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Added and corrected references.
'''Frédéric Chopin''' (March 1, 1810 – October 17, 1849) was an important Franco-Polish composer of the early nineteenth century. Arguably he was the first composer for [[piano]] to apply the [[Romantic period (music)|Romantic]] ethos to piano technique - his works make physical demands of the performer that surpass the late works of [[Beethoven]], at least in terms of the expression of raw emotion.
Nevertheless, his romanticism concealed a craftsman thoroughly schooled in older [[Counterpoint|contrapuntal]] and [[harmony|harmonic]] methods - he was an avid admirer of [[JS Bach]], and his works reveal a masterly combination of textural and harmonic innovation combined with old school discipline.<ref>George Marek R. and Maria Gordon-Smith,'' Chopin. A biography''. Harper & Row, New York, San Francisco, London 1978.</ref>
His works were mostly published as collections of short pieces, with the exception of the Concerti and Sonatas. They are often grouped by category, as follows:<ref>Michałowski, Kornel/Samson, Jim: "Chopin, Fryderyk Franciszek", Grove Music Online, ed. L. Macy (subscription required).[http://www.grovemusic.com]</ref>
* [[Études (Chopin)|Etudes]] - two sets of 12 and one set of three technical studies for piano that to this day are regarded as a watershed in the progress of any pianist. Unlike those of previous composers such as Czerny and Cramer, Chopin's etudes combine technical difficulty with musical expression, thus helping to popularize the form.
* Concerti - Chopin wrote two piano concertos in his youth, along with four other pieces for piano and orchestra. The concertos, while written when he was very young, are nevertheless staples of the piano concerto literature.
The Frederic Chopin International Piano Competition is held every 5 years and is considered to be among the top tier of international music competitions today. Named in his honor, it requires entrants to play almost every category of his output, including his concertos.<ref>[http://www.culture.pl/en/culture/artykuly/im_km_pianistyczny_chopina], the official site of the Frederic Chopin Innternational Piano Competition.</ref> == References == <references/>
[[Category:Composers|Chopin,Frédéric]]
