his music is technically demanding, Chopin's style emphasizes nuance and expressive depth rather than technical virtuosity. He invented new musical forms, such as the ballade, and introduced significant innovations into existing forms such as the piano sonata, waltz, nocturne, étude, impromptu and prelude. His works are often cited as mainstays of Romanticism in 19th-century classical music. Additionally, Chopin was the first western composer to imbue his music with Slavic elements; to this day his mazurkas and polonaises are the cornerstone of Polish national classical music.
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