【Music - 名人介紹】Chopin and Liszt

Chopin (Polish, 1810- 1849)

• Chopin was a Polish composer and pianist. He was chiefly a composer for the piano. His art forms the golden age of that instrument.
• Chopin was born in Poland of a French father and a Polish mother. The composer's early life was spent in Warsaw. The other half of his life was spent in Paris.
• In Paris his career was linked to the artistic and aristocratic life of that city. He always played for the nobles.
• Here Chopin had an 8 - year romance with the popular novelist known to the world as George Sand. 
• He produced great music during this period. Their relationship was not all that smooth and they parted in bitterness. His health began to fail; he was suffering from tuberculosis.
• He died at the age of 39 in Paris.
• Chopin wrote nocturnes, waltzs, impromptus, polonaises, mazurkas, ballades, preludes and etudes. 

Liszt (Hungarian, 1811 - 1886)

• Liszt was born in Hungary, son of a steward in the employ of a wealthy family.
• Carl Czerny was one of the most important teachers of Liszt.
• He formed close friendships with the leaders of Romanticism.
• The appearance in Paris of the sensational violinist Paganini in 1831 made Liszt aware of the possibilities of virtuoso playing.
• He was one of the greatest of pianists - and showman.
• Inseparable from the legend of the pianist was that of the lover.
• In his last years Liszt sought peace by entering the Church.