Fryderyk Chopin: A Life and Times

Abstract

First edition. "Alan Walker's monumental Fryderyk Chopin: A Life and Times is the most comprehensive biography of the great Polish composer to appear in English in more than a century. Based on ten years of research and a vast cache of primary sources located in archives in Warsaw, Paris, London, New York, and Washington, D.C., it is a corrective work intended to dispel the many myths and legends that continue to surround Chopin, and an intimate look into a dramatic life. Of particular focus are Chopin's childhood and youth in Poland, which are brought into line with the latest scholarly findings; his oftentimes troubled romantic life with George Sand, with whom he lived for nine years; and his untimely death at age thirty-nine, which inspired three thousand people to flock to the Madeleine Church in Paris for his funeral. Thorough and engaging, and written in highly readable prose, Fryderyk Chopin wears its scholarship lightly: this is a book suited as much for the professional pianist as it is for the casual music lover. Just as he did in his definitive biography of Franz Liszt, Walker illuminated his subject with unprecedented clarity. This magisterial work brings to life one of the nineteenth century's most confounding, beloved, and legendary artists"--Dust jacket flap. In this comprehensive look at the life and work of Fryderyk Chopin, Walker dispels the many myths and legends that continue to surround him. Of particular focus are Chopin's childhood and youth in Poland, which are brought into line with the latest scholarly findings; his oftentimes troubled romantic life with George Sand, with whom he lived for nine years; and his untimely death at age thirty-nine. -- adapted from jacket Prologue -- Chopin's family background -- Childhood and youth in Warsaw, 1810-1824 -- Exploring Poland : holidays in Szafarnia, 1824-1825 -- The Decembrist revolt, 1825-1826 -- At the Warsaw High School for Music, 1826-1828 -- First trips abroad : Berlin and Vienna, 1828-1829 -- Konstancja Gładkowska : the distant beloved, 1829-1830 -- The Warsaw Uprising, 1830-1831 -- An exile in Paris, 1831-1833 -- Chopin and the keyboard : the Raphael of the piano -- Maria Wodzińska : "My misfortune," 1834-1837 -- An English interlude, July 1837 -- Buffets and rewards, 1833-1838 -- Enter George Sand, 1836-1838 -- A winter in Majorca, 1838-1839 -- At Nohant, 1839 -- Growing fame, 1839-1843 -- The death of Mikołaj Chopin, 1844 -- A harvest of sorrows, 1845-1847 -- Deepening shadows, 1847-1848 -- Twilight in Britain, 1848 -- The death of Chopin, 1849 -- Epilogue -- Appendices. Liszt's questionnaire concerning his Life of Chopin ; General catalogue of Chopin's works.