Frédéric François Chopin (1810 – 1849) was a Polish pianist and composer of the Romantic era. He is widely regarded as one of the most famous, influential and prolific composers for the piano.

All of Chopin's extant work includes the piano in some role (predominantly as a solo instrument), and his compositions are widely considered to be among the pinnacles of the piano's repertoire. Although his music is among the most technically demanding for the instrument, Chopin's style emphasizes poetry, nuance, and expressive depth rather than mere technical display. He perfected some musical forms, such as the ballade,[3] but his most significant innovations were within existing structures such as the piano sonata, waltz, nocturne, étude, and prelude. His works are often cited as being among the mainstays of Romanticism in 19th-century classical music. Additionally, Chopin was the first Western Classical composer to imbue Slavic elements into his music; to this day his mazurkas and polonaises are the cornerstone of Polish Nationalistic classical music.

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