Frédéric Chopin was born in Zelazowa Wola near Warsaw in 1810. Chopin composed his first piece of music when he was eight. This was a polonaise. Chopin visited Vienna twice, but did not have any success there, because of the large amounts of musicians already at Vienna. Almost all of Chopin's music was written for solo piano. Chopin admired this instrument very much. Later on in his life, he moved to Paris. He found happiness here, and this was where he would spend most of his life. He made a living through teaching piano in Paris, and often played in the salons. By 1837 Chopin had met George Sand. He spent much time with her and by 1838 was suffering of tuberculosis. His relationship with her had changed in this time, and eventually they had an arguement that would spit them up for Chopin's remaining years. In 1848, Chopin took a visit to England and Scotland, and his condition deteriorated even more so in this time, and he returned to Paris and died there soon after in 1849.

Chopin wrote many pieces of music. Nearly all of these pieces were for the piano. His main works consist of:

19 Waltzes
27 Études
57 Mazurkas
26 Preludes
4 Scherzi
4 Impromptus
16 Polonaises
4 Ballades
3 Piano Sonatas
4 Rondos
6 Sets of Variations
2 Piano Concertos

There are also more works such as the Bolero, the Barcarolle and the Berceuse e.t.c. You can see listings of these such works in my list of Chopin's Opus Numbers