Preface
I prefer to review books that I have chosen to write about, because I would rather know before putting pen to paper that I was going to share an enthusiasm rather than advise people not to bother. In this case, I was asked by the editor of Standpoint to review Paul Kildea’s book Chopin’s Piano: A Journey Through Romanticism. I knew of Kildea through his short-lived and unhappy tenure of the artistic directorship of Wigmore Hall, but was sufficiently interested in Chopin (who had been an early passion) to agree to undertake the task. I did not enjoy the book, although it contained a lot of interesting information, but I didn’t want to be too rude about it. In the event, the publishers were able to quote a carefully edited remark to put on the paperback cover. It serves me right.