Chasing Chopin: A Musical Journey Across Three Centuries, Four Countries, and a Half-Dozen Revolutions

(Paperback)

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A modern take on a classical icon: this luminous book (Susan Orlean, New York Times bestselling author of The Library Book) tells the story of when, where, and how Chopin composed his most famous work, uncovering many surprises along the way and showing how his innovative music still animates and thrives in our culture centuries later.

In this widely-praised book, Annik LaFarge presents a very different Frdric Chopin from the melancholy, sickly, Romantic figure that has predominated for so long. The artist she discovered is, instead, a purely independentand endlessly relevantspirit: an innovator who created a new musical language; an autodidact who became a spiritually generous, trailblazing teacher; a stalwart patriot during a time of revolution, pandemic, and exile.

One of Americas foremost pianists, Jeremy Denk, wrote in The New York Times: It is almost impossible for me to imagine a world in which [Chopins Funeral March] is both fresh and tragic, where its death is real. LaFarges charming and loving new book attempts to recover this worldThis book took me into many unexpected cornersFor a book about death, its bursting with life and lively research.

In this entertaining dual music history and memoir (Publishers Weekly), a seamless blend of the musical and literary verve (Kirkus Reviews, starred review) LaFarge brilliantly traces the footsteps of Chopins life (Scott Yoo, host of PBS Now Hear This) during the three years, 18371840, when he composed the now-iconic Funeral March, using its composition story to illuminate the key themes of Chopins life.

As part of her research into Chopins world, then and now, LaFarge visited piano makers, monuments, churches, and archives; she talked to scholars, jazz musicians, video game makers, music teachers, theater directors, and of course dozens of pianists. She has given us, says pianist, author, and New York Times columnist Michael Kimmelman, a tour-de-force and journey of the soul.

It is an engrossing, impeccably researched (Library Journal) work of musical discovery and an artful portrayal of a man whose work and life continue to inspire artists and cultural innovators in astonishing ways.

An acclaimed companion website, WhyChopin, presents links to each piece of music mentioned in the book, organized by chapter, along with photos, resources, and more.

Reviews

It is almost impossible for me to imagine a world in which [Chopins Funeral March] is both fresh and tragic, where its death is real. Annik LaFarges charming and loving new book attempts to recover this worldThis book took me into many unexpected cornersFor a book about death, its bursting with life and lively research. -- JEREMY DENK, New York Times
"The lurid fantasies foisted on the composer since his death have made him almost unrecognisable though Annik LaFarge does much to dispel them...an intensely personal journey through time, place and politics....LaFarge is weighty (and great) on the importance and singularity of Chopins friend and patron Astolphe de Custine...she has a good eye and ear for her subject, choosing her anecdotes with care." -- PAUL KILDEA, Spectator
[LaFarge's] loving pursuit of the man behind such music is an intriguing collage of people, places, relationships, instruments, and national struggles ... well worth reading. It is instructive, engaging, and sincere. * SUSAN BABBIT, New York Journal of Books *
Annik LaFarges Chasing Chopin is a slim book but it stands out because its a hybrid workbiography and journalismwith utterly lovely, vivid descriptions of Chopins music. * POPMATTERS *
"[A] wonderful book...LaFarge's intellectual curiosity, free of any musical or ideological agenda, is infectious, and she brings the broad analysis of a polymath to her subject...[a companion] website is replete with pertinent videos and recordings that raises the bar on how music-themed books will be expected to incorporate multimedia henceforth. * Chronogram *
LaFarge delves passionately into the history and cultureup to the present daysurrounding Chopin's legendary Opus 35 sonata, whose third movement contains the worlds most famous funeral marcha singular worka seamless blend of the musical and literary verve, with just enough research to ground and elucidate. -- KIRKUS (Starred Review)
This slender but wide-ranging volume is impeccably researched....never seems overly scholarly and will appeal to a variety of general readers. * LIBRARY JOURNAL *
[An] entertaining dual music history and memoir...LaFarges affectionate fans notes flow as melodiously as a Chopin opus. * PUBLISHERS WEEKLY *
A luminous book, rich with reporting and reflection and marvelously animated by LaFarges passion for the subject. Whether you love Chopin doesnt matter: This is an irresistible journey into history and the nature of genius. -- SUSAN ORLEAN, The New York Times bestselling author of The Library Book
Annik LaFarge brilliantly traces the footsteps of Chopins life in a way that is thoroughly engrossing for the layman and professional musician alike. My only regret is that there is not an Annik LaFarge book on the life of every important composer in the classical canon. Her virtuosic linguistic talent is put to good use in this fascinating book. -- SCOTT YOO, host of Now Hear This on PBS
Annik LaFarges wonderfulChasingChopin,like the music that inspired it, is a tour-de-force and journey of the soul. Attempting to unpack the awe she experienced hearingChopins Funeral March Sonata at a concert years ago, LaFarge does much more than recount the story of the music and its composer. She tells us why they matter, now, deeply and in all sorts of ways, to her and us. Traveling with a backpack from New York to Paris to Majorca, interrogating musicians, scholars, software developers, piano makers going where the music and inspiration take hershe produces a diary of discovery thats a joy to read. -- MICHAEL KIMMELMAN, author of The Accidental Masterpiece: On the Art of Life and Vice Versa and architecture critic for the New York Times
Come for the finely drawn portrait of a musical genius, stay for the evocative recreation of the world he knew. By immersing herself in the creative context that nurtured Chopins famous sonata, Annik LaFarge makes him live again. Chasing Chopin is infused with a roving curiosity and passion worthy of its subject. -- BENJAMIN WALLACE, author of The Billionaires Vinegar
Like everyone else, you have heard Chopins funeral march, whether in a symphony hall or in a cartoon. Annik LaFarge heard it in both places and got to thinking. The result of those thoughts was her drive to make sense of the cultural journey of a single melody. The result of that drive is not just the fascinating story of a single musical composition, and not even just a thoughtful and satisfying meditation on the way a culture creates itself. LaFarge has documented a story that is itself, as she notes, an antidote to the culture of virtuosity, celebrity, and noise that today envelops us.

* SCOTT HULER, author of Defining the Wind: How a 19th Century Admiral Turned Science into Poetry and *

Author Bio

Annik LaFarge is a writer, photographer, lecturer, and author of the much-praised On the High Line: Exploring Americas Most Original Urban Park, winner of the IPPY award for Travel Guidebook. She has been writing about the High Line and urban landscapes since 2009 on the blog Livin The High Line. Her most recent book is Chasing Chopin: A Musical Journey Across 3 Centuries, 4 Countries, and a Half Dozen Revolutions. She lives in New York City.