Chopin: The Pianist's Repertoire : A Graded Practical Guide: no. 3

Very valuable book for intermediate players, with very useful tips for anyone trying to play Chopin pieces. It talks about the general style of Chopin, followed with detailed instructions for most of Chopin's pieces.

Consegnato nella giornata Prestabilita,domenica, con mio grande stupore. Libro in lingua inglese!!! Per chi ha una buona conoscenza della lingua, è un ottimo aiuto per chi ama la musica classica e in particalre Chopin. Consigliato.

I am an intermediate level pianist and just started working on some of Chopin's more challenging works and this book has been a fantastic resource. I wish this was around when I was in high school, it does a wonderful job of breaking down every technical challenge in every Chopin Waltz, Nocturne and Ballade. I am currently struggling with the middle section of the Op 48 # 1 Nocturne, and the book helped me approach this section with a different mindset and practice philosophy. If she wrote one for Bach and Rachmaninoff, I would buy it in a heartbeat!

A very thorough, in depth look at Chopin's music. Author Bailie provides commentary on each and every piece noting technical difficulty but also overall impressions of the piece as well as sections and passages within it. The discussion of a given piece might even have quotes or a description of what Chopin thought of it when that information was available. The comments are, of course, subjective and belong to Bailie and at times her tone does come across as a bit opinionated. But I appreciate her descriptions and commentary none the less. I especially liked the commentary on the technical ability a performer would need to perform each piece well. She also ties pieces together noting, at times, how one piece is of a similar tone or grandeur or difficulty to another.I read a biography of Chopin earlier this year by Adam Zamoyski and while that book was a thorough treatment of Chopin's life and did mention many of his works in the context of his life, it was not a musicological discussion at all. So I appreciate finding Bailie's book.Both format and the length make this is book not one to read cover to cover, though you could if you were so inclined. This is much more of a reference one can go to when needed.All in all a wonderful source of information for performers as well as music lovers.

If you love Chopin, you absolutely MUST have this book!!!!! The author takes you measure by measure through every one of Chopin's pieces! It's unbelievable the amount of info you find in this book!! I just wish I had known about it years ago but better late than never!

This book is packed with information about Chopin and his music, so I have found it useful as a reference when I'm working on a piece. The author provides a bit of background and analysis of many of Chopin's works along with advice on how to practice each piece.She uses way too many quotation marks for emphasis, which I find distracting every time I read anything in the book, and it is perhaps too personal and opinionated to be a true reference, but otherwise she has done a good job of organizing and presenting a huge amount of material.