“At least I have a pair of perfect legs!”, he quoted, inspite of disability, he still managed to pursue his dream to perform in a live audience and in the million tv sets of people all over China.   Liu Wei played a piano using his toes, aside from that he could write and do other household chores, he could even swam across pools just by paddling his legs.  He really is an inspirational person.

The winning piece he played on the contest was James Blunt’s “You’re Beautiful” and he sang it in English, he bravely and said that “For people like me, there was only two options. One was to abandon all dreams, which would lead to a quick, hopeless death.  The other was to struggle without arms to live an outstanding life”.

Even though he has disabilities, he never let it gets in the way and managed to live just like normal people.

Frederic Francois Chopin was born on March 1, 1810 in the Zelazowa Wola village 20 miles west of Warsaw. As a child Chopin was raised by a polish mother and a French father. The father taught French for the local high school. Chopin was considered a prodigy of the piano. By the young age of eight years old Chopin had already preformed many works for the solo piano some even his own compositions.

In 1823 Chopin had to put his flourishing musical genius on hold for his first formal education at the high school where his father taught and at the Academy of Fine Arts were young Chopin would be very studious for the next 7 years until he moves back to Warsaw in 1830. Chopin mostly studied with the other students, but snuck off in his free time to play the school piano which was badly out of tune. When he finished school in 1831 he decided to settle in part of France known today as Paris. This is where he stayed for most of his life, excluding the tours and concerts that he rarely played. He created many compositions for the solo piano here.

Chopin was well renounced and a highly esteemed pianist, he invented new musical forms like ballades, sonatas, waltz, nocturnes, etudes, impromptus, and preludes. Unlike other pianists Chopin was inspired easily. He had a romantic and harmonious touch on the pieces he composed. As well as brought great beauty and almost rearranging the way you play the piano today. His compositions gave gentle touch to the piano, yet forced you to emphasize the power of the piece with accents on the notes. Mostly known for being very smooth flowing and melodious. He created his pieces from his surroundings or experiences in his life. While also using the full use of the piano in all of his compositions.

Chopin created over 200 compositions for the solo piano. The etudes he created were by far his most well known work. These etudes helped students learn and develop skills necessary to be a serious pianist in the world of music. The name etude comes form the Latin language and translates to “study”. Although etudes were a major contribution to his fame Chopin also created 3 sonatas, 4 ballads, 4 large scale scherzos, 27 etudes, 18 waltzes, and several well known rondos. His idea of a good composition lied around the though of what would it contribute to the learner.

Although Chopin came off as a very reclusive and calm person, when it came to the piano he was very concentrated. He and a very famous pianist named Franz Liszt were very competitive with each other. Liszt was Hungarian and unlike Chopin he played many public concerts and became very wealthy. Although Liszt was slightly better at playing the piano than Chopin, Liszt was very envious of Chopin’s genus when it came to creating master pieces out of pure scenery. How ever believe it or not Chopin and Liszt were very close friends. As one of Chopin’s famous quotes states “Liszt is envious of my etudes, but I am envious of how he plays them”.

Chopin did not have many close friends. How ever Chopin shared a very close friendship with some of the gifted students that he taught. And although never meeting Mozart or Beethoven, Chopin learned many of their pieces before composing his own master pieces. In fact even some of Liszt’s pieces were even learned by Chopin as well as vice versa.

On the date of 1837 Chopin was confronted by an over adoring fan from France named Aurore Dudevant. She was a very popular French romantic writer. She had many love affairs and entranced with the idea of Chopin, and became determined to pursue Chopin until a relationship formed. She even went as far as mailing a letter to a very powerful politic/friend and asking her for advice on whether to continue with her current love affair or to end the relationship and try to get a relationship started with Chopin. Eventually Chopin took serious consideration in the idea of Aurore. Although never married, Chopin and Aurore were together for ten years until Chopin died in his bed with Aurore at his bed side.

Chopin was ill. He had been diagnosed with a disease called pulmonary tuberculosis. It is a disease that attacks the lungs and can even destroy the central nervous system. Through out his life Chopin had been suffering from pulmonary tuberculosis, but it was at this point in his life that the disease would threaten his life. Although being ill Chopin still composed some very moving pieces and played occasionally at a solon.

In 1848 Chopin gave his last concert in Paris, and visited England and Scotland with an admiring student named Jane Stirling. After the trip had ended he became severely ill with his reoccurring disease tuberculosis. This made him unable to teach or perform his newest compositions. By October 17, 1849 the great pianist that inspired and created was dead.

The funeral was held on October 30, 1849 at the Church of the Madeleine. Chopin had requested that Mozart’s Requiem be sung at his funeral. Over three thousand people came to the funeral to show respect and give their grievances. When Chopin was buried the Funeral March from Sonata Op. 35 was played as they lowered the Chopin’s body in to the ground.

Today there are many monuments to honor Chopin including the fifteen foot statue in his home town Warsaw. Which has Chopin sitting down and looking up to the skies. His works are very well known around the world and still played today. The most popular of Chopin’s works would be the revolutionary etude and the minute waltz. Both of these pieces are known for their beautiful melody and harmonic style.

Chopin was a great pianist and easily considered a master of compositions from his enchanting etudes to his wonderful waltzes. He was 39 years old and composed over 200 master pieces which lead to new ideas in the world of music. Chopin was by far one of the greatest composers of his time and for that his greatness.