Product Description

Born in Poland in 1810, Chopin emigrated to Vienna at age eighteenand then to Paris, where from 1831 to 1849 he would spend almost half of his brief and tumultuous life. In Paris his extraordinary powers would reach their height and he would shine among the immensely talented writers, painters, and musicians who were working there and defining their era. Chopins other acquaintances ranged from Rothschild to Marxand it was here that he began his long and stormy relationship with the novelist George Sand. In Chopin in Parisa New York Times Notable BookTad Szulc brings to life this complex, contradictory genius, and re-creates an unsurpassed epoch of European history, culture, and music.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #202040 in Books
• Published on: 1999-12-10
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 452 pages

Customer Reviews

Lovely Account of Great Composer
Prior to reading this book I had no knowledge of this great composer or his music. If it were not for the previous good reviews of this book I would not have bothered buying a copy. I am so glad that I did, I just fell in love with this story, it was a captivating account! During the time I read this book I purchased about five CD's of Chopin's music. This is more a book of the man and his time in Paris than an in-depth account of his music, his style and his compositions. Regardless of that, you still come away after reading the book with a deeper understanding of Chopin's music and a great feeling towards the sound of his Nocturnes, Polonaises and Etudes. The author also provides a fascinating look at the society that surrounded Chopin while in Paris, so many great names come alive during this story that you come away amazed with the amount of talent that was moving in the same society and producing great books, music, art and events. This is a great story, the narrative moved you along with Chopin, during his periods of depression and illness to his highs and accounts of his compositions. My favourite is the story of Prelude No. 15 in D flat major, Opus 28, No.15 "Raindrop". I really don't think that anyone who has a love for music or Chopin would be disappointed in this book.

Best Chopin bio I've read
Paris in the 1830s and 40s was a fascinating time for the arts. It was the Vienna of the nineteenth century; the place to be. The political and social climate was just right for the rise of Romanticism, and so Paris became a sort of Mecca for artists of all types. Among the names in Paris at the time were people like Chopin, Liszt, Berlioz, Delacroix, Dumas, Hugo, Balzac, and others. We can see how they influenced each other and what they thought of each other and how the interactions between so many great artists affected their respective arts and contributed to the general convergence between the arts at the time.

Tad Szulc's book, I thought, offers a near-perfect balance between a focus on Chopin (as both man and musician) and a focus on the time and place in which he lived. Obviously, the two are very closely related and each help in understanding the other. One of the many reasons I regard this book so highly is that it helped me *understand* the subject matter -- both Chopin and 19th c. Paris -- rather than just being able to reel off biographical or historical facts. It's written in such a way that no prior knowledge of either is necessary (although a knowledge of Chopin's music may be helpful), but it also gives enough detail to keep someone for whom it's more familiar ground satisfied, and you really feel like you've got to know Chopin by the end of it.

Szulc doesn't shy away from Chopin's bad points -- he lets us see every one of the personality facets (and Chopin had many) that make him such a fascinating man. His thoughts about Chopin's personality are very insightful. Chopin, from all that I've read, isn't an easy person to understand, but Szulc makes observations that shine that little bit more light on what made him tick. There's also a fairly extensive chapter on George Sand's life before she met Chopin. A lot of biographers introduce her only at the point where she enters Chopin's life, as a cross-dressing, cigar-smoking feminist author with a maternal streak a mile wide, but the look at her early life that Szulc provides offers us a much deeper insight into what she was really like and why she was the way she was. She's another fascinating figure; despite the fact that Chopin and Sand were all but polar opposites, it's easy to see what the attraction between them was.

All in all, I can't recommend this book too highly. It's ideal for both interested non-musicians and music students (like me), because it offers so much information in such an easy-to-read manner that you can read it once and enjoy it or, as I did, keep dipping back into it for reference. It doesn't go into much detail about the works themselves, but that's not what this book is all about. It's a great book and well worth the money!

A must-have for any Chopin fan!
Bought this book as a birthday present for a Chopin lover. Naturally, she absolutely loved it, learning a lot more about the classic composer. This is well-written and highly-informative.