His family hired professional musician Wojciech Zywny for lessons, and soon surpassing his teacher in both technique and imagination. Seeking to expand his horizons, he left Poland for Vienna in November 1830, and after a few months headed for Paris. Chopin's art reached a new high in the late 1830s because of his relationship with the composer/pianist Aurore Dudevant who in 1832 had taken to calling herself, George Sand. Creating some of his greatest works as a result of the emotional contentment felt in the early days of their nine-year romance. The best of these works — the B minor Sonata, the Op. 55 Nocturnes and the Op. 56 Mazurkas characterized by remarkable refinement and complexity, along with a newly sense of ambivalence. On October 17th, 1849, at age 39 he died of tuberculosis. Chopin was the first composer to devote himself uniquely to the piano every one of his works written for a solo instrument or in combination with other instruments. The majority of his solo pieces are in shorter forms and improvisatory by nature. These include 20 nocturnes, 25 preludes, 17 waltzes, 15 polonaises, 58 mazurkas and 27
His family hired professional musician Wojciech Zywny for lessons, and soon surpassing his teacher in both technique and imagination. Seeking to expand his horizons, he left Poland for Vienna in November 1830, and after a few months headed for Paris. Chopin's art reached a new high in the late 1830s because of his relationship with the composer/pianist Aurore Dudevant who in 1832 had taken to calling herself, George Sand. Creating some of his greatest works as a result of the emotional contentment felt in the early days of their nine-year romance. The best of these works — the B minor Sonata, the Op. 55 Nocturnes and the Op. 56 Mazurkas characterized by remarkable refinement and complexity, along with a newly sense of ambivalence. On October 17th, 1849, at age 39 he died of tuberculosis. Chopin was the first composer to devote himself uniquely to the piano every one of his works written for a solo instrument or in combination with other instruments. The majority of his solo pieces are in shorter forms and improvisatory by nature. These include 20 nocturnes, 25 preludes, 17 waltzes, 15 polonaises, 58 mazurkas and 27