Polish composer and pianist of the romantic school, regarded by some as the greatest of all composers of music for the piano. Born Fryderyk Chopin in Zelazowa Wola, near Warsaw, of a French father and a Polish mother, he preferred to use the French name Frédéric. He began to study the piano at the age of four, and when he was eight years old he played at a private concert in Warsaw. Later …showed first 75 words of 261 total…

…showed last 75 words of 261 total…several concerts in 1848 in France, Scotland, and England. He died in Paris of tuberculosis. Nearly all of Chopin's compositions are for piano. Although an expatriate, he was deeply loyal to his war-torn homeland; his mazurkas reflect the rhythms and melodic traits of Polish folk music, and his polonaises are marked by a heroic spirit. Italian opera composer Vincenzo Bellini also influenced his melodies. His ballades, scherzos, and études exemplify his large-scale works for solo piano.