Chopin in Words and Music

Polish by birth, Fryderyk Chopin made his
name in post-Revolutionary Paris and is
often depicted as the archetypal Romantic
artist - blessed with extraordinary talent
but consumed by the flame of genius,
tormented by intense and tempestuous
relationships and doomed to an early death.
But how much of this story is based on fact?
This account of Chopin's life and times
separates myth and reality and, illustrated
with numerous musical examples, takes us
from his youthful beginnings as 'a second
Mozart' to the darkness and light of his life
and the brilliance of his work.