1. Frédéric Chopin A biography By Alysea Aguado

2. Childhood He was born on March 1 st, 1810 near Warsaw Poland. Began playing the piano, composing and performing at a very young age. His first compositions had to be written down for him because he didn’t read music. At age nine he began playing for aristocracies and nobility in their homes.

3. School Years At ages 14 through 16 he was in secondary school at Warsaw Liceum. He was a normal teenage boy in the sense that he joked and laughed with his friends. At 16 his studies at Warsaw Liceum end and he begins studying composition with Józef Elsner.

4. Friends Chopin had many good friendships with his school mates while he was younger. One of his closest friends was a boy named Jan Bia ł ob ł ocki. Growing up, he spent many summers and holidays away from home, with friends.

6. Travelling Chopin travelled a lot after his school years. He travelled to many cites in Poland along with several others in Europe, including Berlin, Vienna and Paris. He spent the rest of his life in Paris because he loved the city so much.

7. Madame Sand While in Paris, he met a French author known as George Sand, was very domineering and six years older than him. Through the rest of his life, they had an on again- off again relationship. She had animosity toward him due to his poor health. Also she suspected he had fallen in love with her daughter. They separated and Frédéric stated to a friend that ending this long relationship had ruined his life.

9. Death Tuberculosis killed Frédéric Chopin on October 17th, 1849. He was just 39 years old. He was buried at the Père Lachaise Cemetery in Paris and Polish soil was sprinkled on his tomb.

10. Sources http://en.chopin.nifc.pl/chopin/life/calendar/year/1810 through http://en.chopin.nifc.pl/chopin/life/calendar/year/1846 http://www.chopinmusic.net/biographies/chopin/ http://www.notablebiographies.com/Ch-Co/Chopin-Fr-d-ric.html http://gluedideas.com/Encyclopedia-Britannica-Volume-5-Part-1- Cast-Iron-Cole/Angelica-Catalani.html

11. Nocturne No. 2 in E Flat, Op. 9 http://www.rhapsody.com/share/Tra.9227924 Chopin wrote this piece while in Vienna in the summer of 1831. It was written during a time of war, which would seem to explain the sadness felt throughout the piece. This piece has been used in many movies, such as 127 Hours with James Franco. Chopin has a version of this piece with additional cadenzas and ornaments for his students to work with.

12. Nocturne No. 2 in E Flat, Op. 9

13. Sources http://en.chopin.nifc.pl/chopin/life/calendar/year/1831 http://www.127hours-soundtrack.com/bio/default.aspx http://www.chopinproject.com/2010/08/24/chopin-project-releases- rare-edition-single-nocturne-op-9-no-2-original-cadenzas/ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L1biX1pLbPk