Frédéric François Chopin (1810-1849), a Polish-French composer and pianist, was one of the creators of the typically romantic character piece. All of his works include the piano.

The imaginative schemes of Frédéric Chopin for his piano pieces include the following features: concentration on one motive in preludes and études; elaboration of dance forms in mazurkas, waltzes, polonaises, the Bolero, and the Tarantella; improvisational effects from piano figurations in the nocturnes; and episodic, vigorous writing in the larger works such as the scherzos, ballades, impromptus, and the Fantasy. Thus, in an era when the piano was becoming the preeminent solo instrument in both the home and the concert hall, Chopin devised new figurations, delicate traceries, and elaborate quasivocal fioriture and fashioned them for use at the keyboard. He wrote no symphonies, no operas, no string quartets, and only...