Chopin and Romantic Music (Masters of Music)

Rating:
Summary: An excellent introduction to Chopin and the Romantics
Review: The Barron's "Masters of Music" series is aimed at young adult readers and provides an introduction to the accomplishments of the world's greatest composers (e.g., Bach, Beethoven, Mozart) and particular musical forms (e.g., Opera, Jazz). The goal is to explore the historical background and provide insights into how the music was composed and performed. Frederic Chopin, the great composer born in Warsaw, Poland in 1810, ended up living in Paris, which was then Europe's most important center for the new wave of Romantic artists, writers, and musicians. Chopin composed some of the most important piano music of the Romantic Movement, including his Nocturnes, Polonaises, Ballades, and Mazurkas. However, Chopin was afflicted with tuberculosis, spent most of his adult life in poor health, and died before he turned 40.

In "Masters of Music: Chopin and Romantic Music," Carlo Cavalletti explores the development of Romanticism and focuses on Chopin as a central figure in the movement in terms of music. However, book also looks at other composers who were Chopin's predecessors, contemporaries, and followers such as Franz Schubert, Hector Berlioz, Felix Mendelssohn, Robert Schumann, Franz Liszt, Richard Wagner, Johannes Brahms, and others. Every facing page is a chapter on Chopin's musical art and life, other great musicians of the Romantic era, or the great events of the musical culture of their times. The text and the large illustration deal with the main subject when additional text (in italics) recounts in chronological order the life of Chopin. Photos, reproductions of prints of the times, and portraits complement the information. I keep thinking that the artwork has a sort of "industrial" quality to it, but the overall visual affect has a certain effectiveness.

One of my chief complaints with juvenile books about great composes and their music is that often the music is shortchanged. Obviously unless you include a CD with the book (which a few do), there are inherent limitations to getting your music appreciation from a book. However, in the back of this volume Cavalletti provides a detailed look at Romantic music that in terms of Music for Piano, Chamber Music, "Lieder" and Vocal Melodies, Symphonies, Concerts, Overtures and Symphonic Poems, Other Compositions for Orchestra, and the Opera. In two pages Cavalletti offers a lot of suggestions for listening, from the "Ballades" of Chopin to the operas of Verdi.

Rating:
Summary: An excellent introduction to Chopin and the Romantics
Review: The Barron's "Masters of Music" series is aimed at young adult readers and provides an introduction to the accomplishments of the world's greatest composers (e.g., Bach, Beethoven, Mozart) and particular musical forms (e.g., Opera, Jazz). The goal is to explore the historical background and provide insights into how the music was composed and performed. Frederic Chopin, the great composer born in Warsaw, Poland in 1810, ended up living in Paris, which was then Europe's most important center for the new wave of Romantic artists, writers, and musicians. Chopin composed some of the most important piano music of the Romantic Movement, including his Nocturnes, Polonaises, Ballades, and Mazurkas. However, Chopin was afflicted with tuberculosis, spent most of his adult life in poor health, and died before he turned 40.

In "Masters of Music: Chopin and Romantic Music," Carlo Cavalletti explores the development of Romanticism and focuses on Chopin as a central figure in the movement in terms of music. However, book also looks at other composers who were Chopin's predecessors, contemporaries, and followers such as Franz Schubert, Hector Berlioz, Felix Mendelssohn, Robert Schumann, Franz Liszt, Richard Wagner, Johannes Brahms, and others. Every facing page is a chapter on Chopin's musical art and life, other great musicians of the Romantic era, or the great events of the musical culture of their times. The text and the large illustration deal with the main subject when additional text (in italics) recounts in chronological order the life of Chopin. Photos, reproductions of prints of the times, and portraits complement the information. I keep thinking that the artwork has a sort of "industrial" quality to it, but the overall visual affect has a certain effectiveness.

One of my chief complaints with juvenile books about great composes and their music is that often the music is shortchanged. Obviously unless you include a CD with the book (which a few do), there are inherent limitations to getting your music appreciation from a book. However, in the back of this volume Cavalletti provides a detailed look at Romantic music that in terms of Music for Piano, Chamber Music, "Lieder" and Vocal Melodies, Symphonies, Concerts, Overtures and Symphonic Poems, Other Compositions for Orchestra, and the Opera. In two pages Cavalletti offers a lot of suggestions for listening, from the "Ballades" of Chopin to the operas of Verdi.