Fryderyk Chopin was born in 1810 in Zelazowa Wola - a village near Warsaw. Soon after his birth his parents (Mikolaj Chopin and Justyna Krzyzanowska) moved to Warsaw, where his father got an employment as a teacher of French. Chopin's talent appeared very early, as he composed his first Polonaises at 7. In 1826 Chopin started his education at School of Music in Warsaw and during his studies wrote his first widely published masterpiecess: C-moll Sonata, Rondo a la Krakowiak and Trio g-moll on violins, cello and piano. After finishing his studies in 1829, Chopin went to Vienna to perform at Kartnerthortheater, where he achieved a spectacular success not only among the public, but also among the critics. After returning to Warsaw, Chopin started composing his new arts: etudes, waltzes, nocturnes, mazurkas and various songs. Nevertheless, he decided to go back to Vienna and did it right after his farewell concert. Some time later a November's Uprising burst up in Poland - Chopin felt the need to join up the army but his best friend, Tytus Woyciechowski who did it himself, persuaded him that he should stay in Vienna.

Chopin couldn't think about great concerts anymore because of the atmosphere in his homeland, but still kept composing. He decided to go to Paris, but during his journey he got a message about the uprising's defeat, what weakened him very badly. In Paris Chopin met many young musicians like List, Hiller and Berlioz. He was giving dozens of concerts and became a famous Parisian musician. His masterpieces were published in Paris, Lipsk and London, he was also a popular teacher of Polish and French aristocracy. Soon Chopin started to be regarded as one of the best talents among such fames like Kalkbrenner, List or Herz. However, he was giving his concerts very rarely and unwillingly.

When Chopin went to Paris, he decided to stay there and not to come back to Poland (as it was taken over by Russian government). However, he was yearning to his family and friends who he could only meet abroad.

After some time Chopin met a Polish family, old friends of his father and proposed to their 17-year old daughter Maria. After a year of 'testing' Chopin, her parents decided not to let him marry Maria, because of his weak health.

His real love was George Sand - French writer, divorced mother of two children, as he found warmth, calm and love beside her. The lovers started to travel around the world (Majorca, France), which weakened his health even more. He also wrote his compositions while traveling: 24 prelude's cycle, Polonaise c-moll and Scherzo cis-moll. Unfortunately Sand's son didn't want to stay in good relationships with Chopin and that made all the 'family' quarreled almost all the time. He went then to Scotland to his student, miss Stirling.

In 1848 Chopin performed his last concert in London. Few days ago he returned to Paris to teach, but his illness didn't let him work.

Fryderyk Chopin died in 1849 from tuberculosis. He was buried at Pere-Lachaise cemetery in Paris and his heart was brought to Warsaw and put into the column of Saint Cross church at Krakowskie Przedmiescie Street.

Ignacy Jan Paderewski was born in 1860 in Warsaw, where he was studying piano at Warsaw Music Institute (1872-1878). In 1876 Paderewski went to his first journey to Russia and northern Poland, where he played several concerts. Two years later he started working as a teacher at Warsaw Music Institute. At the same time he was traveling around Europe, giving concerts and composing new masterpieces. Between 1881 and 1884 Paderewski continued his studies as a composer in Berlin and then, as a pianist, in Vienna.

The following years brought a worldwide fame to Paderewski, as he went to the tournee to the USA, where he decided to stay in 1913. He is regarded as one of the most remarkable pianists all over the world.

The compositions of Ignacy Jan Paderewski are styled to neoromantic, as he enjoyed the classical forms like sonatas, variations, etc. He was also referring to Polish folk melodies, what is easy to hear e.g. in Menuet G-dur for the piano. Hist most remarkable masterpieces are: Polish Fantasy for the piano and the orchestra, Symphony h-moll, Opera Manru, Menuet G-dur, piano concert a-moll and many others.

Paderewski was not only a great Polish pianist and composer, but also a remarkable politician, Minister of Foreign Affairs and the Prime Minister of Poland.

Ignacy Jan Paderewski died in 1941 in the USA. After almost 50 years his ashes were brought to Poland.

Stanislaw Moniuszko was born in 1819 in Ubiel, near Minsk. He owed the fondness to music to his mother, who's been the first who taught him to play. Since 1827 he studied in Warsaw, where his teacher was A. Freyer. After his return to Minsk, he was learning at D.Stefanowicz. In 1837 he went to Berlin to continue his studies at Singakademie at C. Rugenhagen. Two years later Moniuszko composed his first masterpieces: the String Quartet, the Mess and the music for 'A Night in Apeniny' of Aleksander Fredro. Later his first songs to Adam Mickiewicz lyrics were printed. The next years brought to Moniuszko a lot of work, but also its effects. He performed 'Halka' - his most popular opera for the first time and widened it to four acts when he heard in 1857 that the Warsaw's opera was planning to perform it. The new 'Halka' gained a great success and this fact encouraged him to keep composing. In 1862 Moniuszko wrote 34 songs in Paris, entitled as 'Echo de Pologne', which were great manifestation of his patriotism (it all happened just before the January Uprising in Poland). His next great masterpiece, 'The Haunted Manor' was forbidden to act, because of its allusion to the Polish political situation.

Moniuszko died in 1872 in Warsaw. He is regarded as the second composer, right after Chopin, whose compositions represent the national Polish music style.

Wojciech Kilar, one of the greatest Polish contemporary composers, was born in 1932 in Lwow, which used to belong to Poland but after the World War II remained in Ukraine. He studied piano at the State Higher School of Music in Katowice. After the graduation Kilar went to Paris as he had been awarded a French Government Grant. The Grench grant became a great debut of Kilar's worldwide fame - he received many international prizes for his compositions, e.g. Lili Boulanger Memorial Fund Award of Boston (1960), Polish Composers' Union Prize (1975), State Award Grade I (1980),, A.S.C.A.P Award for the music from 'Dracula' of Coppola (1992) and many others.