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Poniatowska Irena , Dziadek Magdalena , Nikolskaya Irina , Draheim Joachim , Rambeau Marie-Paule , Agresta Rosalba , eds, Chopin and his Critics: An Anthology (Up to World War I) (Warsaw : The Fryderyk Chopin Institute , 2011). 557 pp. [euro]60.00.
Book Reviews
Responding to the call in Jim Samson's introduction to The Cambridge Companion to Chopin1- the first attempt at reviewing the myths and legends surrounding Chopin in France, Germany, Russia and England - Chopin and his Critics is a fascinating anthology of Chopin criticism, disclosing the 'changing outlook on Chopin's music' (p. 10) and revealing the particular taste-publics in the nineteenth century and their relationship with each other. In particular, the book allows the reader to witness examples in primary nineteenth- and early twentieth-century sources, of Jeffrey Kallberg's claim that
'Chopin unsettles us. At once exalted and shadowy, he cuts a curious figure in contemporary culture. Ethereal composer and enervated enfant mâle. ... a Pole who wrote most of his works among Frenchman, his music exudes exoticism at the same time as it partakes of the European common-practice tradition. Champion of the miniature at a time when many around him gravitated toward ever grander musical colossi, he confounds our abilities to hear his contemporaries and him on equal footing. ... Central to our repertory, Chopin nevertheless remains a marginalized figure'. 2
The texts included here - works by critics, commentaries by other composers, writers and popularizers up to the first World War - unveil Chopin's complex and at times voluble status throughout Northern and Eastern Europe as a composer who, even when genuinely appreciated, disconcerted and discomforted critics. Elements that were praised in one country - such as unusual harmonies and original textures - were criticized in another, or even ignored completely. Chopin's qualities as performer were at times criticised, praised or even overlooked, basing the reception only on the publication of his music (in England), or on other pianists' performances and Chopin's exclusive salon performances (in Germany and Russia). Readers may be already familiar with these aspects of Chopin's reception, but this collection of primary sources allows them to be easily observed and assessed more carefully and in detail.
Introduced by the...