Chopin and Beyond: My Extraordinary Life in Music and the Paranormal
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By any measure, Byron Janis has had an extraordinary musical career. His life outside the concert hall has been, if anything, even more remarkable. A serious injury at age eleven nearly ended his career before it began, and severe arthritis threatened to cut it short in his prime. He was the first American artist sent to the Soviet Union as part of the U.S/Soviet Cultural Exchange Program, and—not once, but twice—he discovered original Chopin manuscripts that had previously been thought lost forever. Yet inextricably intertwined with all of these major events, Mr. Janis says, were other, less tangible, but even more profound, occurrences that can only be described as paranormal.In Chopin and Beyond, Mr. Janis tells the story of his glorious life in music; his many friendships with renowned artists, writers, and celebrities; and the frequent experiences that took him beyond the reach of the senses. Writing with candor and humility, he reveals how being open to forces that, so far, cannot be explained by science, has enriched both his life and his music.Anyone who has heard Byron Janis play Chopin knows that he has a very special relationship with his music. He reveals for the first time some fascinating paranormal events he has experienced relating to the great composer. Mr. Janis explains the roles that his brilliant teacher Adele Marcus, his own determination, and synchronicity played in his recovery from the household accident that severed both a nerve and a tendon in his left pinkie. He also reveals how his openness to the paranormal has helped him to continue performing decades after his crippling arthritis should have ended his career. As the first student of legendary pianist Vladimir Horowitz, Mr. Janis offers a vivid portrait of this musical genius as a challenging teacher, hilarious companion, and complex and difficult friend. He also admits to a bittersweet romance with Horowitz's wife, Wanda, the daughter of famed conductor Arturo Toscanini. Among Mr. Janis's many lively anecdotes, his priceless stories about Picasso are particularly memorable, filled with vibrant examples of the painter's personal generosity and impish sense of humor. Mr. Janis and his wife, Maria Cooper Janis, recount their simultaneous dreams during the early morning hours of the day Picasso died.Complete with dozens of photos from important moments in Mr. Janis's life, both onstage and off, Chopin and Beyond is a must-read for Byron Janis fans, music lovers of all kinds, and anyone who wonders whether there is more to life and the universe than four immutable dimensions. Publishers Weekly Classical pianist Janis discusses more than just music in this intriguing autobiography. Born in Pennsylvania in 1928, Janis, a musical child prodigy, portrays himself as an attentive diamond in the rough refined by remarkable family sacrifices and influential patrons, including his mentor Vladimir Horowitz. A Carnegie Hall debut at 20 marks the prelude to a glamorous life of meeting celebrities and royalty while performing, recording, and touring Europe, Israel, and the Soviet Union. Only when arthritis slows his busy pace and threatens his career does Janis allow self-doubt to cloud an otherwise inspirational narrative. Throughout, Janis balances daily living against his developing inner consciousness. Each milestone--musical, personal, or romantic--exacts its emotional toll and pushes Janis to explore the affinities between his artistic sensitivity and the paranormal. As retold here, those experiences encompass the superstitious (Janis often bows to an imagined co-performer after playing a concert), the spooky (a closed piano plays on its own), and the mysterious (a death mask of Chopin sheds tears), among others. Janis and his wife, coauthor Cooper Janis, are not effusive about these incidents. References to synchronicity and Jung, experiences with Janis's friend psychic Uri Geller, and recommended readings at book's end allow readers to appreciate Janis's conviction while coming to their own conclusions. (Dec.)
Foreword by Maria Cooper Janis. 1 CHOPIN WALTZES. 2 BEGINNINGS. 3 DEEP IN THE HEART OF TEXAS. 4 WORKING WITH HOROWITZ. 5 SOUTH AMERICA. 6 CARNEGIE HALL. 7 WANDA. 8 A FEW MORE TURNS OF THE WHEEL. 9 COMING TO TERMS WITH THE PARANORMAL. 10 NOHANT. 11 SOVIET UNION, 1960–1962. 12 A RIVIERA DREAMSCAPE. 13 ADIEU À LA BELLE FRANCE. 14 MEETING MARIA. 15 SYNCHRONICITY. 16 AT LAST. 17 THE ABBEY OF REGINA LAUDIS. 18 A POWER TRIP. 19 ARTHRITIS. 20 MEETING URI GELLER. 21 PÈRE-LACHAISE AND MARIE D’AGOULT. 22 A PATH TO SPONTANEITY? 23 PARANORMAL HIGH JINKS. 24 SAND DRAWING. 25 CAPE COD MYSTERIES. 26 COMPLETING THE CIRCLE. 27 A PICASSO DREAM. 28 MEETING CHAGALL. 29 ANDREW BOREY. 30 ISRAEL. 31 REINCARNATION. 32 THE UMBRELLA. 33 UNIDENTIFIED FLYING OBJECTS. 34 THE BELLS. EPILOGUE. Acknowledgments. Recommended Reading. Index.
