Alan Walker's definitive three-volume biography of Liszt, Franz Liszt, received the James Tait Black Memorial Prize in Biography and the Royal Philharmonic Society Book Award, among others. His writing has appeared in journals such as The Musical Quarterly, The Times Literary Supplement, and Times Educational Supplement. A professor emeritus at McMaster University, Walker was made a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada in 1986 and was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Hungary in 2012.
"For a biographer, there's a lot to untangle. Alan Walker does so
brilliantly in Fryderyk Chopin: A Life and Times, a magisterial
portrait . . . A polyphonic work that elegantly interweaves
multiple strands." --Corinna da Fonseca-Wollheim, The New York
Times Book Review "An ideal composer biography should combine
several qualities: a deep knowledge of the artist's life and
milieu, fortified by a reexamination of all available sources; an
intimate understanding of the composer's personality (and, when
possible, some affection for it, too); and an ability to speak of
the creative work in a manner that will edify both scholars and the
general public, and take us all back to the music. Alan Walker's
Fryderyk Chopin: A Life and Times manages this hat trick very well
indeed . . . This is now the best biography of Chopin --
meticulous, scholarly and well-told." --Tim Page, The Washington
Post "There is more than enough for everyone at this literary
feast, and come awards time, it's likely you'll see this book
short-listed for one of the top literary biographies of the year .
. . Walker's narrative style reflects the very music of his
subject: He has a light, delicate touch when making apt inferences,
and a soft and rather ornate style when providing descriptions of
the artist . . . Walker remains faithful to his subject, which only
10 years of extensive research into vast archives of primary source
material could manifest." --Richard Horan, Christian Science
Monitor "At last, the definitive biography of Chopin has arrived.
This substantial new study is a masterpiece, indispensable to
specialists and general music lovers alike. It overflows with
revelatory information, deft characterisation and pertinent,
readable explorations of the music. All this is set against a
minutely detailed depiction of his world. Walker's style is
elegant, literary and empathetic, while his unfailing love for the
music shines from every page." --Sunday Times (U.K.) "Thorough and
authoritative . . . Walker [writes] with the narrative expertise
one would expect of the masterly biographer of Liszt . . . Walker
is brilliant on piano technique and its musical consequences. These
passages are like talk of pigment and brushstrokes in a book about
painting: technical in a sense yet free of jargon, easily
understood, even perhaps by someone who has never laid hand on a
piano keyboard." --Stephen Walsh, The Guardian "Absorbing . . .
Walker integrates [many] different aspects into an entirely
convincing entity. It's a measure of Walker's achievement that even
in such a lengthy book, he keeps the reader engaged, presenting
accessible and illuminating comments backed up with the full weight
of scholarly authority." --Erik Levi, BBC Music (five stars) "[Alan
Walker has] shed new light on many aspects of Chopin's life and
cleared away a thicket of myths . . . Scrupulous as it is, this
monumental biography is deeply engaging and enjoyable." --The
Economist "An informative and exceptionally engaging read." --James
F. Penrose, The New Criterion "Not one paragraph of this
meticulously researched and often poignant account is
wasted."--Andrew Moravcsik, Foreign Affairs "A real landmark. For
the 'casual' music-lover it contains peerless writing; for the
scholar, scotched myths and startling discoveries; and for the
musician, insights galore . . . Walker leaves no stone unturned in
his search for the truth about Chopin's life. Full of vivid detail,
it is a perceptive chronicle through which one seems to live the
composer's life alongside him . . . [Fryderyk Chopin] is the most
important biography of Chopin in years and will be treasured by
musicians and music-lovers as the definitive life for many more."
--Jessica Duchen, Sunday Times (U.K.) "Alan Walker has produced the
most comprehensive biography and musical analysis to date on
Poland's most famous musician and composer . . . Highly readable
and engaging . . . [Fryderyk Chopin] brings to life one of the 19th
century's and Poland's most beloved, legendary, and celebrated
artists. It deserves a place of merit at every university, music,
and school library." --Carol Katz, New York Journal of Books "[An]
expansive, authoritative biography . . . Packed with information
and insightful analyses of Chopin's major works that will interest
professional musicians, and even nonspecialists will be entranced
by [Alan] Walker's piquant storytelling and graceful prose."
--Publishers Weekly (starred review) "A sensitively discerning
examination of a 19th-century superstar . . . a magnificent,
elegantly written biography . . . An absorbing biography unlikely
to be surpassed anytime soon." --Kirkus (starred review) "Walker,
whose writing is as limpid and engaging as his subject's music,
punctuates a rich texture of biography and history with discussions
of Chopin's technical and compositional innovations and
distinctions that neatly show why he is so highly regarded . . .
Informed by the latest discoveries about the composer, Walker's
biography is a towering and beautiful achievement." --Booklist
(starred review) "[Fryderyk Chopin] is sure to become the
definitive biography on the great composer . . . General readers
should find this accessible as well as engrossing." --Library
Journal (starred review) "Adopting the same combination of broad
perspective, wealth of telling detail, and musical expertise that
he brought to his classic biography of Franz Liszt, Alan Walker has
now produced a vast work on Fryderyk Chopin that is likely to
remain the most important account of the great Polish master's life
for a long time to come. Walker vividly recounts Chopin's happy
childhood and youth in Warsaw, his unfortunate but artistically
prolific adult life in exile from his native country, his loves,
and his losing battle with the tuberculosis that killed him at the
age of thirty-nine. The book also delves deeply into Chopin's
music. A must for musicians and music-lovers alike." --Harvey
Sachs, author of Toscanini: Musician of Conscience
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