Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

This new book in the Master Musicians series interweaves biographical and musical commentary to produce a well-rounded portrait of Chopin the man and the musician. Avoiding complex technical language, Jim Samson addresses such questions as pedagogy, musical influences, and pianistic idiom. He examines the composer's mature musical style, considers his unique approach to the genres of nineteenth-century piano music, and investigates the nature of his compositional process as revealed through manuscripts and early printed scores. In reading the book we begin to understand why this frail and fastidious musician from Warsaw, whose music is so immensely refined and innovatory, has captured the imagination of generations of music lovers the world over.

Table of contents provided by Syndetics

• Preface
• 1 In his homeland
• 2 `A virtuoso in his own right' - Pedagogy and other influences
• 3 New frontiers
• 4 `A rebirth of pianistic art' - Chopin's piano writing
• 5 The best society
• 6 `A new world for myself' - issues in musical style
• 7 Years of refuge
• 8 `The perfection of art...' - Chopin's genres
• 9 Twilight
• 10 `Simplicity itself' - Compositional process: sketches, fair copies, editions
• 11 Images of Chopin
• Appendices
• A Calendar
• B List of Works
• C Personalia
• D Select bibliography
• Index

Reviews provided by Syndetics

CHOICE Review

Not a book for the browser, Samson's latest enterprise in Chopin scholarship--in which biographical chapters alternate with discussions of music (many analyses can be absorbed only with scores in hand)--amply rewards the thoughtful reader. Observing that Chopin "tended to think in sounds rather more than in concepts," Samson (Bristol Univ., UK) discusses the influence of the postclassical repertory on Chopin during his early Warsaw years and suggests a possible source for Chopin's predilection for mirror response in sonata-form works. The author capsulizes perhaps too succinctly some of the findings included among the several volumes of the exemplary Chopin Studies (Chopin Studies 2, ed. by John Rink, CH, Oct'95), but he does direct the reader to pertinent articles in the Chopin literature. (The index is by surname and first initial, which may prove a minor annoyance for the reader who cannot recall Chopin's parents and siblings by their initials: E, I, J, L, and M). Those new to the Chopin literature may wish to begin with Jeremy Siepmann's Chopin: The Reluctant Romantic (CH, Apr'96), written in a somewhat more flowing style, then turn to segments of Jeffrey Kallberg's Chopin at the Boundaries (CH, Nov'96), and follow with the present title and volumes of Chopin Studies. Upper-division undergraduates through professionals. J. Behrens; University of Western Ontario

Author notes provided by Syndetics

Formerly Professor of Musicology at Exeter University, Jim Samson has been Professor of Music at Bristol University since 1994. He has published extensively on Chopin and is regarded internationally as a leading authority on the composer.