Frederic Francois Chopin, Polish-born composer and renowned pianist, was the creator of 55 mazurkas, 13 polonaises, 24 preludes, 27 etudes, 19 nocturnes, 4 ballads, and 4 scherzos.

Frederic Chopin was born in Zelazowa Wola, Poland, on February 22, 1810, to a French father and Polish mother. His father, Nicholas Chopin, was a French tutor to many aristocratic Polish families, later accepting a position as a French teacher at the Warsaw Lyceum.

Although Chopin later attended the Lyceum where his father taught, his early training began at home. This included receiving piano lessons from his mother. By the age of six, Chopin was creating original pieces, showing innate prodigious musical ability. His parents arranged for the young Chopin to take piano instruction from Wojciech Zywny.

When Chopin was sixteen, he attended the Warsaw Conservatory of Music, directed by composer Joseph Elsner. Elsner, like Zywny, insisted on the traditional training associated with Classical music but allowed his students to investigate the more original imaginations of the Romantic style as well.

As often happened with the young musicians of both the Classical and Romantic Periods, Chopin was sent to Vienna, the unquestioned center of music for that day. He gave piano concerts and then arranged to have his pieces published by a Viennese publishing house there. While Chopin was in Austria, Poland and Russia faced off in the apparent beginnings of war. He returned to Warsaw to get his things in preparation of a more permanent move. While there, his friends gave him a silver goblet filled with Polish soil. He kept it always, as he was never able to return to his beloved Poland.

French by heritage, and desirous of finding musical acceptance from a less traditional audience than that of Vienna, Chopin ventured to Paris. Interestingly, other young musicians had assembled in the city of fashion with the very same hope. Chopin joined Franz Liszt, Hector Berlioz, Felix Mendelssohn, Vincenzo Bellini, and Auguste Franchomme, all proponents of the "new" Romantic style.

Although Chopin did play in the large concert halls on occasion, he felt most at home in private settings, enjoying the social milieu that accompanied concerts for the wealthy. He also enjoyed teaching, as this caused him less stress than performing. Chopin did not feel that his delicate technique and intricate melodies were as suited to the grandiose hall as they were to smaller environments and audiences.

News of the war in Poland inspired Chopin to write many sad musical pieces expressing his grief for "his" Poland. Among these was the famous "Revolutionary Etude." Plagued by poor health as well as his homesickness, Chopin found solace in summer visits to the country. Here, his most complex yet harmonic creations found their way to the brilliant composer's hand. The "Fantasia in F Minor," the "Barcarolle," the "Polonaise Fantasia," "Ballade in A Flat Major," "Ballade in F Minor," and "Sonata in B Minor" were all products of the relaxed time Chopin enjoyed in the country.

As the war continued in Warsaw and then reached Paris, Chopin retired to Scotland with friends. Although he was far beyond the reach of the revolution, his melancholy attitude did not improve and he sank deeper into a depression. Likewise, his health did not rejuvenate either. A window in the fighting made it possible for Chopin to return to Paris as his health deteriorated further. Surrounded by those that he loved, Frederic Francois Chopin died at the age of 39. He was buried in Paris.

Chopin's last request was that the Polish soil in the silver goblet be sprinkled over his grave.

鋼琴詩人—肖邦

肖邦是近代浪漫派的抒情音樂家，他在音樂史中，是一位神秘、愛國而最富于詩意生命的鋼琴家。他一生創作了55部馬祖卡舞曲，13部波羅涅滋，24首序曲，27首練習曲，19首夜曲，4首敘事曲以及4部詼諧曲。

1810年2月12日，肖邦出生于波蘭華沙郊區的熱拉佐瓦沃拉。他的父親尼古拉斯是具有波蘭血統的法國人，而母親卻是一位純粹的波蘭人。尼古拉斯原本是波蘭貴族家庭的一名法語教師，后來到華沙的一所中學教授法語。

肖邦最初接觸音樂的機會是跟隨母親學鋼琴。六歲那年，肖邦創作出了人生的第一部作品，充分展現了他與生俱來的非凡的音樂天賦。不久后，他進入了父親所在的學校學習，并在父母的安排下，跟隨捷克音樂家W.日夫尼學習鋼琴。

中學畢業后，肖邦進入華沙音樂學院學習，從師德國音樂家J.A.F埃爾斯納。與日尼夫相同的是，埃爾斯納在堅持古典派推崇的傳統練習外，鼓勵學生們從浪漫派中吸取靈感。

離開華沙音樂學院后，肖邦來到了當時的音樂圣地－維。在那里，肖邦不僅舉行了多場音樂會，也發表了不少音樂作品。在波蘭民族運動走向高潮，與沙俄的戰爭一觸即發的時候，肖邦身在奧地利。不久，他回到華沙為出國做準備。臨行前，華沙音樂學院的師生們為他送行，并贈以盛滿祖國泥土的銀杯。盡管從此肖邦再也沒有回到他深愛著的祖國，他一直保存著這捧祖國的泥土。

為了得到更多浪漫派聽眾的認可，加上自己擁有一半的法國血統，肖邦來到了法國巴黎。有趣的是，許多抱有同樣想法的年輕音樂家們也都聚集到了這座流行之都。在這里，肖邦結識了西歐文藝界許多重要人物，包括匈牙利藝術家李斯特，柏遼茲，意大利音樂家貝利尼等新浪漫主義的擁護者。

盡管肖邦有時也在大型音樂廳演出，但他更喜歡在家或是一些私人的場合，享受更融洽的氛圍。他也更喜歡教學時放松的心情。肖邦認為他細致優美的演奏技巧和紛繁的旋律更適合小環境演奏，而不適合宏偉的音樂廳。

波蘭陷入戰火的消息促使他寫了許多充滿悲傷的作品，以表達對祖國波蘭的哀傷與思念，其中包括名曲《革命練習曲》。肖邦的健康狀況一直不佳，加上思鄉心切，一度患上肺病，曾在法國南部療養。期間寫過不少成名的珍品。《F小調幻想曲》，《威尼斯船歌》，《幻想波羅涅滋舞曲》，《降A大調敘事曲》，《F小調敘事曲》，《B小調奏鳴曲》等都是在南部療養時創作的。

戰事從華沙蔓延到了巴黎，肖邦不得不和朋友們躲避至蘇格蘭。雖然肖邦遠離了波蘭的戰火，但他憂郁的情緒絲毫沒有改善，反而陷入了更深的沮喪之中。同樣地，他的健康狀況也沒有恢復。回巴黎后，肖邦的健康狀況急劇下降，最終在友人們的陪伴下逝世于巴黎的寓所中，結束了短短39年的生命。他的遺體被安葬在巴黎。

肖邦最后的遺愿是將銀杯中祖國波蘭的泥土撒在他的墓碑上。

Words:

Mazurka 馬祖卡舞曲

Polonaise 波羅涅滋

Prelude 序曲

Etude 練習曲

Nocturne 夜曲

Ballad 敘事曲

Scherzo 詼諧曲

Prodigious 非凡的

Melancholy 憂郁的

Rejuvenate 恢復，復原

Deteriorate 惡化，衰退