Frédéric-François Chopin (March 1, 1810 – October 17, 1849) is widely seen as the greatest of Polish composers and among the very greatest of composers for the piano, the instrument for which he wrote almost exclusively. He was born as Fryderyk Franciszek Chopin, adopting the French variant 'Frédéric-François' when he left Poland for Paris at age 20, never to return. His surname is also sometimes spelled Szopen in Polish texts. He was another one of the extremely rare child prodigies, including Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Felix Mendelssohn.
