There have been many, many, biographies of Chopin. Do we really need a new one? Yep . . . we need this one, because it is a biography of Chopin’s music:  how he composed, how he played his music, how he taught his techniques to his students, what pianos he used. LaFarge buried herself in Chopin’s world, visiting monuments, churches, archives. She played on antique pianos, talked to music teachers and pianists.  But the best thing is a companion website WhyChopin.com. It is organized by chapter and has links to performances of the music mentioned in that chapter. How wonderful to be able to listen to music as it is being discussed.

I absolutely loved this book.

eGalley review                                                     Publication date 8.11.2020