Life and Works - Frederic Chopin

Frederic Chopin is the pianist-composer par excellence. Regarded as one of the most mesmeric performers of his day, he lives on in his music-- his waltzes, mazurkas, etudes, preludes, nocturnes, three piano sonatas, two piano concertos and much more. Here, his life, from his birth in Poland, his famous affair with the French writer George Sand, to his death at the age of 49 in Paris, is told with his music featuring prominently. Formerly Head of Music at the BBC World Service, Jeremy Siepmann is an internationally known musician, teacher, broadcaster and author. His pupils include pianists of worldwide repute, his programmes for the BBC number more than a thousand and his books include biographies of Brahms and Chopin, and two volumes on the history and repertoire of the piano. Anton Lesser has played many of the principal Shakespearean roles for the RSC and performed contemporary drama, notably The Birthday Party by Harold Pinter. Appearances on TV include The Cherry Orchard, The Mill on the Floss and The Politician's Wife.