Introduction
Music is one of the finest art forms that the mankind has ever created. It allows people express their emotions and reflect the whole beauty of the surrounding world. However, research in music would be impossible without another art form – literature. In this paper, I will present the critical report on one of the brightest sources for the research of such a prominent figure in the world of music as Frederick Chopin. This is the book by William Smialek titled Frederic Chopin: A Guide to Research. I consider this book to be one of the best documented and properly structured scholarly sources on the topic of music history on the whole and the biography of Frederick Chopin in particular. That is why I present this book as a guide to the young researchers who aim at studying the above mentioned topic and do not want to limit their knowledge by the position of a single author. The book by Smialek (2000) is a comprehensive overview of all the previous research works and the primary sources on the topic combined with substantial biographical entries on the Polish composer. The following paragraphs deal with the summary of the book contents, its main ideas and the analysis of the major strong and weak points observed. This report is carried out with the intention of guiding the audience in the ways in which this book can be used for research purposes.
Plot
First of all, the plot of the work should be considered to shape your understanding of what the book is actually about. The leitmotif of the book under consideration is the disambiguation of any possible misunderstandings of Chopin as a composer and a human being: “Out understanding of Frederick Chopin as a man and musician is marked with ambiguities” (Smialek, 2000, p. xi). As the author specifies at the very beginning of the work, his major aim was not to create another biography of Chopin using the reviewed sources and works by other scholars, but rather show the young scholars all the possible sources in the study of Chopin’s life and work. Drawing from this, the author sees clarifying all the vague details of Chopin’s life and musical work as his major purpose. Having reviewed numerous scholarly publications and research works concerning the life and work of Chopin, as well as the historical, political, and social context of his life, Smialek (2000) establishes the goal of his book as follows:
Frederic Chopin
A Guide to Research is not intended as an exhaustive review of the immense body of literature on the composer, but as a resource identifying key directions in Chopin scholarship for scholars and other musicians new to Chopin studies (Smialek, 2000, p. xi).
Thus, the book by Smialek (2000) turns out to be an assistance tool for those who study music and Chopin as its genius. The book starts with the chronological account of the biography of the composer, which is followed by the review of the scholarly works dedicated to the topic. However, the bulk of the book is constituted by mainly primary sources including the correspondence of the composer, the attitudes of his contemporaries to him, the analysis of Chopin’s musical and literary works, his style and the detailed list of works and discography by the great Polish composer.
Main Ideas
Accordingly, the major idea of the book by Smialek (2000) is to make the work different from the ordinary biographies of Chopin which are already numerous in the literature. What Smialek (2000) focuses on is the biography of the composer but presented in an unusual way – there is a brief biographical account followed by the extensive bibliographical entries informing the readers of other works on the topic and, at the same time, providing certain details on Chopin, his life and career. The author of the book under consideration attempts to combine the features of narration with the purely scholarly characteristics including the detailed account of the primary and contemporary sources (Smialek, 2000). The book might even be called the extended annotated bibliography of the sources concerning the topic of Chopin’s life and work. Drawing from this fact, the research work by Smailek (2000) has the new representation of Frederick Chopin is its main idea. In other words, Smialek (2000) attempts not to demonstrate his knowledge of the topic, but rather guide those willing to acquire this knowledge in their search of information (Smialek, 2000).
Strengths and Weaknesses. Use in Research
As a result, the book under consideration has its strong and weak points. The former include the detailed account of the information retrieved from various research works, primary sources and literary biographies of the Polish composer. These points allow the reader not only rely on the author’s opinion on the topic, but also monitor the ideas expressed by addressing to other sources listed. The readers and scholars can also expand their knowledge of the topic by considering various points of view and analyzing them critically, which is vital for any kind of research. The book starts with the introduction in which Smialek (2000) explains the main ideas of his work and guides the readers to the most important points in relation to their interests. Either they are ordinary art-lovers willing to know more about Chopin or scholars busy with research and looking for new information and additional sources, in any case the readers will find the book helpful and relevant. Moreover, the combination of the biographical elements with the direct guidelines can be viewed as the work’s strong point.
As for the weaknesses, they are not numerous and can be limited to the small page count of the book which limits the amount of information possible to retrieve from it. However, in the variant under discussion the brief and laconic presentation of the data of major importance makes it possible for Smialek (2000) to synthesize a rather comprehensive work. And this is the initial strong point of the work. Frederic Chopin: A Guide to Research is the scholarly work deprived of unnecessary information and is focused specifically on consideration of all possible sources on the topic of Frederick Chopin’s life and work. In all other aspects, the book under consideration can be viewed as the perfect source of information for music researchers and the substantial guide for those willing to expand their knowledge on the topic by processing other sources.
Accordingly, the use of the book in research can be rather beneficial. First, the scholars dealing with the current topic can retrieve a substantial amount of relevant data from the book. For example, the biographical study of Chopin is presented in the chronological manner with exact dates and events placed in the order easy to comprehend and process. The primary sources used in the work also constitute the specific example of the relevant information on Chopin’s life; these sources include Chopin’s correspondence, his letters to his friends and their replies, etc. These primary sources are much more credible that the abstract ideas expressed by some scholars and can add credibility to any research as well by their being directly related to the research topic. This book combines all these features and adds the consideration of the relevant primary sources that allow the researchers to be well-informed in all aspects of the topic, not simply in the biographical details of Chopin study.
Thus, understanding the major aim of the book and seeing clearly its structure, the young scholars will be able to beneficially use the book and address the number of other resources listed and annotated in the work by Smialek (2000). To present an approximate way in which the book under analysis might be used, the following scheme can be implemented. First of all, starting the work with this book, scholars should attentively read the author’s introduction in order to understand how to handle the information presented. Next, the scholars can obtain the initial knowledge on the topic from the biographical entries that follow the introduction. Having acquired substantial understanding of what dominated Chopin’s life and work, the researchers might want to widen their scopes addressing some other literary sources, and the book by Smialek (2000) makes the search of such sources easier as it presents the list of the most relevant scholarly work that everyone might consult during the research. Finally, to monitor the ideas expressed by scholars, the researchers might want to consult primary sources, and the book considered offers such an option thus making the study of Frederick Chopin an easy and involving matter. The experienced scholars, as well as the younger ones, can easily comprehend the book and use the information presented in it for the benefit of their research.
Conclusion
To conclude, Frederic Chopin: A Guide to Research by William Smialek (2000) is one of the brightest sources for the research of such a prominent figure in the world of music as Frederick Chopin. Intended as a guide for scholars studying Chopin and his creative work, the book under consideration is the synthesis of Chopin’s biographical entries with the substantial bibliographical list allowing the readers monitor the author’s ideas and expand their knowledge addressing to other sources on the topic. On the whole, such a combination of the literary narration and the scholarly research makes the book by Smialek (2000) a rather relevant and reliable source of information for research on the topic of Chopin. Frederic Chopin: A Guide to Research by William Smialek (2000) is one of the best documented and properly structured scholarly sources on the topic of music history on the whole and the biography of Frederick Chopin in particular. It is a comprehensive overview of all the previous research works and the primary sources on the topic combined with substantial biographical entries on the Polish composer, and due to this the book under consideration might be a valuable resource for researchers dealing with the study of the life and work of Frederick Chopin.
Reference List
Smialek, William. 2000. Frederic Chopin: A Guide to Research. Routledge.