Publication date:
20 December 2017Length of book:
206 pagesPublisher
Rowman & Littlefield PublishersDimensions:
236x160mm6x9"
ISBN-13: 9781442260863
Fryderyk Chopin’s career is intricately entwined with the piano. Although he made forays into orchestral and chamber work, the vast majority of Chopin’s pieces feature the piano. While his relatively brief life shortened his potential contribution as a composer, the originality, richness, and quality of his work is undeniable. His harmonies were often surprising, the rhythms flexible, and the music dramatic.
In Experiencing Chopin: A Listener’s Companion,Christine Lee Gengaro surveys Chopin’s position as a composer at a time when the piano stood at the center of musical and social life. Throughout, she shines a spotlight on Chopin and his music, which illuminated the Romantic period in which he lived, the social and artistic climate that surrounded him, and the importance of the individual artist at a time of political foment. Gengaro considers the different genres among Chopin’s works, linking each to the historical, social, and biographical issues that shaped them.
In Experiencing Chopin: A Listener’s Companion,Christine Lee Gengaro surveys Chopin’s position as a composer at a time when the piano stood at the center of musical and social life. Throughout, she shines a spotlight on Chopin and his music, which illuminated the Romantic period in which he lived, the social and artistic climate that surrounded him, and the importance of the individual artist at a time of political foment. Gengaro considers the different genres among Chopin’s works, linking each to the historical, social, and biographical issues that shaped them.
Experiencing Chopin is one of the many volumes in "The Listener’s Companion” series, edited by Gregg Akkerman. The present volume is meant to guide nonspecialists in a meaningful foray into the music of Frédéric Chopin. Gengaro (Los Angeles City College), a historical musicologist, writes clearly and with considerable detail about Chopin’s life, loves, family, and piano compositions along with the things and people who influenced him. Very readable and engaging, the story of Chopin’s life and career unfolds in a gentle, flowing manner and gives even specialists a good refresher on this topic. Starting with an annotated time line, Gengaro intersperses discussion of specific piano works with details about Chopin’s life and work, including his teaching, his pianos, his friends, his concertizing, and his ill health. This is not a directed listening experience book with printed musical snippets and an exhaustive discography but rather a guide that suggests music to listen to and to experience. Gengaro draws references from the past and gives considerable space to more current examples of Chopin’s influence in films and video games.
Summing Up: Recommended. Lower- and upper-division undergraduates; general readers.
Summing Up: Recommended. Lower- and upper-division undergraduates; general readers.