Introduction

The anthology that has emerged only scratches the surface of a vast literature on Chopin, which continues to grow in bulk as well as in musical and musicological importance. One major omission is the huge body of material in languages other than English, with the exception of the four essays that the author was able to select. In fact, he have been more concerned to weave a narrative of sorts through the volume and somehow to do justice not only to the research that has been carried out on Chopin but also to Chopin himself, in the sense of portraying a rounded picture of him as composer, pianist and teacher, of his music, and of his overall achievement. It is hard to square that ‘freer treatment’ with the observation of his student Mikuli in 1879 that ‘in keeping time Chopin was inflexible, and many will be surprised to learn that the metronome never left his piano’.