Chopin During The Romantic Era

Kate Chopin was born February 8, 1851 in St. Louis. Her father was an Irish merchant and her mother was the daughter of an old French family. Chopin’s early fluency was with French and English, and her roots in two different cultures were important throughout

Mademoiselle Reisz understood what it means to be an artist. She was an “artist at the piano” (Chopin 554). Mademoiselle Reisz was isolated from society. She lived alone with practically no friends, except Robert and Edna. Her proprietor described her as “the most disagreeable and unpopular woman” (Chopin 580). Mademoiselle Reisz defied society’s convention. She devoted herself entirely to art; as a result, she became ostracized from society (Koloski 119). She plays music, not for others, but for herself. She told Edna that she was “the only

Frédéric Chopin was a Polish composer and piano virtuoso. Most of his music was written for solo piano, although he has some works for piano concerto and chamber music. Chopin often composed using improvisation. Chopin refined the concept of the “nocturne” and introduced the world to Polish folk music. Composers such as Rachmaninoff, and Brahms, among others were influenced by Chopin.

The famed Czech composer, Antonin Dvorak, was born in a Bohemian village of Czechoslovakia on September 8th, 1841 (Carlson & Smith, 154). After several years of living and learning music in his home village, eventually Dvorak moved to Prague at the age of 16 to continue his education in music. Pursuing his studies diligently, and after working various odd jobs, he eventually became a professor of music at the Prague Conservatory (Pogue & Speck, 64). While in Prague, he married his lovely wife Anna Cermakova in the November of 1873, and was happily married for the rest of his life to her (Encyclopedia Britannica). Performing all over Prague, eventually Dvorak’s incredible work was discovered by the famed composer Johannes Brahms, who recommended Dvorak to Brahms’ publisher Simrock. Simrock took to liking Dvorak’s works so much, that he agreed to publish works like the Moravian Duets in 1876, and the Slavonic Dances in 1878. These works

Kate Chopin was an American Author who born in Catherine O’ Flaherty in St Luis on February 8, 1850. Eliza Faris who was from St Luis too was her mother. Chopin father was a successful businessman who died when Kate was only 5 years old. For that reason, Kate grows up in a woman dominated the environment. Chopin mother, great-grandmother and the female slave, used to take of the children most of the time. Chopin started her career as an author when her husband suddenly died, leaving her with six kids and financially broke. Chopin mother died too a few moths later. For that reason, she started feeling devastated, and that immerse her in a period of depression. As a result, her Doctor recommended to her, to started writing her, though. Chopin first publication was a short story At Fault in 1889(Toth, 1). Since Chopin started writing her work received many positive and negative review for controversial topics that she uses in her work. She was one of the first and the important

The ability to compare and contrast two distinct authors such as Chopin and Millay is like comparing a wood burning stove to an oven, both great at their times but definitely changed ideas for the future. During the time frame of Chopin (1899), women still being treated like property, they can be legally beaten and done in public without any retribution from the law. Women are still considered homemakers and are shunned upon if they are working full time and trying to make a life on their own. While Chopin hits on these issues in her writing it is written in a language that still has to remain reserved so that her audience can understand it and not be too offended at the same time. With these ideas sparking events in history, to change the

Kate Chopin’s early life had a great deal of trauma. She was born in 1850 and by the time she was 5, her father was killed in a railroad accident. In 1863 her beloved French-speaking great grandmother died. Kate spent the Civil War in post-bellum St. Louis, a city where residents were in support of both the Union and the Confederacy. Her half brother enlisted in the Confederate army, was captured by Union forces, and died of typhoid fever. In 1882 her beloved husband Oscar Chopin died of malaria leaving Chopin as a widow by the early age of 32. The premature death of Chopin’s husband was the catalyst for her professional writing career as she had no other means to support her family of eight. It is perhaps fair to say that premature deaths of the those close to Chopin forced her to live a life of longing which is perhaps why she can so excellently capture the feeling within her writing.

mark on the musical world. From Mozart, to Beethoven, to Chopin, to Brahms, each famous

Chopin drew inspiration from numerous sources. He predominantly composed with national Polish traditions in mind, but often studied other composers and expanded upon their styles. Chopin’s 24 Preludes were based on a study of Bach’s own set of Preludes. In both cases, these composers wrote a Prelude for all 24 major and minor keys. Bach arranged his chromatically, while Chopin arranged his in a circle of fifths pattern. While Chopin did study Bach’s Preludes, Chopin’s were only a tribute. “It was there he composed these most beautiful of short pages which he modestly entitled the Preludes. They are masterpieces.” He wrote each one with a specific theme or mood in mind and he set them to stand on their own as independent works, despite the fact that the genre “prelude” is translated from French as “introduction.” Their function became as such when the composer was “capable by means of a suitable prelude of preparing the listeners, setting the mood, and also thereby ascertaining the qualities of the pianoforte, perhaps unfamiliar to him, in an appropriate fashion.“ Chopin’s 24 preludes are so skillfully composed, they are “admirable for their variety, the labor and learning with which they abound are appreciable only by the aid of a scrupulous examination; everything seems fresh, elastic, created at the impulse of the moment, abounding with that freedom of expression which is characteristic of works of genius.” Their variety is

Chopin soon began studying the theory of music, figured bass and composition at the Warsaw High School of Music, which was both part of the Conservatory and, at the same time, connected with Warsaw University. Its head was the composer Józef Elsner. Chopin, however, did not attend the piano class. Aware of the exceptional nature of Chopin's talent, Elsner allowed him, in accordance with his personality and temperament, to concentrate on piano music but was unbending as regards theoretical subjects, in particular counterpoint. Chopin, endowed by nature with magnificent melodic invention, ease of free improvisation and an inclination towards brilliant effects and perfect harmony, gained in Elsner's school a solid grounding, discipline, and precision of construction, as well as an understanding of the meaning and logic of each note. During this period of time, Frederic composed a series of extended works, and after the third year of his studies Elsner wrote in a report: "Chopin, Frederic, third year student, amazing talent, musical genius".

Beethoven was a famous composer and pianist. In his lifetime Beethoven composed over 60 piece of music (Ludwig Van Beethoven, 2015) and many are stilled played today. He was very passionate about music, he said "To play wrong notes is insignificant. To play without passion is inexcusable" (Beethoven Quotes, 2015). If he was not passionate he would not of made music. He also thought the world needed it, he said "music is a national need"(Beethoven,L,2015). Beethoven was very passionate and serious about music.

In discussing content, like all great authors, Chopin use symbols and metaphor to allow us to look within the subtext of their works. And many of these symbols and metaphors work to build upon their style, heavily composed of irony. As these are discussed, the themes of the obligations of women in marriage and illusions of independence, will come forward.

Kate Chopin was born in St. Louis, Missouri, USA, on February 8, 1850, to an affluent family. Chopin’s life had a great deal of trauma, losing her father in a railroad accident and her beloved grandmother dying shortly after impacted her life. Kate spent the Civil War in St. Louis, a city where residents supported both the Union and the Confederacy and where her family had slaves in the house. Chopin married at an early age of nineteen to a wealthy French man in 1870 and the two settled in New Orleans. Kate Chopin’s writing career began with her life and experiences in St. Louis, New Orleans; she wrote short stories, novels and so on. “At Fault” was Chopin’s very first novel, a book about a religious widow in love with a divorced man, which was not typical in the nineteenth century. Kate Chopin was a daring writer, she wrote many controversial stories and books about women freedom, sex, and extramarital affairs. For example, Chopin wrote short

Frederic Chopin was a Polish pianist and composer who integrated both the Romantic tradition and technical characteristics of the piano in an innovative and expressive way. (Oxford Music) “Chopin was the Romantic composer most closely identified with the piano” (Textbook) He combined beautiful melodies, inventive chords and harmonies, and virtuosic technique in a natural and eloquent way to create a tremendous collection of piano works throughout his lifetime. (Oxford Music) Of his many prominent works, Chopin’s collection of etudes has been one of the most revolutionary. This paper will delve into the historical and musical aspects of Chopin’s Etudes Op. 10.

Already rising up to becoming a great icon, Chopin played a major role in the art of composing piano pieces. Chopin created his own original technique that made his music so ingenious. He composed the “Trois Nouvelles Etudes”, the three new studies. These studies showed his various new techniques that later influenced the keyboard, and music itself (Hueneker 140). Chopin also constructed his own original pieces by including different genres of music into one composition. For example, he would combine a polonaise and a mazurka, two different Polish dances, one being slow while the other is lively. Frederic Chopin also influenced composition with his genius use of the piano. He used the instrument to its fullest effect to create a beautiful and expressive piece (Politoske, Daniel T.). His creativity was prominently brought out this way as he was able to produce melody and harmony (Samson 4). As a matter of fact, Chopin reached fame for his various piano compositions rather than his orchestral pieces (Politoske, Daniel T.). His arrangements utilized the piano in the most unique way which is why other musicians and his audiences admired his music. Arthur Rubinstein stated that, “…all possible expressions are found in his compositions and are all sung by him upon his instrument,” (Hueneker 91). Even