Chopin: 15 facts about the great composer

1. Chopin is born in 1810

We know that Frederic Chopin was born in Poland, west of Warsaw, in 1810, but it's not 100% confirmed on what day. Local baptism records claim the composer came into the world on 22 February, but Chopin's parents said it was 1 March.

2. Child star

Chopin was composing and writing poetry at six, and gave his first public concerto performance at the age of eight. It's not really surprising - his mother was a piano teacher, and his father played the flute and violin.

3. Chopin... Vodka?

It seems it's not just musicians inspired by the great composer. A maker of fine vodka has borrowed the composer's name as a universal mark of quality. The excellence of their vodka isn't inspired by other vodka brands on the market, but takes inspiration from Chopin's boundary-breaking mastery.

4. Chopin and Bach

Chopin was very fond of Bach - who could blame him? He urged his piano pupils to practise Bach every day to strengthen their fingers and exercise their minds with the mathematical music.

5. Piano Concerto No. 1

His Piano Concerto No. 2 was written before his Piano Concerto No. 1, in 1830. But the first one was published after the second, leading to the confusion.

6. Chopin arrives in Paris in 1831

Despite only arriving in Paris in September 1831, Chopin never returned to his homeland of Poland. While he was in the city, he forged friendships with great composers including Mendelssohn, Berlioz and Liszt.

7. A very modest piano teacher

As as way of making money while living in Paris, Chopin built up a book of rich contacts to whom he would give piano lessons. Unfortunately, he felt too embarrassed to ask his pupils for money, so he looked away while they left the fee on the mantelpiece!

8. Chopin and Maria Wodziński

On the way back from Paris, Chopin met Maria Wodziński, daughter of his parents' friends. He fell in love with her and was engaged to marry her, but the wedding had to be postponed due to Chopin's bad health. He wrote 'The Farewell Waltz' on the morning of his departure from Dresden, and the relationship ended.

9. The Minute Waltz

Chopin's 'Minute' Waltz isn't minute, as in small, it's minute in that it lasts 60 seconds. Well, almost: the 138 bars of music take between a minute and a half and two minutes to play. Chopin's publishers decided on the nickname.

10. Chopin's bad health

Chopin was forced to postpone his engagement due to his health, but this was an ongoing problem. Word spread among people in Warsaw believed the composer had died because he was so ill in 1835.

11. Chopin's customs problems

When Chopin visited Majorca, he had trouble bringing his precious piano along with him. The piano, made by the famous Pleyel et Cie company, was held up by customs from 20 December 1838 until 4 Jan 1839. Eventually George Sands agreed to pay 300 francs to have the instrument released.

12. George Sand

Chopin had an long and stormy affair with a novelist called George Sand after meeting her in 1836. At least, that's what she said her name was in order to get noticed in a society that didn't look favourably on female authors - her real name was Aurore Dudevant.

13. Piano music

Most of Chopin's music was written for piano. He wrote 59 mazurkas, 27 études, 27 preludes, 21 nocturnes and 20 waltzes for the instrument.

14. Polonaise: a Polish dance

Chopin wrote around 23 polonaises throughout his life. His most famous examples are the Military' Polonaise in A, 'Heroic' or 'Drum' Polonaise in A flat. Like much of Chopin's music, most of the pieces are written for solo piano, but the Andante spianato et grande polonaise brillante is an orchestral piece.

15. Chopin dies aged 39

Chopin died in 1849, most probably from tuberculosis, at the age of 39. He is buried near his friend, composer Cerubini, at the Père Lachaise Cemetery in Paris. Mozart's Requiem was performed at his funeral.