Frédéric Chopin Trivia

1. What was Chopin's first official composition?

From Quiz The Compositions of Fredric Francois Chopin

Answer: Rondo in C minor

Some may think that the Polonaise in B-flat major was the first, but that wasn't officially published until after Chopin's death. The Rondo in C minor, Opus 1, was published in 1825. The Rondo starts calmly in 2/4 time, but then gradually accelerates in speed. Not a piece for a beginner!

From Quiz Chopin

Answer: Poland

Chopin lived in Zelazowa about seven months before his family moved to Warsaw. His parents were, "a Frenchman and a woman of culture".

From Quiz Fryderyk Chopin

Answer: Polish

Frederyk Chopin's mother, Justyna Krzy¿anowska, was of Polish descent. She married Mikolaj(Nicholas) Chopin, a Frenchman who immigrated to Poland. Mikolaj Chopin served as a tutor to the children of the aristocrat Count Skarbek, who also had a son named Fryderyk.

From Quiz Frederick Chopin: Poland's Greatest Composer

Answer: 1810

This is also the same year that German composer Robert Schumann was born and Beethoven composed "Für Elise".

From Quiz The Life and Times of Frederic Chopin

Answer: Francois

Although Chopin is hailed today as the national composer of Poland, he was ethnically half-French, which explains why he had a French name. His father was a Frenchman who emigrated to Warsaw to teach the French language to children of the nobility.

From Quiz The Compositions of Fredric Francois Chopin

Answer: Scherzo in B Minor Op. 20

The Scherzo in B Minor Op. 20 was one of Chopin's greatest accomplishments. It was dedicated to Thomas Albrecht, who was a friend of Chopin. The piece, in the trio (the middle of a minuet or scherzo), has some tunes derived from traditional Polish Christmas songs. Otherwise, the piece is dark, dramatic, and quite lively.

From Quiz Chopin

Answer: Seven years old.

In 1817, at the age of seven 'Polonaise in G Minor' was published. Chopin started piano lessons at the age of six. By age twelve he was enrolled in Warsaw Lyceum.

From Quiz Fryderyk Chopin

Answer: Zelazowa Wola

Fryderyk Chopin was born on March 1, 1810, in the small village of Zelazowa Wola, some 50 miles away from Warsaw. A church document discovered in 1892 said that he was born on February 22, 1810, but Chopin as well as his mother claimed that he was born on March 1.

From Quiz Frederick Chopin: Poland's Greatest Composer

Answer: French

Chopin's father, Nicolas, eventually adopted Poland as his homeland when he moved there in 1787.

From Quiz The Life and Times of Frederic Chopin

Answer: 1810

He lived a very short life, dying at the age of thirty nine in 1849. Franz Schubert, one of the earliest Romantic composers, was born in 1797; 1809 was the year of Felix Mendelssohn's birth, while 1811 marked the birth of piano virtuoso Franz Liszt.

From Quiz Chopin

Answer: Paris

Chopin played in small salons, preferring this venue to the larger concert halls. He became the toast of the town, both as a composer and performer.

From Quiz Fryderyk Chopin

Answer: B-flat Major

The first few measures of this piece include broken octaves in the left hand synchronizing with the right hand. Chopin also wrote the Polonaise in g minor, a little bit of time after the B-flat Major polonaise was published.

From Quiz Frederick Chopin: Poland's Greatest Composer

Answer: November Revolution

Chopin would eventually end up in Paris, where he would die on 17 October 1849.

From Quiz The Life and Times of Frederic Chopin

Answer: Warsaw

He was not born at Warsaw, though many believe he was. His hometown was Zelazowa Wola, a small, picturesque village on the Ultrata River roughly 50 kilometers west of Warsaw.

From Quiz The Compositions of Fredric Francois Chopin

Answer: Nocturne

Chopin's Op. 32 was two nocturnes, in the key signatures of B major and A-flat major. The theme starts with several chords, which gradually go away and develop into the main theme of the song.

From Quiz Chopin

Answer: Tuberculosis

Chopin moved to Spain for a time hoping the climate would improve his health. The tuberculosis became a reoccurring event in Chopin's life.

From Quiz Fryderyk Chopin

Answer: Romantic

The Romantic Era took place roughly from 1815 to 1910, and was categorized by more expressive and passionate music, often more exciting than its Classical counterparts. Instead of the strict rules governing music such as those of the Classical Era, composers such as Franz Liszt, Robert Schumann, and Richard Wagner fused the structural harmonic planning with chromatic inventions, achieving greater fluidity and contrast. Ludwig van Beethoven was the bridge between the Classical Era and the Romantic Era.

From Quiz Frederick Chopin: Poland's Greatest Composer

Answer: 21

Most recordings only feature 19 nocturnes, as the remaining two were not considered to be "genteel" enough by 19th century standards.

From Quiz The Life and Times of Frederic Chopin

Answer: Paris

Paris was the center of a new movement known as Romanticism in the 1830's. It was a bustling mecca for famous novelists, composers, and painters of the period. Chopin went to Paris hoping to attain fame.

From Quiz Chopin

Answer: Poland

Chopin used the songs and dance music of Poland to inspire many of his greatest works including his mazurkas, waltzes, and polonaises.

From Quiz The Compositions of Fredric Francois Chopin

Answer: Op. 10, no. 8 in F major, (Etude)

The Op. 10, no. 8 Etude in F major is nicknamed "Sunshine". After Chopin went to the French countryside, he wrote this etude in a very short period of time to describe his experience.

From Quiz Chopin

Answer: Nocturne

Chopin wrote several sets of Nocturnes over a period of twenty years. They were published in small sets of two or three at a time. They are perhaps his best known works.

From Quiz Frederick Chopin: Poland's Greatest Composer

Answer: mazurka

Chopin's mazurkas are considered to be the cornerstone of Polish Nationalistic classical music.

From Quiz The Life and Times of Frederic Chopin

Answer: George Sand

It was Franz Liszt who introduced him to Aurore Dudevant, "the lady with the somber eye", better known by her pen name of George Sand. The two first met each other in 1838. Sand was greatly impressed by Chopin's creative ability. Their relationship lasted eight years, during which Chopin spent his summers at her estate in Nohant. Eventually, however, their friendship turned into bitter hostility, and they parted.

From Quiz The Compositions of Fredric Francois Chopin

Answer: Franz Liszt

These etudes were dedicated to one of the few men who could play these devilishly difficult etudes. Franz Liszt, who was also a well known concert pianist of the time, was the only one at the time who could sight-read them without a single mistake! Chopin and Liszt were amazed, though, at Niccolo Paganini's great violin feats.

From Quiz Chopin

Answer: George Sand

George Sand, the pen name of Aurore Dudevant. During this often strained relationship, Chopin wrote some of his most beautiful music. George, who was married, ended the affair in 1845. After this time, Chopin wrote almost nothing.

From Quiz Frederick Chopin: Poland's Greatest Composer

Answer: George Sand

Originally Chopin was not interested in Sand. In a letter to his family in Poland he said about her, "Something about her repels me." Maybe he should have listened to his instincts? :-)

From Quiz The Life and Times of Frederic Chopin

Answer: The brutal Russian suppression of a Polish uprising.

Interestingly enough, during Chopin's lifetime, Poland was not the independent state that it is today. Rather, it was under the jurisdiction of the Russian tsar, Nicholas I. In the 1830's, the Poles, seeking independence, revolted against their Russian overlords. Immediately, the Russians captured Warsaw and suppressed the rebellion. The ensuing reprisals were ruthless; members of Chopin's family and some of his friends were slaughtered. To express his grief and defiance, Chopin wrote the Revolutionary Etude.

From Quiz The Compositions of Fredric Francois Chopin

Answer: C# minor

This waltz is not as well known as some of the others because it was published after Chopin's death. It sounds in the opening theme like somebody is sitting down, in deep thought, thinking of ideas, and the thinker is in doubt.

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