Book Review
Aug. 7th, 2021 04:27 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
kenjariChopin's Piano: In Search of the Instrument that Transformed Music
by Paul Kildea
This book centers around Chopin's stay on the island of Majorca with George Sand, the Preludes he wrote there, and the Majorcan-made piano he used. Kildea explores Chopin's relationship with Sand, their time on the island, the reception and performance history of the Preludes, and, most importantly, the fate of the piano. That story takes a sadly mysterious turn during WWII, when Nazis looted it (and everything else of monetary or cultural value) from the home of harpsichordist Wanda Landowska after she fled France.
I liked the way Kildea takes an almost kaleidoscopic view of his subject, piecing together a lot of different elements into his narrative - everything from later views of Sand and her relationship with Chopin, to changes in piano construction and sound during the nineteenth century, to the evils of the Nazi looting program. He takes one object and follows its significance and story through more than a century in a way that is both lyrical and compelling.
by Paul Kildea
This book centers around Chopin's stay on the island of Majorca with George Sand, the Preludes he wrote there, and the Majorcan-made piano he used. Kildea explores Chopin's relationship with Sand, their time on the island, the reception and performance history of the Preludes, and, most importantly, the fate of the piano. That story takes a sadly mysterious turn during WWII, when Nazis looted it (and everything else of monetary or cultural value) from the home of harpsichordist Wanda Landowska after she fled France.
I liked the way Kildea takes an almost kaleidoscopic view of his subject, piecing together a lot of different elements into his narrative - everything from later views of Sand and her relationship with Chopin, to changes in piano construction and sound during the nineteenth century, to the evils of the Nazi looting program. He takes one object and follows its significance and story through more than a century in a way that is both lyrical and compelling.
