Composer and pianist, born in Zelazowa Wola, near Warsaw, Poland, where his French father had settled. Frederic Chopin is often referred to as "The Poet of the Piano". It's said that no one understood the piano better than Frederic Chopin. He could make it sound romantic and poetic. Most of Frederic Chopin's tunes were short pieces but he could pour out a happy, sad, passionate or dreamy tune that was perfect in terms of form and style. He began taking piano lessons when he was six years old and by the time he was seven, he was already writing his own music and performing in the homes of nobles. Frederic Chopin had his first composition published when he was just 15. He studied at the Warsaw Conservatory under Elsner (1826–9), made his adult debut in Warsaw (1830), then visited Vienna and Paris, to pursue his love of making music, becoming the idol of the Salons. The people of Paris loved his work. Frederic Chopin began teaching music and playing in private homes - something he preferred instead of concerts. In 1837, Frederic Chopin met and fell madly in love with George Sand, a female novelist who dressed like a man in order to get her works published. They spent the next ten years together, though they were never married. Frederic Chopin considered Sand a great inspiration and it is said that his "Waltz in D-flat " was written for George Sand's dog. "Waltz in D-flat" is also called the "Minute Waltz" because it can be played in one minute. Frederic Chopin wrote mainly for the piano, including 50 mazurkas, 27 etudes, 25 preludes, 19 nocturnes, 13 waltzes, 12 polonaises, four ballades, three impromptus, three sonatas, two piano concertos, and a funeral march. In the 1840s, it was trendy for women and girls in Paris to be students of Frederic Chopin. This trend didn't last long however, because on October 17, 1849 Frederic Chopin passed away. Frederic Chopin had been suffering from tuberculosis for many years. As he had requested, Frederic Chopin's heart was taken to Warsaw and placed in the Holy Cross Church where it remains entombed today
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