Fryderyk Chopin was without doubt virtually unique in the history of romantic music, and indeed in the entire panorama of music: throughout his brief life, the Polish composer wrote only music for the piano. Every single piece in Chopin’s musical legacy is dominated by the piano, the overwhelming majority for piano solo, while a negligible number of pieces unite the piano with the orchestra, the human voice or other instruments. There are two Concertos and four brief pieces for piano and orchestra, fewer than twenty melodies for piano and voice, and five chamber pieces all with piano…