· Derek ·
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 Mendel