Tom Service, [UK] Guardian music blogger, disputes Poland’s refusal to allow the heart of Frederic Chopin (left) to be tested for cystic fibrosis.

As the scientists say, ‘Is it not right to make an attempt to prove to many suffering people that many things count in life much more than a weak physical body, and they are not predestined to vanish without leaving something that will influence, inspire and enrich generations to come?’

…[Chopin's] music, instead of merely reflecting his sickliness or the way he succumbed to his physical frailty, is heroic: not just in the way he created a whole new approach to playing and composing for the piano, but also because his creativity transcended the hardships of his life. If it was cystic fibrosis rather than TB, then that just makes Chopin’s music the more astonishing. For sure, it won’t change the musical significance of his output, but I think we ought to know: let the scientists have their sample, I say.

Earlier post here.

(Image from Schick’s portrait, Hulton archive, in the [UK] Guardian)

This entry was posted on Wednesday, July 30th, 2008 at 9:50 am and is filed under arts/music, celebrities, commentary, cystic fibrosis, genetics, history. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.