Frederick Chopin, 1849 [1152 × 1536 ], COLORIZED

Frederick Chopin in 1849

He hated performing in big concerts. Most of his life he preferred small salons with like 10–20 people. Basically anti-fame energy.

He was a child prodigy , performing and composing at age 7. People were already calling him the “next Mozart.”

Chopin almost never wrote for anything except piano. While others went big (symphonies, operas), he went all-in on one instrument and mastered it.

He had a long, messy relationship with writer George Sand (who dressed like a man, smoked cigars, and was way ahead of her time). Their breakup wrecked him emotionally.

He was obsessed with perfection. He would revise pieces endlessly and even teach students the same piece in completely different ways depending on the person.

He had extremely fragile health (likely tuberculosis). He spent a lot of time indoors, which partly explains the introspective, “internal” feeling of his music.

His heart is literally buried in Poland, even though he died in Paris. His sister smuggled it back in a jar of alcohol.

He hated loud playing. He preferred subtlety and nuance

He charged very high prices for lessons, making him one of the best-paid piano teachers of his time.

His music is still considered some of the hardest to play properly, mainly because of control and expression.

[Photo edited and colorized by me]