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Title: Chopin (Introducing Composers) by Roland Vernon, Ian Andrew ISBN: 1841384712 Publisher: Chrysalis Books Pub. Date: 15 November, 2002 Format: Hardcover

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Average Customer Rating: 4

Rating: 4
Summary: A solid juvenile biography of Frederic Chopin
Comment: "Introducing Chopin" tells the story of Frederic Chopin, the outstanding pianist and brilliant composer of music for the piano who was born in 19th-century Poland but enjoyed his greatest success in Paris. Chopin's wrote pieces for the pianoforte that were sensitive, tender, amorous, lyrical and melancholy by turn, making him the main representation of the ideal of the "poet in music." In this juvenile biography Roland Vernon not only provides biographical details but also emphasizes how Chopin's music was full of strong feeling, representative of the age of the Romantics. Within that context it seems rather ironic that he should fall victim to an incurable illness.

This series looks at the influences and historical events that shaped the lives of the great composers from Bach and Beethoven to Gershwin and Stravinsky. This means that there is an emphasis on how such composers were shaped by the times in which they lived. Vernon traces how Chopin's fame grew as he moved westward from Poland, first to Vienna, then to Paris, and finally to London. These books are illustrated in full color, making use of contemporary works of art to such an extent that often the pictures threaten to overwhelm the text. The back of the volume contains a Time Chart along with a Glossary of both musical terms and other famous musicians.

Whenever young readers pick up a biography of a famous classical musician like "Introducing Chopin," I always advise that they read the book while listening to a CD of the composer's music; there are always several "greatest hits" like efforts profiling such composers. Ideally you want such books to list particular musical pieces that you can look for when you are choosing a CD or making a point of listening to particular tracks. However, this particular volume only mentions a few specific works by Chopin, which I consider something of a shortcoming.