Chopin’s Romantic Requiem: Poetic Virtuosity & the Shadow of Tuberculosis

Professor Gil Harel returns for an in-depth lecture on Frédéric Chopin, examining how, as a quintessential Romantic composer, he crafted lyrical nocturnes and vibrant mazurkas that vividly reflect Poland’s cultural and musical heritage. We will also consider how his struggle with tuberculosis and premature death at age 39 imbued his compositions with profound emotional depth and expressive intensity. Like so many composers of the 19th century, Chopin composed in the shadow of Beethoven - we shall consider this phenomenon, and seek to understand how it affected his works on the micro and macro levels.