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Entity explores whether Chopin feminine in 19th century society.

Mention Frederic Chopin’s name to any pianist and they’ll tell you how his music was what got them interested into playing the piano. His piano pieces are huge in musical circles and performers around the world have been influenced by this Polish hero. Try approaching Chopin with someone else, however, and people might have the wrong idea about him and his music.

When people listen to Chopin’s music, it’s usually very easy to describe it with words like “delicate” or “ornamental”. It’s easy to say that, somehow, every piece of his musical puzzles fall together with a grace and elegance that rivals any other piece of music.

Today, Chopin’s music is seen as almost benign or merely pretty. They may even see Chopin himself as some benign, effeminate man, especially since he composed Romantic music. The style of many of his pieces also coincided with the Impressionist art movement in France at the time. Impressionism was the artistic ideal of rendering a subject in blurred and ephemeral quality. The art as a whole is delicate, the image barely held in place by the soft cacophony of brush strokes and imagination.

Even during his time, Chopin was unique in his dealings. He moved from his homeland in Poland throughout Europe during the Polish struggle with Russian forces in the mid 1800s. He eventually settled in Paris where his balanced and delicately ornamental compositions made him a salon and private party favorite. The fact that he didn’t constantly put himself out into the masses to perform large concerts was odd for the time. Concerts were usually how musicians made money. Even during the few concerts Chopin did perform during his lifetime (only around 30) he was criticized for his sound not being fit for a large public audience.

But Chopin set trends during his time that inspired other composers to push their creative boundaries. He helped popularize a more intimate trend of music playing and enjoyment. We can still see these kinds of trends in musical interest today since many of Chopin’s many etudes are perfect pieces on which to start playing the piano. They’re full of techniques that will push your fingers to becoming more dexterous on the keyboard while still providing the beautiful melodies needed to entertain your fledgling audiences.

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