Annik LaFarge – författare

A modern take on a classical icon: this “luminous book” (Susan Orlean, New York Times bestselling author of The Library Book) tells the story of when, where, and how Chopin composed his most famous work, uncovering many surprises along the way and showing how his innovative music still animates and thrives in our culture centuries later.In this widely-praised book, Annik LaFarge presents a very different Frédéric Chopin from the melancholy, sickly, Romantic figure that has predominated for so long. The artist she discovered is, instead, a purely independent—and endlessly relevant—spirit: an innovator who created a new musical language; an autodidact who became a spiritually generous, trailblazing teacher; a stalwart patriot during a time of revolution, pandemic, and exile. One of America’s foremost pianists, Jeremy Denk, wrote in The New York Times: “It is almost impossible for me to imagine a world in which [Chopin’s “Funeral March”] is both fresh and tragic, where its death is real. LaFarge’s charming and loving new book attempts to recover this world…This book took me into many unexpected corners…For a book about death, it’s bursting with life and lively research.” In this “entertaining dual music history and memoir” (Publishers Weekly), a “seamless blend of the musical and literary verve” (Kirkus Reviews, starred review) LaFarge “brilliantly traces the footsteps of Chopin’s life” (Scott Yoo, host of PBS Now Hear This) during the three years, 1837–1840, when he composed the now-iconic Funeral March, using its composition story to illuminate the key themes of Chopin’s life. As part of her research into Chopin’s world, then and now, LaFarge visited piano makers, monuments, churches, and archives; she talked to scholars, jazz musicians, video game makers, music teachers, theater directors, and of course dozens of pianists. She has given us, says pianist, author, and New York Times columnist Michael Kimmelman, “a tour-de-force and journey of the soul.” It is an engrossing, “impeccably researched” (Library Journal) work of musical discovery and an artful portrayal of a man whose work and life continue to inspire artists and cultural innovators in astonishing ways. An acclaimed companion website, WhyChopin, presents links to each piece of music mentioned in the book, organized by chapter, along with photos, resources, and more.

The most comprehensive, up-to-date, and acclaimed guide to the High Line by the leading expert on the history of the park—now in a fully revised editionBuilt atop a former freight railroad, the "park in the sky" is regularly cited as one of the premiere examples of adaptive reuse and quickly became one of New York's most popular destinations, attracting more than 8 million visitors a year. This updated Third Edition of On the High Line— published to coincide with the fifteenth anniversary of the park's opening—remains the definitive guide to the park that transformed an entire neighborhood and became an inspiration to cities around the globe.In short entries organized by roughly two city block sections, the guide provides rich details about everything in view on both sides of the park. Illustrated with more than 110 black & white photographs, it covers historic and modern architecture; plants and horticulture; and important industries and technological innovations that developed in the neighborhoods the park traverses, from book publishing and food distribution to the introduction of cold storage and the development of radar, the elevator, and talking movies. Updated to include newly opened sections of the park, this edition also features a new conversation pertaining to the more controversial side of the High Line's story and how it became a poster child for the most grievous manifestations of gentrification and inequity in public spaces. Author Annik LaFarge provides a frank discussion on how the park's leadership created a platform for discussing these issues and for advising other projects on how to work more inclusively and from a social justice and equity perspective.On the High Line serves as an educated travel companion, someone invisibly perched on a visitor's shoulder who can answer every question, including what was here before, moving back in time through the early 20th century, the Industrial Revolution, and the colonial and pre-European times when this stretch of what we call Manhattan was home to the Lenape people and much of it was covered by the waters of the Hudson River. A companion website with more than 650 photos—historic, contemporary, rooftop and aerial—can be viewed at HighLineBook.com.