"Chopin's piano", book by Paul Kildea (2018)

“Chopin’s piano”, book by Paul Kildea (2018)
“In search of the instrument that transformed music”

I thought this could be of interest to a lot of Pianoteq users and piano lovers in general. I just finished reading the book. Paul Kildea is an Australian born conductor and author, praised in particular for his biography of Benjamin Britten. His latest book is about the Bauza piano (or pianino) and the Preludes, about half of which Chopin wrote on it during his stay in Majorca (Balearic islands, Spain) with Geoge Sand in 1838.  I think a lot of people will agree that Chopin’s 24 Preludes are a monument of piano composition, original and varied in their form, perhaps the composer greatest’s achievement. That is certainly Kildea’s opinion and he makes a convincing case for it. The main thread of the book is tracing back the improbable voyages of the Bauza across borders and possibly continents!

A turning point in the story is the fact that the Pleyel piano Chopin had ordered to be delivered to the old monastery where he was staying in Majorca got stuck at the Spanish customs and only delivered two weeks before he and Sand left to go back to France. Out of desperation, he had to settle for a piano found in nearby Palma, an apparently crude and small instrument made by little-known Juan Bauza. How can such incredible music (think of Preludes No 4, 6, 13 and 15 certainly) could be created on a piano that was so limited (proof is Chopin tossed it to the side of his room as soon as the Pleyel finally arrived, and it was abandoned there for decades)? 

The title and subtitle of the book create such high anticipation that I was hooked and thrilled at the onset. The first part is the best, particularly the Majorca episode and the last years of Frederic Chopin in Paris. The second part of the book, however is almost entirely about Wanda Landowska, the Polish multi-instrumentalist famous for reviving harpsichord playing and the baroque repertoire in the first half of the 20th century. The link here is that she was a Chopin admirer, faithful interpreter and eventually acquired the Bauza piano. Unfortunately, in my opinion, the expectations created at the onset eventually fizzle out. Despite all of Kildea’s efforts to trace back the Bauza piano, it is nowhere to be found.. Along with all of Landowska’s huge historic instrument collection, the Bauza had been seized by the Nazis after Landowska flew to the USA. It was eventually restored to her owner’s property near Paris at the end of the war, but she never got it back because she decided to stay in America where her career had flourished again, until her death in 1959. It was thought to be in a Florida museum but never found.

So, in the end, the great mystery remains intact. Almost nothing is known about the Bauza, it’s mechanics, the tone it had, the tuning it used (“probably” not equaled tempered)…we are not even told what Landowska thought about it! I think it would have been much preferable to not create such expectations by using a sensationalist subtitle, and concentrate on the Preludes which is a very solid part of the book, full of fascinating details and analysis (via Cortot, Anton Rubinstein and Kildea himself). Finally, I must admit that I found the author’s overly precious, even fluffy style not helping much (but then you can tell English is not my first language…so maybe it is a personal thing…). So you have been warned: don’t expect great revelations about the mysterious pianino itself…and for Modartt to model it anytime soon ☺
However, if you are a Chopin and Preludes fan, “Chopin’s piano” is a worthwile read.