FREDERIC CHOPIN. ANGIELSKA WERSJA

A world-renowned composer, great pianist, and a romantic marked by the stigma of disease – this is Chopin as we know him. Here the author, an eminent critic and theorist of music, Bogusław Kaczyński, presents Chopin in a different light. The unique characteristics of his style spin a warm and colourful tale of Chopin's family life, his creative path and the authority figures that played an important role in the life of the composer. It shows both Chopin in the company of his closest friends and that of other great artists of the era; in the comfort of his home and in the salons of the European cultural elite. He sketches the portrait of a sensitive man with alternating moods, experiencing stormy passions, and yet completely devoted to his creative work and teaching. The author's relaxed tale, enriched with extensive excerpts from Chopin's correspondences and profiles of contemporary artists, allow us to see the world through his eyes, get closer to the times in which he lived, and to understand the dilemmas of an immigrant torn between a love for their homeland and their own artistic vocation. The book contains over 400 illustrations, reproductions of musical works and paintings, reprints of letters and press clippings. Particular attention should be given to the unique copies of documents in the book. • Caricatures and drawings by Chopin demonstrating artistic talent as well as a tendency for satire. • Witty and often ironic letters, showing a distant and critical perception of reality. • Manuscripts of works bearing notes, crossing out and several revisions, showing the intricacies of the creative work. • Historical documents which shed new light on controversial facts and biographies of the composer. • Tickets from travels, posters, and postcards bring us closer to cultural atmosphere of the era.