Frederic Chopin died a famous man with his place in the musical pantheon secure. In fact, Chopin created the single best-known body of work by any composer, loved and respected by musicians and audiences alike. In clear, lively prose, author Victor Lederer guides the reader through the life and oeuvre of the sovereign master of the Keyboard - his affair with the novelist George Sand, his close friendship with the great painter Eugene Delacroix, his early manifestations of genius. Most of all, Lederer details the bold originality Chopin displayed throughout his tragically short career, illustrating, with references to the accompanying CD, how his sensuous, emotionally provocative music firmly places him in the 'eternal avant-garde'.
The accompanying full-length Naxos CD contains fifteen complete compositions and one full movement from Chopin's Piano Sonata No.2, performed by Pianist Idil Biret.