The Chopin Companion: Profiles of the Man and the Musician

Rating:
Summary: if you play Chopin then this book is a must
Review: The most concise and definitive work of this type for the Chopin pianist. Each chapter, written by a different author, is a gem, and as a whole the book describes nearly all of Chopin's works in detail. It is very logically organized and musically delighful! Examples abound, references both to and from other composers works are enlightening and with very few exceptions, the authors are quite objective in their discussions of Chopin's music. Whenever I decide to record or play a Chopin piece, I still first read the commentary in this book which relates to the piece. The book contains several databases of Chopin's works, one chronological and one by type of piece. The chapter covering Chopin's songs is worth the price of the entire book. If you play Chopin, then this book is required reading. If you do not play Chopin then you will after reading the book. And you can't have my copy, which I purchased in 1973 and which I still use every day.

gerry