Chopin in Paris: The Life and Times of the Romantic Composer

Chopin In Paris is an amazing biography of the great Romantic composer, Frederic Chopin. It starts off with a little background on Chopin's family, then moves into the time when he left his homeland of Poland for Paris, France, never to return. Szulc makes Chopin's tumultuous relationship with George Sand fun to read about, and is very informative with excerpts from Chopin's letters and many other sources. A little time is... Read Full Review

Hesitated to get this book for a long time because of the negative feedback from previous one, two, and three star reviewers.After finally getting my hands on it, those negative comments turned out to be either untrue, or so trivial compared to the enormous amount of information provided about our great composer.It is very readable. Lots of details. Lots of quotes directly from Chopin, his friends, Sand, AND most importantly,... Read Full Review

This is an extraordinarily vivid and detailed portrait. Mr. Szulc has woven together intimate details about Chopin with the broader history of politics and society of Paris and Poland in the 1800's. That may sound rather dry, but it actually makes for incredibly engaging reading - even if you are already quite familiar with the life of Chopin. I do have strong objections to Szulc's "diagnosis" of Chopin as manic-depressive... Read Full Review

Szulc's biography of Chopin is the first biography I have read about a musician. My purpose in reading the book was to become acquainted with the man Chopin. I am a history major and a pianist and very impressed with Szulc's work. Using a multitude of primary sources, Szulc accurately describes who Chopin was. Szulc's greatest success is in portraying Chopin's personality. As a result of reading this book, I have become... Read Full Review

After reading most of the Chopin biographies, I wasn't sure that there was more I could learn. Tad Szulc offers a more personal and intimate view of this enigmatic master than any others. This is because he brings into play a great deal of material from Chopin's contempories. So much more of the relationship between George Sand is available with a much more sympathetic portrayal of Chopin's third and last great paramour... Read Full Review