Frédéric Chopin

Hello! My name is Frédéric Chopin. I was a musician who loved the piano more than anything. I was born in a small village in Poland on March 1st, 1810. Even when I was a tiny boy, my fingers loved to dance on the piano keys. I didn't just play songs other people wrote. By the time I was seven years old, I was already writing my own songs! A year later, in 1818, I played my first big concert for many people. They were so surprised a little boy could play with so much feeling.

When I grew up, I moved to a beautiful, busy city called Paris in 1831. It was an exciting place, but I missed my home in Poland very much. I thought about its green fields and special music all the time. In Paris, I taught piano lessons and wrote lots of music. I didn't like playing in giant, noisy concert halls. I preferred playing in cozy rooms for my friends, where everyone could hear every soft note. People started calling me the 'poet of the piano' because they said my music told stories and was full of feeling, just like a poem.

Almost all my music was for the piano. I wrote special pieces called 'mazurkas' and 'polonaises' that sounded like the Polish dances I remembered from when I was a boy. It was my way of sending a musical letter back home. I also wrote dreamy, quiet songs called 'nocturnes,' which are perfect for listening to at night when everything is calm. And for fun, I wrote swirling dances called 'waltzes' that make you want to spin around the room.

I wasn't always very healthy, but I filled my life with as much music as I could. I lived to be 39 years old. Even though I am no longer here, my music is played all over the world. When you hear one of my songs, you are hearing the stories from my heart and my love for my Polish home. I hope my music makes you feel something special, too.