Frederic Chopin: His Life, Letters, and Works, Volume II completes Maurycy Karasowski’s pioneering biography of the Polish composer. Karasowski, himself a Pole, drew on family papers and Chopin’s correspondence to produce one of the earliest substantial lives of the composer.
This second volume continues the story of Chopin’s Paris career, his relationships, his compositions, and his final years, quoting extensively from his letters. Though later scholarship has corrected some details, the biography preserved valuable documentary material and helped shape the popular image of the composer. As an early and devoted account by a fellow countryman, it remains of interest to admirers and students of Chopin.