A new look at the life, times, and music of Polish composer and piano virtuoso Fryderyk Chopin
Fryderyk Chopin (1810-49), although the most beloved of piano composers, remains a contradictory figure, an artist of virtually universal appeal who preferred the company of only a few sympathetic friends and listeners. Chopin and His World reexamines Chopin and his music in light of the cultural narratives formed during his lifetime. These include the romanticism of the ailing spirit, tragically singing its death-song as life ebbs; the Polish expatriate, helpless witness to the martyrdom of his beloved homeland, exiled among friendly but uncomprehending strangers; the sorcerer-bard of dream, memory, and Gothic terror; and the pianist's pianist, shunning the appreciative crowds yet composing and improvising idealized operas, scenes, dances, and narratives in the shadow of virtuoso-idol Franz Liszt.
The international Chopin scholars gathered here demonstrate the ways in which Chopin responded to and was understood to exemplify these narratives, as an artist of his own time and one who transcended it. This collection also offers recently rediscovered artistic representations of his hands (with analysis), and - for the first time in English - an extended tribute to Chopin published in Poland upon his death and contemporary Polish writings contextualizing Chopin's compositional strategies.
The contributors are Jonathan D. Bellman, Leon Botstein, Jean-Jacques Eigeldinger, Halina Goldberg, Jeffrey Kallberg, David Kasunic, Anatole Leikin, Eric McKee, James Parakilas, John Rink, and Sandra P. Rosenblum. Contemporary documents by Karol Kurpi?ski, Adam Mickiewicz, and Jozef Sikorski are included.
Edited by:
Jonathan D. Bellman,
Halina Goldberg
Imprint: Princeton University Pres
Country of Publication: United States
Dimensions:
Height: 235mm,
Width: 156mm,
Weight: 539g
ISBN: 9780691177762
ISBN 10: 0691177767
Series: The Bard Music Festival
Pages: 384
Publication Date: 24 October 2017
Audience:
College/higher education
,
Professional and scholarly
,
Primary
,
Undergraduate
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active
Acknowledgments ixPermissions xIntroduction 1Halina Goldberg and Jonathan D. BellmanI Contemporary Cultural ContextsChopin's Oneiric Soundscapes and the Role of Dreams in Romantic Culture 15Halina GoldbergJozef Sikorski's Recollection of Chopin : The Earliest Essay on Chopin and His Music 45Translated by John ComberIntroduced and Annotated by Halina GoldbergChopin and the Gothic 85Anatole LeikinRevisiting Chopin's Tubercular Song, or, An Opera in the Making 103David KasunicChopin and Jews 123Jeffrey KallbergII Musical and Pianistic ContextsMiddlebrow Becomes Transcendent: The Popular Roots of Chopin's Musical Language 147Jonathan D. BellmanKarol Kurpinski on the Musical Expression Of Polish National Sentiment 171Translated by John ComberIntroduced and Annotated by Halina GoldbergDance and the Music of Chopin: The Polonaise 187Eric MckeeThe Barcarolle and the Barcarolle: Topic and Genre in Chopin 231James ParakilasChopin and Improvisation 249John RinkChopin Among the Pianists in Paris 271Sandra P. RosenblumThe Hand of Chopin: Documents and Commentary 297Jean-Jacques EigeldingerTranslated by Virginia E. WhealtonAfterwordChopin and the Consequences of Exile 315Leon BotsteinIndex 357Notes on Contributors 366
Jonathan D. Bellman is professor of music history and literature at the University of Northern Colorado. Halina Goldberg is professor of musicology at the Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University.
Reviews for Chopin and His World
The enduring appeal of [Chopin's] music is brilliantly articulated.---John Allison, BBC Music Magazine
