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hi,

can anyone recommend me some good books on chopin or liszt?

sj@@k:
For starters, here's what I have in my library:
Samson, Jim: Chopin. New York, Schirmer Books, 1996
Siepmann, Jeremy: Chopin, the reluctant Romantic. Boston, Northeastern University Press, 1995
Walker, Alan, ed: Frederic Chopin, Profiles of the man and the musician. London, Barrie and Rockliff, 1966
de Pourtales, Guy, Chopin, ou le poete (Chopin, or the poet) Paris, Gallimard, 1946 (I am sure this exists in an English translation)
Cortot, Alfred; Aspects de Chopin; Paris, Editions Albin Michel, 1960

A very interesting book that I am currently reading is "Frederic Chopin" by Franz Liszt, so its the best of both worlds! (Although the amount of Liszt's authorship is unknown, it is still interesting. Another book is "Life and Liszt", written by Arthur Friedheim, his pupil. Although these books might be more biased then if by another author, they are very interesting to read.

For Liszt, there is but one recommendation, and it is certainly the most definitive work you will find on Liszt: Prof. Alan Walker's three-book series (The Virtuoso Years, The Weimar Years, the Final Years). Its fault is that it's clearly a labor of love, and sometimes gives a bit too much credit, but as far as factual information goes it's unequaled.