Starring: Elizabeth Handley
Music Appreciation by Elizabeth Handley
This lecture explores the music and short, turbulent life of one of the most popular composer-pianists in Western musical history.
Chopin's life was fraught with illness, and personal and political turmoil - the latter precipitating his heart-breaking departure from his native Poland. This homesickness became the very wellspring of his inspiration, as did the stormy events taking place in Europe during his all too short lifetime.
Illustrated with some of the best-loved music by this quintessential Romantic, and pictures, we also witness his subsequent success in Paris, and the inspiration of his mistress, writer-activist 'George Sand'
I these lectures Elizabeth shares with you her own love for Chopin's music, unravels some of the mysteries surrounding this curious individual, and gives insights into his mercurial personality and music. We discover how Chopin revolutionised piano technique, his influence as a teacher on succeeding generations of pianists, and his contribution to the repertoire of the Queen of musical instruments - the pianoforte.