Chopin was born in Warsaw in 1810, but later moved to Paris. He stayed in Paris for the rest of his (short) life. Chopin's music varies wildly, from the rather quaint mazurkas to the more grand sonatas and ballades. Much of his music was influenced by Bach and Mozart, and his style, whilst being colourful and complex, is essentially based in classical in construction.
Chopin's less well-known piano pieces represent a harsher side to the man and one that reflects the influences at times of Beethoven. His pieces range in simplicity vastly from very a few seemingly naive preludes to densely textured sonatas.