How Long to Read Chopin's Piano: In Search of the Instrument that Transformed Music

How Long Does it Take to Read Chopin's Piano: In Search of the Instrument that Transformed Music?

It takes the average reader 4 hours and 57 minutes to read Chopin's Piano: In Search of the Instrument that Transformed Music by Paul Kildea

Assuming a reading speed of 250 words per minute. Learn more

Description

The captivating story of Frédéric Chopin and the fate of both his Mallorquin piano and musical Romanticism from the early nineteenth to the mid-twentieth century. In November 1838, Frédéric Chopin, George Sand, and her two children sailed to Majorca to escape the Parisian winter. They settled in an abandoned monastery at Valldemossa in the mountains above Palma where Chopin finished what would eventually be recognized as one of the great and revolutionary works of musical Romanticism: his twenty-four Preludes. There was scarcely a decent piano on the island (these were still early days in the evolution of the modern instrument), so Chopin worked on a small pianino made by a local craftsman, Juan Bauza, which remained in their monastic cell for seventy years after he and Sand had left. Chopin’s Piano traces the history of Chopin’s twenty-four Preludes through the instruments on which they were played, the pianists who interpreted them, and the traditions they came to represent. Yet it begins and ends with the Majorcan pianino, which assumed an astonishing cultural potency during the Second World War as it became, for the Nazis, a symbol of the man and music they were determined to appropriate as their own. After Chopin, the unexpected hero of Chopin’s Piano is the great keyboard player Wanda Landowska, who rescued the pianino from Valldemossa in 1913, and who would later become one of the most influential artistic figures of the twentieth century. Paul Kildea shows how her story—a compelling account based for the first time on her private papers—resonates with Chopin’s, simultaneously distilling part of the cultural and political history of mid-twentieth century Europe and the United States. After Landowska’s flight to America from Paris, which the Germans would occupy only days later, her possessions—including her rare music manuscripts and beloved keyboards—were seized by the Nazis. Only some of these belongings survived the war; those that did were recovered by the Allied armies’ Monuments Men and restituted to Landowska’s house in France. In scintillating prose, and with an eye for exquisite detail, Kildea beautifully interweaves these narratives, which comprise a journey through musical Romanticism—one that illuminates how art is transmitted, interpreted, and appropriated between generations.

How long is Chopin's Piano: In Search of the Instrument that Transformed Music?

Chopin's Piano: In Search of the Instrument that Transformed Music by Paul Kildea is 288 pages long, and a total of 74,304 words.

This makes it 97% the length of the average book. It also has 91% more words than the average book.

How Long Does it Take to Read Chopin's Piano: In Search of the Instrument that Transformed Music Aloud?

The average oral reading speed is 183 words per minute. This means it takes 6 hours and 46 minutes to read Chopin's Piano: In Search of the Instrument that Transformed Music aloud.

What Reading Level is Chopin's Piano: In Search of the Instrument that Transformed Music?

Chopin's Piano: In Search of the Instrument that Transformed Music is suitable for students ages 12 and up.

Note that there may be other factors that effect this rating besides length that are not factored in on this page. This may include things like complex language or sensitive topics not suitable for students of certain ages.

When deciding what to show young students always use your best judgement and consult a professional.

Where Can I Buy Chopin's Piano: In Search of the Instrument that Transformed Music?

Chopin's Piano: In Search of the Instrument that Transformed Music by Paul Kildea is sold by several retailers and bookshops. However, Read Time works with Amazon to provide an easier way to purchase books.

To buy Chopin's Piano: In Search of the Instrument that Transformed Music by Paul Kildea on Amazon click the button below.