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Chopin and Beyond: My Extraordinary Life in Music and the Paranormal
One of the world's greatest classical pianists reveals how the "other world" transformed his life and careerBy any measure, Byron Janis has had an extraordinary musical career. His discovery of two long-lost Chopin scores made headlines around the world, and he has been honored many times for his breathtaking performances of some of the most exciting and challenging works in the standard classical piano repertoire. As he retraces this remarkable journey in Chopin and Beyond, he shares something even more the other-worldly experiences that have shaped his life and music in surprising and profound ways.
Shares milestones and memories from the life and musical career of one of the world's greatest pianistsIncludes lively anecdotes of famous classical musicians and other notable figures, including Vladimir Horowitz and Pablo PicassoDescribes his long-secret but ultimately triumphant battle with arthritisRecounts the paranormal experiences that deepened his personal association with Chopin, effected near miraculous recoveries from serious accidents, and moreLike the best music, Chopin and Beyond will open your mind to explore the wonder and possibility of a different world.
Shares milestones and memories from the life and musical career of one of the world's greatest pianistsIncludes lively anecdotes of famous classical musicians and other notable figures, including Vladimir Horowitz and Pablo PicassoDescribes his long-secret but ultimately triumphant battle with arthritisRecounts the paranormal experiences that deepened his personal association with Chopin, effected near miraculous recoveries from serious accidents, and moreLike the best music, Chopin and Beyond will open your mind to explore the wonder and possibility of a different world.
- GenresMusic
289 pages, Kindle Edition
First published September 16, 2010
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
May 28, 2015
Synchronicity, the paranormal, and the magic of music. I found Byron Janis’ Chopin and Beyond to be a deeply satisfying read. If there is an invisible world of energy within music, Mr. Janis has found it. This autobiography explores not only the power of music but the art and poetry of all creativity. Revealing his most intimate thoughts and struggles throughout his life, Janis recounts his experiences as a concert pianist and his painful struggle with arthritis. For a man whose music is his “life’s oxygen,” this book makes perfect sense. Buried hope and redemption--undoubtedly a story of courage, intelligence, intuitiveness, and triumph by a talented and creative artist.
March 30, 2019
Renaissance Soul
It would be enough that Byron Janis is a (classical) musician's musician, but it's astonishing and delightful to read such about his accomplished and - internationally - glamorous life from an utterly humble perspective. His gratitude and wit are almost characters in his life story, but what was as compelling for this reader was the maestro's experiences with the paranormal - easily as diverse as his repertoire and truly exciting to read.
His life's been a heady mix of prodigy, close friends who are luminaries, great love and mystery, yet a life-threatening struggle with a disease that should've completely crippled anyone else.
I realize this may read as if I know Byron Janis: I do not, but he was my father's favorite pianist. To find his Instagram account was synchronicity, for it was there where I discovered he'd written his autobiography. I even plan to buy a "real" copy because some things must be passed down.
It would be enough that Byron Janis is a (classical) musician's musician, but it's astonishing and delightful to read such about his accomplished and - internationally - glamorous life from an utterly humble perspective. His gratitude and wit are almost characters in his life story, but what was as compelling for this reader was the maestro's experiences with the paranormal - easily as diverse as his repertoire and truly exciting to read.
His life's been a heady mix of prodigy, close friends who are luminaries, great love and mystery, yet a life-threatening struggle with a disease that should've completely crippled anyone else.
I realize this may read as if I know Byron Janis: I do not, but he was my father's favorite pianist. To find his Instagram account was synchronicity, for it was there where I discovered he'd written his autobiography. I even plan to buy a "real" copy because some things must be passed down.
February 12, 2022
4.25 stars
August 19, 2022
Many references to the paranormal which apparently guided his most interesting life. The takeaway is his positivity and perseverance thru tough times . A bit saccharine for me at times .
July 17, 2011
Some of us are simply closer to it than others. The power of unbridled talent honed to perfection by practice. The manifestation of the universal mysteries which begs us to ask if the sensitivity of the artist also leads to a closeness with the paranormal. You know that answer intuitively and so do I.
The magical piano that Janis played, back when we both were young, did not belie his physical struggles, his arthritis, nor his emotional fragility. The public learned these details much later.
I followed the remarkable career of Byron Janis during my teen/early adult years and somehow I later forgot him. I've never forgotten Van Cliburn. I have no idea why. I'm not sure there is even a comparison. Never was. Van Cliburn attacked the keyboard. With Janis there was a finesse. An understanding.
Janis still approaches performance with a playful,near spiritual touch; light but consistent and as if he is at one with the music. He is over eighty. A lasting talent.
I listened to a piece just now online, Chopin's Waltz Brilliante In E Flat, (recorded within the last ten years) and again heard the quickness of those fingers. The public did not know that he battled from youth to conjure up a way to make them work for him at the piano.
As far as the paranormal is concerned, don't let that stop you from reading the autobiography of Byron Janis. Ride with it. It's a fascinating story of many of the manifestations of extrasensory perception and an even better argument for the reality of the paranormal.
You know it's true. You just don't want to face it. The super talented, larger than life artists and scholars are the very people who are constantly tortured because they are not like everyone else swimming in the lake. Yet, they are the souls who benefit...the ones who believe.
I dropped this book rating down to three stars...a superb life told well but there is such a lot of name-dropping. C'est La Vie. It was mostly due to the times that the rich and famous were wining and dining in. But please. Each of these figures from Picasso to Buddy Hackett could not have been your very best friend in all the world, Maestro .
The magical piano that Janis played, back when we both were young, did not belie his physical struggles, his arthritis, nor his emotional fragility. The public learned these details much later.
I followed the remarkable career of Byron Janis during my teen/early adult years and somehow I later forgot him. I've never forgotten Van Cliburn. I have no idea why. I'm not sure there is even a comparison. Never was. Van Cliburn attacked the keyboard. With Janis there was a finesse. An understanding.
Janis still approaches performance with a playful,near spiritual touch; light but consistent and as if he is at one with the music. He is over eighty. A lasting talent.
I listened to a piece just now online, Chopin's Waltz Brilliante In E Flat, (recorded within the last ten years) and again heard the quickness of those fingers. The public did not know that he battled from youth to conjure up a way to make them work for him at the piano.
As far as the paranormal is concerned, don't let that stop you from reading the autobiography of Byron Janis. Ride with it. It's a fascinating story of many of the manifestations of extrasensory perception and an even better argument for the reality of the paranormal.
You know it's true. You just don't want to face it. The super talented, larger than life artists and scholars are the very people who are constantly tortured because they are not like everyone else swimming in the lake. Yet, they are the souls who benefit...the ones who believe.
I dropped this book rating down to three stars...a superb life told well but there is such a lot of name-dropping. C'est La Vie. It was mostly due to the times that the rich and famous were wining and dining in. But please. Each of these figures from Picasso to Buddy Hackett could not have been your very best friend in all the world, Maestro .
July 2, 2011
Loved this book.. amazing person , interesting life with great stories and tremendous talent. Beautiful music , the " paranormal", adversity, triumph and tremendous wisdom hard won. Heading out to buy a CD right now so I can reread the book with Chopin in the back ground.
Mr Janis reminds us about the wonder and the miracle of life if we remain open to it...
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews