Composer. Born in Dublin, he showed early musical talent and at age 11 he was brought to London to study with Muzio Clementi. His career as a composer-pianist was launched with the 1799 premiere of his Piano Concerto No. 1, his first of seven works in that genre. During an 1802 concert tour of Russia he found many patrons among the nobility and decided to settle there, first in St. Petersburg and then in Moscow. He died at 54 of cancer, complicated by alcoholism. Field's music is not often performed today but he is historically important as the inventor of the nocturne, a short, free-form piano piece designed purely to express a mood. He had a great influence on early Romantic composers, especially Chopin, who wrote 21 nocturnes.
Composer. Born in Dublin, he showed early musical talent and at age 11 he was brought to London to study with Muzio Clementi. His career as a composer-pianist was launched with the 1799 premiere of his Piano Concerto No. 1, his first of seven works in that genre. During an 1802 concert tour of Russia he found many patrons among the nobility and decided to settle there, first in St. Petersburg and then in Moscow. He died at 54 of cancer, complicated by alcoholism. Field's music is not often performed today but he is historically important as the inventor of the nocturne, a short, free-form piano piece designed purely to express a mood. He had a great influence on early Romantic composers, especially Chopin, who wrote 21 nocturnes.
Bio by: Bobb Edwards
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