CHOPIN'S GENIUS AND DISABILITY

Frederic Chopin was plagued by poor health

Frederic Chopin
(1810-1849)

throughout his short but prodigious life. His bouts of melancholy are well known and have been attributed to bipolar syndrome or clinical depression. Chopin also suffered from hallucinations. A 2011 study suggested this was caused by temporal lobe epilepsy.[1]

One of my favourite Chopin etudes is Opus 10, No. 12 (Revolutionary). See below. One website describes it this way:

"The Revolutionary Etude holds its place as one of the most eminent and well recognized of all of Chopin’s compositions. Beginning with the first dramatic chord all the way to the impassioned conclusion, this piece is an outpouring of emotion." 
[2]

Chopin is just another example of the richness that people with disabilities can bring to the world.

Mark

[Click on image below or https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uIsiYMiZYG4 , for Evengy Kissin playing Chopin's Etude Op. 10, No. 12, (2:37)]

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[1] http://health.usnews.com/health-news/family-health/brain-and-behavior/articles/2011/01/25/chopins-hallucinations-likely-caused-by-epilepsy
[2] http://www.ourchopin.com/analysis/etude.html