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So far I’ve profiled the Brill Building composers, the British pop composers of the Sixties, and Brahms, among others. I seem to be stuck on the letter “B”. MS.BEHAVIN suggested I do something with the letter “C”, and she suggested Frederic Chopin. For those of you in Rio Linda, his last name is pronounced “SHO-pan”. Good news: Most of these pieces are short, with only a few large and multi-movement works, so the attention span required won’t be as great. But there is still plenty of great music in which to wallow. This week I’ll concentrate on Chopin’s Years in Poland.

Fred was born in 1810 in a Warsaw suburb to a French father and a Polish mother. The family had musical talent, but Fred was in a whole other league. In 1817, at the age of 7, he wrote his first piece. There is a bit of the Chopin we later come to know and admire, but also a bit of Mozart, Beethoven, Hummel and Field in this miniature. Pretty impressive for a kid.

Chopin: Polonaise in G minor

Having written one polonaise at age 7, Fred wrote another. Again, it’s not deep, but it’s astonishing that a child could produce this.

Chopin: Polonaise in B-flat

By the time he was 11, Fred played before Tsar Alexander of Russia who was in town to open the Polish Parliament. A year later in 1822 he wrote this little polonaise, which is a quantum leap from his two earlier pieces. Listen to the piano pyrotechnics! How many 12 year olds could play this, much less compose this? There is a lot of the mature Chopin in this little piece.

Chopin, Polonaise in G# minor