Customer Reviews

Life of Chopin (Dover Books on Music)

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4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

This book is really not about Chopin. Liszt's writing is exagerated and more often than not, looses focus on the point he was trying to make, that is, writing about Chopin's life. There are very few significant things about Chopin here, but there is a lot to be found if the book is read from another point of view. If read as a biography it is, indeed, disapointing, but if you see it as a way of getting closer to the personality of Liszt and the circumstances of his time, it's pretty illustrating. In a way, this book shows what Romanticism is all about. So, don't expect a great biography, it's more of a private-joke for romantics, but a very interesting one.

I would recommend it only if you keep in mind that this book will tell you a lot about Franz Liszt, the educated barbarian, but very little about Chopin --or about music for that matter--.

I love Chopin, and can easily get drawn into any book about his life. I tried reading this and couldn't get through it. Pages and pages of long, drawn-out descriptions of . . . what? I couldn't even follow it. I kept waiting for it to get to Chopin's life but it never seemed to. Also, Liszt's name is on it, but I don't know that he wrote much, if any, of it - it was largely written by his mistress, Princess von Sayn-Wittgenstein. If you'd like to know more about Chopin, I would recommend almost any other book. Some suggestions: Chopin in Paris by Tad Sculz, The Life and Death of Chopin by Casimir Wierzynski, Chopin by Adam Zamoyski or even the children's book Chopin by Antoni Gronowicz.

I practically salivated at learning that Liszt had written a biography of his colleague, Chopin. Upon reading it, I was thoroughly disappointed and stopped halfway through. Essentially, the problem stems from the fact that the narrative is full of verbiage that gives almost no facts about Chopin, but engages in endless verbal diarrhea; it seems that Liszt did not actually write the bulk of the book, but some bimbo who had the reputation of loving to talk at length without actually saying anything.

Next time I will buy a real biography of Chopin.

Penned by Chopin's longtime friend and lover, Franz Liszt, "The Life of Chopin" offers a unique look at the great (German, maybe?) composer's life. While Liszt's writing is opaque at times and his insistence on constantly making puns using Chopin's name and his own is a little baffling, the book records many details that other biographies omit, such as an episode where Chopin won the respect of his fellow prisoners by consuming a large number of eggs in a short period of time and another where he constructed a ballpark on his property at the behest of the ghosts of several deceased sportsmen, bonding with his son in the process. Liszt also spices up the narrative with the introduction of several original characters, including an alluring - but deadly! - lady assassin from parts unknown and a miniature talking dragon who loves to crack wise. While Liszt's incessant pop culture references get old after a while I would still highly recommend this work to any fan of Chopin, Liszt, music, Germany, or buddy cop films. You won't believe the act three twist!

The author of this book might be Franz Liszt but I couldn't find who wrote the preface and the date of publishment.
Information about the background and the translator's comment also lacking.
"Mazourka" must be mazurka.

Franz Liszt was a great pianist. As a composer, he has a few exquisite works and MANY ornamental works. As an author his biography of Chopin is like his ornamental works whereas it should be more personal and concrete since he was a friend of Chopin, lived in the same city = Paris and was approximately his same age.

Life of Chopin This book was a huge disappointment due to Liszt's lack of objectivity and over-emotional language. Substance is severely lacking and the title of each chapter is not fulfilled.

Definitely not recommended.

The book I ordered arrived in pristine condition. Everything was perfect.
Thank you.
John Towey