Meade "Lux" Lewis (1905-1964) was an American pianist and composer, known for his contributions to the development of boogie-woogie music.
Born in Chicago, Illinois, he began playing piano at an early age and was influenced by the blues and jazz music that was popular in the city. He became a professional musician in the 1920s and quickly gained a reputation for his lively and energetic piano playing.
Lewis was a member of …
Julian Fontana (1810-1869) was one of Chopin's closest friends and they spent time together from their very youngest days.
Their relationship whilst they were in Warsaw was very close. In 1828 at Bucholtz Hall they performed the Rondo in C major for two pianos, Opus 73, together.
After the November Uprising was put down Fontana met Chopin in Paris in 1832 and for some time was his student – a fact he …
Simon Barere was born in Odessa (then Russian Empire, now part of Ukraine) in 1896. He showed his pianistic prowess from an young age. Fellow Russian composer Alexander Glazunov had spotted Barere's talents early on, describing him as, "Anton Rubinstein in one hand and Franz Liszt in the other". Barere was soon studying at the St. Petersburg Conservatory, where he was taught by Felix Blumenfeld; the same pianist who taught …
"The earth is suffocating... Swear to make them cut me open, so that I won’t be buried alive."
This is what Chopin supposedly told his sister on his death bed in 1849.
The composer suffered with taphephobia – in other words, the fear of being buried alive. He was insistent that, after he passed away, he was to be cut open to make sure that he was definitely dead.
And so, after passing …
"His creation was spontaneous, miraculous.
He found her without looking for her, without foreseeing her.
It came to his piano, sudden, complete, sublime, or it sang in his head during a walk, and he was in a hurry to make himself hear it by throwing it on the instrument.
But then began the most heartbreaking labor I had ever witnessed. It was a series of efforts, irresolution and impatience to recapture certain details …