He could make a piano sing—and a letter sparkle with mischief.

Fryderyk Chopin left Warsaw at twenty, expecting a journey. He never returned. In Paris he built a life through teaching, friendships and music that made his name travel far beyond the rooms in which he preferred to play.

From a lively family home to the salons of Paris, from George Sand’s household at Nohant to a demanding tour of Britain, this biography follows the man behind the familiar melodies. Here are ambition and affection, expensive tastes and unpaid bills, exacting lessons, difficult loyalties and the patient work of turning an idea into music.

Drawing on letters and the accounts of those who knew him, Chopin: A Life in Notes & Préludes brings composer, teacher, friend and brother into view. It follows the people who sustained him—and those who carried his work into the world after his death.

No musical training is required. Only curiosity about an extraordinary musician and the recognisably human life he lived.