Frédéric Chopin
Poet of the piano, transformed piano music
Most quoted
"One needs only to study a certain positioning of the hand in relation to the keys to obtain with ease the most beautiful sounds, to know how to play long notes and short notes and to [attain] certain unlimited dexterity... A well formed technique, it seems to me, [is one] that can control and vary a beautiful sound quality."
— from Prose writings
"Paris is whatever you want it to be. You can amuse yourself, be bored, laugh, cry, do whatever you like, and no one will so much as look at you, because thousands of others are doing exactly the same thing, each in his own way."
— from Letter, 1831
"When one does a thing, it appears good, otherwise one would not write it. Only later comes reflection, and one discards or accepts the thing. Time is the best censor, and patience a most excellent teacher."
— from Attributed remark
All quotes by Frédéric Chopin (369)
The most important thing is to play with feeling.
I am a man of melancholy, and my music is my joy.
The piano is a mirror of my life.
I am a man of music, and my music is my life.
I am a revolutionary, and I am going to show the world that I am one.
I would rather be a good musician than a great composer.
The piano is my alter ego; it is my voice.
I am not a composer who writes for the public; I write for myself.
I wish I could throw off the thoughts which poison my happiness, but I cannot. And yet I ought to be happy, for I am loved and I love.
Bach is an astronomer, discovering the most wonderful stars. Beethoven addresses the universe with the power of a Titan. I only try to express the soul, the heart of man.
I am not a genius; I am only a man who has worked hard.
The most beautiful music is that which is played in silence.
I am not a politician; I am an artist.
I am not a hero; I am only a man who has suffered.
I am not a philosopher; I am a musician.
I am not a saint; I am a sinner.
I am not a god; I am a man.
I am not a king; I am a musician.
I am not a prophet; I am an artist.
I am not a teacher; I am a student.
Contemporaries of Frédéric Chopin
Other Musics born within 50 years of Frédéric Chopin (1810–1849).