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Recommended Piano Books


Art and Craft
Under the Lid
Stephen H. Brady Brady
Paper back – 99.99
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Often called the “unseen artist,” the concert piano technician inhabits a world where differences as small as the thickness of a piece of paper can have mighty consequences in the performance of a piano recital. Before the pianist begins playing, the concert technician must prepare the way, making sure that each key plays properly, sounds in tune, and has the right kind of tone quality, in many cases performing this exacting work under intense time pressure. This is the first book to deal with the techniques and artistry specific to preparing pianos for concert use. It provides detailed practical advice for piano technicians on the fine points of tuning, regulating, and voicing for concerts, as well as on working with concert pianists, and also includes interviews and profiles of concert pianists and concert technicians, and anecdotes from the author’s career.



Biography
Life, Paint and Passion
Michele Cassou
Paper back 14.04
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About the Author Michele Cassou was born and raised in southern France. As a young adult she moved to Paris where she studied law, literature, and art. Inspired by watching children paint, she discovered a way to express herself spontaneously and without need for conventional training. By her early twenties painting had become her full time passion. A unique approach to creativity grew out of her many years of “just painting for herself” and her intense desire to share her work led her to work with other people and to lead groups in the creative process. In 1976 she founded the Painting Experience Studio in San Francisco where she has touched many people’s lives through ongoing classes and workshops, as well as in centers throughout the United States. She continues to paint and teach in the San Francisco Bay area.



Auto Biography
My Many Years
Arthur Rubinstein
hard cover 9.80
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Rubinstein’s memoir is the continuation of his first earlier work which dealt with his childhood and early adult years. This work covers the year 1917 to 1980. It opens with an account of his South American tour, then goes on to tell of his brief time in New York. It then gives much space to his years in Paris in the 1920’s and 1930’s. It goes on to tell of his meeting his future wife Nela, their feeling the Gestapo in France and settling in Hollywood. As in Paris Rubinstein rapidly establishes himself as desired social figure and mingles with the social elite. Above all of course Rubinstein is a great master pianist. And he has much to say about the way an artist must use the gift which he has been given. This is a rich work and one most highly recommended.



Biography
A Romance on Three Legs
Glenn Gould
Paper back – 12.09
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From Publishers Weekly; This evocative, detailed account of the compulsive search for a sensitive, highly responsive concert piano by Canadian musical wunderkind Glenn Gould combines the parallel histories of one of the most controversial and brilliant pianists of the last century and the incredible keyboard instrument on which he played for some of his most important recordings. Hafner, a New York Times correspondent, presents a fascinating biography of Gould, who was known for his quirks, including his wearing of winter gear on summer days, his donning of fingerless gloves while playing, his manic fear of germs and hand shaking. The book will greatly appeal to those intrigued by the history of the influential German-bred Steinway piano company, but it is the close interaction of Gould and Charles Verne Edquist, the nearly blind piano tuner, with a Steinway CD 318 concert piano, that lift the book above the usual biography. This book will aid the reader to fully appreciate Gould’s creative work in interpreting the early sonatas of Mozart and his majestic rendition of the Goldberg Variations. (June) Review: “A source of delight and illumination.”—San Francisco Chronicle “More books will be written about the famously eccentric pianist Glenn Gould. Perhaps none will be as intriguing as Hafner’s.”—Booklist


History
Piano: A Photographic History of the World’s Most Celebrated Instrument
Crombie
hard cover 9.00
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From Library Journal: Here from the publisher of Keyboard magazine are 200 color photos of historic and contemporary pianos, beautifully displayed with informative captions and an accompanying narrative in a sewn binding for a reasonable price. The book serves as a concise history of the piano, a pictorial record of its development (many photos and illustrations reveal design and mechanical details), and a source, through an appendix, for information on specific piano manufacturers. Eight foldout pages may become shabby after heavy use, but even libraries with Domenic Gill’s Book of the Piano (Cornell Univ., 1981) and Larry Fine’s The Piano Book (Brookside, 1994. 3d ed.) will want to treat themselves to this visually delightful title.?Bonnie Jo Dopp, Long Branch Community Lib., Silver Spring, Md. Review: This photographic history of the piano presents stunning views of over 150 pianos, using these to trace the evolution and history of the instrument and its manufacturers. Piano players and those absorbing the history of the instrument will find these photographic embellishments fine tools for understanding the piano’s changing appearance and purposes. — Midwest Book Review



History
Piano Roles: A New History of the Piano
James Parakilas
Paper back –12.08
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“From Library Journal: The piano turns 300 this year. To celebrate, Parakilas (music, Bates Coll.; Ballads Without Words: Chopin and the Tradition of the Instrumental Ballade) has assembled a group of distinguished contributors and fashioned a lavishly illustrated social history of the piano directed at informed lay readers. Interweaving a chronological treatment of the piano’s development with thematic essays, including how the piano is depicted in art, its manufacture and marketing, the role of the piano in motion pictures, the piano lesson, and its history in Japan, the authors share their warm regard and enthusiasm for this instrument central to so many facets of music-making. Exploring the piano’s well-traveled avenues and little-known byways, this thoroughly entertaining and insightful book complements earlier titles like The Lives of the Piano (ed. by James R. Gaines; 1981. o.p.), Dieter Hildebrandt’s Pianoforte: A Social History of the Piano (LJ 6/1/88), and David Crombie’s Piano (LJ 1/96). Highly recommended as an exceptional value for all music collections. -Barry Zaslow, Miami Univ. Libs., Oxford, OH Review: In turns highly entertaining and very educational, full of extraordinary facts. An admirable addition to the literature on this subject.”” Andre Previn “”Reaches out to general readers as well as musical insiders… A fascinating cultural history.”” Anthony Tommasini, New York Times “”A book that will tell you everything you want to know about the piano, except maybe how to play it… The book is replete with artworks, photos, history, anecdotes, and reminiscences.”” Herbert Kupferberg, Houston Chronicle “”A wonderful mosaic of the history of the piano and the diverse parts it has played in its three hundred years of life.” Henry Sheen, New Statesman



Piano Techniques
The Inner Game of Music
Barry Green with W. Timothy Gallwey
paper back – 7.67
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” From the Publisher: By the best-selling co-author of Inner Tennis, here’s a book designed to help musicians overcome obstacles, help improve concentration, and reduce nervousness, allowing them to reach new levels of performing excellence and musical artistry.
From the Inside Flap
By the best-selling co-author of Inner Tennis, here’s a book designed to help musicians overcome obstacles, help improve concentration, and reduce nervousness, allowing them to reach new levels of performing excellence and musical artistry.”



Techniques Advice
Famous Pianists and Their Technique, New Edition
Reginald R. Gerig
Paper back – 59.93
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“Review: This book was eye-opening when the first edition… appeared, and it remains so today…. The new edition is somewhat enhanced with the addition of a short foreword by Alan Walker and a number of appendixes that refer the reader to specific discussion areas such as ‘the aesthetic imperative, mental and psychological control, isolated movements, coordinated movements, posture,’ and so on…. Recommended….”” —Choice
From the Publisher: There is no book like [Famous Pianists and Their Technique] in the English or any other language; it covers the gamut of technical development from Diruta or John Cage. Every important pedagogue is discussed in detail so it is easy to understand their unique contribution to the development of piano technique.”” — Maurice Hinson, Senior Professor of Piano, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary ”



Techniques Advice
The Art of Piano Playing
Heinrich Neuhaus
Paper back – 14.69
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This classic was written by a legendary piano teacher — and student of Godowsky — who trained Vladimir Horowitz, Sviatoslav Richter, Radu Lupu, Emil Gilels, and many other famous virtuosos. Heinrich Neuhaus offers practical recommendations and analysis, including advice on tone, technique, and teaching. His suggestions are seasoned with personal experiences and leavened with humor.



Techniques Advice
Piano Technique
Walter Gieseking and Karl Leimer
Paper back – 7.89
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Perfect for students and teachers looking for a radical approach to finger and expression technique, this volume collects two classic books bound together by one of greatest pianists of all time and his famed teacher. Includes both The Shortest Way to Pianistic Perfection, and Rhythmics, Dynamics, Pedal and Other Problems of Piano Playing.



Techniques Advice
The Perfect Wrong Note
William Westney
Paper back – 15.35
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“Review: Clearly the work of a master teacher who has deep knowledge of his subject and enormous empathy for his students and readers.”” – Betty Edwards, author of Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain”” –Betty Edwards
About the Author
William Westney is a past winner of the Geneva International Competition, concert pianist, teacher, and educational innovator. A distinguished professor and artist-in-residence, he has been honoured with many awards and his groundbreaking Un-Master Class performance workshop is in great demand around the world



Art of Conducting
My Life in Music
Daniel Barenboim
hard cover 6.21
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Review :Serial ran in THE GUARDIAN on 6 September, and we have set a press date of 21 September. Daniel Barenboim will be in London on Tuesday 26 November and we will be arranging one interview with him and he will also be signing some copies for Hatchards. Our first review in THE DAILY TELEGRAPH by the critic and enthusiast Rupert Christiansen is excellent: “This is a highly stimulating book… a repository of wisdom, as rich in insight into great individuals whom Barenboim has encountered as it is in more general reflections on his art…his unshakeable integrity is hugely impressive, and there can be few books by performing artists that are so illuminating.” Reviews and coverage in the mu –This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.



Autobiography
I Really Should Be Practicing
Gary Graffman
Paper back – 42.00
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In this autobiography Gary Graffman not only chronicles his own musical career but puts the reader in close touch with many of the major figures of the classical musical world. Graffman tells the story of how his family left Russia and how he made his way in America to the concert stage. His tells vivid anecdotes about many of the musical greats including Horowitz who was his teacher, Stravinsky, Rubinstein and Van Cliburn. He brings us into unusual places in the musical world such as the Steinway establishment on the West Side of New York where the great concert pianists came to acquire their instruments. Graffman writes with a somewhat self- celebratory tone and gives the sense that all he was involved in was quite wonderful.



Biography
Johann Sebastian Bach: The Learned Musician
Christoph Wolff
Paper back – 16.63
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Review: A magisterial biographical portrait…necessarily learned, but also user-friendly, helpful and entertainingly informative. — Chicago Tribune A monumental work that must find its way into the library of every musician and every dedicated lover of music. — Isaac Stern A work of clarity worthy of its subject and his music. — Wall Street Journal– It’s unlikely that anyone will fashion a finer tribute to [Bach’s] genius. — Los Angeles Times Book Review Likely to be the standard one-volume Bach biography for some time to come. — New York Review of Books Undoubtedly the most important Bach biography since Phillipp Spitta’s life written over a century ago. — The New Republic



Biography
Bad Boy of Music
George Antheil
Paper back – 12.80
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This book is thoroughly entertaining. From tips on how to control and unruly audience(a pistol works well) to patents on guidance systems for torpedoes this book covers the gamut. Oh yes, he does talk about music. Get a copy of Ballet Mecanique and you will understand Mr. Antheil, bright mind, brilliant technique, tongue firmly in cheek and willing to be audacious 24/7. His music is really quite intriguing. The Chicago Symphony Orchestra played Symphony no. 5 ‘Joyous’ during the 2000-2001 season and introduced me to this under-appreciated, under-performed American composer.



Biography
Beethoven, Revised Edition
Maynard Solomon
Paper back – 14.13
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From Library Journal: For 20 years, Solomon’s Beethoven has served scholars and lay readers as one of the most enlightening studies of the life and works of this fascinating composer. Justly praised for his thoroughness, honesty, and insight in presenting the many facets of a complex artist, Solomon approaches his subject from myriad different angles?historical, psychological, sociological, and aesthetic?to treat the reader to a view of Beethoven, his music, and his era that answers long-standing questions and reveals new ways of considering the composer, his works, and his motivation. In this revision, Solomon retains all the freshness of the first edition while incorporating the enormous amount of research published on Beethoven since the initial 1977 printing. Solomon’s book should continue to engage readers for the next several decades. Highly recommended for public and academic libraries.?Timothy J. McGee, Univ. of Toronto



Biography
Mozart: A Life
Maynard Solomon
Paper back – 15.98
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From Publishers Weekly: Beethoven biographer Solomon here presents a revisionist biography of Mozart, which his publisher claims is the first full-scale biography in nearly 40 years. Certainly it is a major work in terms of heft and range. Solomon will have none of the “divine child” approach, limning instead a man growing up under the shadow of an impossibly demanding father who was at once overprotective and jealous of his son’s vast gifts. There is a great deal of psychological probing into the agonies of their relationship, much of it sensible; and Solomon paints an indelible portrait of Mozart’s last years, begging for money, guilty about his deprived wife Constanze, resentful of being virtually cut out of his father’s will, yet still heroically forging a new musical aesthetic. He also clears up much of the mystery about the bizarre Requiem commission, and the burial in the “pauper’s grave.” He is convinced that Mozart and his cousin “the Basle,” recipient of many of the infamous smutty letters, were lovers for a time; and the portrait of the composer that emerges is of an extraordinarily sensitive, liberal-minded (the Masonic material is superb), extravagant but responsible person who has been much belittled by biographers beginning almost immediately after his death. Solomon also writes acutely about what was daringly new, and wonderfully enduring, about Mozart’s music. Only a certain lack of flow between the chapters suggests the origin of much of this material in lectures. Illustrations. BOMC selection.



Biography
Glenn Gould: The Ecstasy and Tragedy of Genius
Peter Ostwald
Paper back – 20.66
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From Library Journal: The late writer, psychiatrist, and musician Ostwald concluded his series of performer biographies (e.g., Vaslav Nijinsky: A Leap into Madness, LJ 11/1/90) with this portrait of Canadian pianist Glenn Gould. Ostwald wrote from the unusual perspective of someone who was a friend of the reclusive Gould. Readers excited by this insider viewpoint may be somewhat disappointed as Ostwald’s personal reminiscences taper off after his opening chapter. Still, Ostwald does present the medical aspects of Gould’s life to a degree not seen in earlier biographies. And though Gould remains something of an enigma, his talent, quirkiness, and innovative musicianship emerge. Since his death in 1982, Gould has remained an influential and somewhat controversial pianist, owing in part to a recorded legacy that remains very much alive. This new biography should help maintain interest in Gould. A valuable addition for larger music collections.?James E. Ross, WLN, Seattle



Guide to Learning and Performing
Passionate Practice: The Musician’s Guide to Learning, Memorizing, and Performing
Margret Elson
Paper back – 17.96
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“Review:Passionate Practice”” offers a comprehensive and positive path toward authentic musicality. — John McCarthy, Director of Prepatory & Extension Divisions, San Francisco Conservatory of Music

Simply stated–this book is terrific. It reads beautifully and will help not only pianists but other performers as well. — Diana Darby, Ph.D., Pianist, Composer, Inventor, Assistant Professor, Electrical Engineering and Music, Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering

There are rich implications here not only for artistic development but for the psychotherapeutic treatment of blocks to creative expression. — Louise Bettner, PhD., Clinical Psychologist, Classical Pianist, Faculty, John F. Kennedy University



Guide to Mastering Piano
The Piano Handbook: A Complete Guide for Mastering Piano
Carl Humphries
Spiral- bound – 19.99
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About the Author: Carl Humphries is a pianist, composer, and music journalist. He studied piano and composition in London, Turin, and Berlin, and has performed at some of the most prestigious classical and jazz venues in the UK. His workshops and lecture/recitals are in demand at music academies and university music departments throughout Europe and in the US



Guide to Practice
Improve Your Piano Playing
John Meffen
Paper back – 6.90
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Review: “Into the complex world of classical piano drops an unassuming, energetic little book, modest in tone but ambitious in scope. Dr. John Meffen lays out, in ruthlessly organized detail, the steps for learning to play the piano—and manages to provide ‘aha!’ moments for the most sophisticated player. A delight to read, this book is a real find for both the beginning and the advanced pianist.” (Christina Dahl, Associate Professor of Piano, Stony Brook University ) –This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.



Guide to Practice
The Art of Practicing
Madeline Bruser
Paper back – 11.29
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From Library Journal: In an attempt to address the basic aspects of practicing and interpreting, this book includes both the physical and the spiritual. Instructions are given for stretching exercises to relax and flex the body and for meditation to prepare the mind, often addressing both physical and interpretive problems through a combination of both approaches. The bulk of the instructions are for pianists; here the author feels confident and speaks in her own voice. For other instruments and voice she relies, unquestioningly, on the opinions of others. The format is straightforward instruction combined with the somewhat stilted Socratic question-and-answer approach. For larger collections. Timothy J. McGee, Univ. of Toronto Review Madeline Bruser has put together a valuable and insightful look at the art of practicing. If more people read this this book, perhaps we might see an increase in the number of inspired and joyful music makers who, rather than viewing practice as a punitive activity, regard it as the supreme opportunity to explore their own creativity. American Music Teacher



Guide to Purchase
The Piano Book: Buying & Owning a New or Used Piano
Larry Fine
paper back-17.46
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From Library Journal: This comprehensive volume contains valuable information for the consumer; following a technical but lucid description of the mechanics of a piano’s action, it discusses all aspects of purchasing and maintaining an instrument. Numerous illustrations and charts enhance the text, which is clearly and directly written, and buying tips accompany the guides to purchasing both new and used instruments. But most valuable for a prospective buyer are the numerical ratings of virtually all models of pianos currently available, both foreign and domestic, based on the experiences of technicians around the country. An excellent source book. Susan Kagan, Hunter Coll., CUNY Review: “If there is to be a piano in your future, the single indispensable reference is The Piano Book by Larry Fine.” —Noah Adams, host of NPR’s All Things Considered “The Piano Book is a must-have resource, no matter what kind of music you play, or what kind of piano you own or intend to buy.” —Robert Moog, inventor of the Moog Synthesizer “It is a book that I never thought I would see in print and a book that will be of great service to the piano world.” —Robert Silverman, former editor of The Piano Quarterly



History
The Rest Is Noise: Listening to the Twentieth Century
Alex Rose
Paper back – 14.19
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From Publishers Weekly Starred Review. Ross, the classical music critic for the New Yorker, leads a whirlwind tour from the Viennese premiere of Richard Strauss’s Salome in 1906 to minimalist Steve Reich’s downtown Manhattan apartment. The wide-ranging historical material is organized in thematic essays grounded in personalities and places, in a disarmingly comprehensive style reminiscent of historian Otto Friedrich. Thus, composers who led dramatic lives—such as Shostakovich’s struggles under the Soviet regime—make for gripping reading, but Ross treats each composer with equal gravitas. The real strength of this study, however, lies in his detailed musical analysis, teasing out—in precise but readily accessible language—the notes that link Leonard Bernstein’s West Side Story to Arnold Schoenberg’s avant-garde compositions or hint at a connection between Sibelius and John Coltrane. Among the many notable passages, a close reading of Benjamin Britten’s opera Peter Grimes stands out for its masterful blend of artistic and biographical insight. Readers new to classical music will quickly seek out the recordings Ross recommends, especially the works by less prominent composers, and even avid fans will find themselves hearing familiar favorites with new ears. (Oct.)


History
A Conversation on Music
Anton Rubinstein &John P. Morgan
Paper back – 16.25
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This book was originally published prior to 1923, and represents a reproduction of an important historical work, maintaining the same format as the original work. While some publishers have opted to apply OCR (optical character recognition) technology to the process, we believe this leads to sub-optimal results (frequent typographical errors, strange characters and confusing formatting) and does not adequately preserve the historical character of the original artifact. We believe this work is culturally important in its original archival form. While we strive to adequately clean and digitally enhance the original work, there are occasionally instances where imperfections such as blurred or missing pages, poor pictures or errant marks may have been introduced due to either the quality of the original work or the scanning process itself. Despite these occasional imperfections, we have brought it back into print as part of our ongoing global book preservation commitment, providing customers with access to the best possible historical reprints. We appreciate your understanding of these occasional imperfections, and sincerely hope you enjoy seeing the book in a format as close as possible to that intended by the original publisher.



History
The Great Pianists
Harold C. Schonberg
Paper back – 15.69
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The Great Pianists brings to life the brilliant, stylish, and sometimes eccentric personalities, methods, and technical peculiarities of history’s greatest pianists. Pulitzer Prize–winning critic and author Harold C. Schonberg presents vivid accounts of the artists’ performances, styles, and even their personal lives and quirky characteristics— such as Mozart’s intense competition with Clementi, Lizst’s magnetic effect on women (when he played, ladies flung their jewels on stage), and Gottschalk’s persistent nailbiting, which left the keys covered with blood Including profiles of Horowitz and Van Cliburn, among others, and chapters detailing the playing and careers of such modern pianists as de Larrocha, Ashkenazy, Gilels, Gould, Brendel, Bolet, Gutierrez, and Watts, The Great Pianists is a comprehensive and fascinating look at legendary performers past and present.



History
The Lives of the Great Composers
Harold C. Schonberg
Paper back – 10.18
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From Library Journal: This third edition of a work that has become a standard resource since its publication in 1981 includes brief but significant changes. A new chapter brings the work up to date, covering later serialists such as Stockhausen and Carter, minimalists Philip Glass and John Adams, and Alfred Schnittke and Peter Maxwell Davies. Schonberg discusses the recent phenomenal success of recordings of Gregorian chant and the search for styles of composition that combine originality and complexity with audience appeal. Women composers Fanny Mendelssohn Hensel, Amy Beach, Cecile Chaminade, Ethel Smyth, and Ellen Taaffe Zwilich are now included. Though each has been given only one paragraph, it is valuable to see them placed in the context of their contemporaries and their predecessors. Schonberg writes for the lay reader. His intention is to humanize the composers and the writing, always highly readable, emphasizes biographical information rather than musical analysis. Recommended for all public and academic libraries.Kate McCaffrey, Onondaga Cty. P.L., Syracuse, N.Y. Review: A smooth, closely woven sequence of brief biographies . . . set in a surrounding continuum of depth and breadth which reflects the author’s solid musical culture, his erudition, his command of socio-historic background, and his long experience in every kind and degree of performance. — The New York Times



History
Dance and the Music of J. S. Bach: Expanded Edition
Meredith Little and Natalie Jenne
Paper back – 11.78
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About the Author: Meredith Little is an attorney practicing law in Tucson. She has taught at Stanford University and Aston Magna Academy and is author of numerous articles on Baroque music and dance, include twenty-three articles in the New Grove. Natalie Jenne, Professor of Music Emeritus at Concordia University, has published articles in the J. S. Bach (in the series Oxford Composer Companions), Key Words in Church Music, and journals such as Bach, The Diapason, Church Music, and Clavier. She conducts workshops on aspects of Baroque performance practice, in particular, the music of Bach



History
The Lives and Times of the Great Composers
Michael Steen
hard cover 35.49
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“A grand and panoramic biograhical history of the giants of classical music, The Lives and Times of Great Composers is a new, unique, and lovingly constructed modern reference–and a beguiling read which you will return to again and again.

Interlinked yet self-contained, each chapter distills the life of one or more composers, set against the social, political, musical, and cultural background of the time. Read the story of Bach, the respectable burgher, much of whose vast output was composed amidst petty turf disputes in Luteran Leipzig; or the ugly, argumentative Beethoven, obsessed by his laundry; or Mozart, the over-exploited infant prodigy whose untimely death was shrouded in rumor; or the ghastly death of Donizetti and Smetana. Read about Verdi, who composed against the background of the Italian Risorgimento, or about the family life of the Wagners; and Brahms, who rose from the slums of Hamburg to become a devotee of beer and coffee in fin-de-siecle Vienna, a cultural capital bent on destroying Mahler.



Novel
An Equal Music
Vikram Seth
Paper back – 10.82
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From Publishers Weekly: Seth finds his true voice in this lyrical, ravishing tale of star-crossed lovers an English violinist and the pianist he desperately pursues. Unlike his previous work, A Suitable Boy (a 1349-page family melodrama set in 1950s India and self-consciously modeled on the social novels of Dickens, Trollope and Eliot), this novel is tightly controlled, original in design, awash in the music and spirit of Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, Haydn, Brahms and Bach. Even readers not familiar with specific pieces of Western classical music will be caught up in the contemporary love story, set mainly in London and Vienna with excursions to Venice and northern England. Michael Holme, brooding member of an English string quartet, endlessly adrift a decade after breaking up with pianist Julia McNicholl, suddenly bumps into her again in London. They resume their affair with guilty reluctance on her part, as she’s married to an American banker and has a son, but with reckless abandon by Michael, who betrays and then ditches his girlfriend, a needy French violin student 15 years his junior. Beyond mere erotic duplicities, a far more tragic obstacle emerges Julia is rapidly going deaf. Music, her lifeblood, is slipping away from her, a secret she keeps from her fellow musicians until Michael clumsily reveals it. Around this simple plot, Seth weaves an exploration of the creative process as he delves into the quartet members’ quirks and neuroses, their romances, states of exaltation, their synchronous vision. All the rehearsals, shoptalk, fiddling and ruminations blunt the impact of Julia’s tragedy and the love story’s momentum, but Seth’s musical, quicksilver prose keeps the narrative aloft. It’s a classy novel, told with keen intelligence and sensitivity, embodying a brave attempt to fathom the world of deafness as well as the high-strung milieu of performing artists. $150,000 ad/promo; author tour; simultaneous audio; rights sold in Denmark, France, Germany, India, Canada, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden and the U.K.



Novel
Body and Soul
Frank Conroy
Paper back – 13.50
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From Publishers Weekly: Conroy’s debut novel, of a young and neglected musical prodigy who is taken in by a music-store owner, was named one of PW’s best books of 1993. Review: “Beautifully written, and hypnotically readable…the best story I know of in a long, long time.” -Vanity Fair “Full of enchantment…a precise conjuring of an exceptional child’s perceptions and feelings.” _Entertainment Weekly



Pianist Advise
Playing the Piano for Pleasure
Charles Cooke
Paper back – 0.01
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Here is a book that will be enjoyed by all pianists not only for the stimulating advice it provides, but also for the style with which it is written. Mr. Cooke was a journalist for the New Yorker in the 30’s and 40’s and obviously really knew his craft. While most of the book is devoted to improving piano skills, he does drop a hew hilarious anecdotes. One priceless one involves his use of a silent keyboard and how he manages to drive James Thurber crazy with all the mysterious tapping.



Pianist Advise
Piano Playing: With Piano Questions Answered
Josef Hofmann
Paper back – 3.99
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A master of technique advocates a balanced approach to piano playing in this comprehensive guide. The first part discusses practice methods, use of the pedal, playing pieces as written, and other rules. The second section answers frequently asked questions about body and hand positions, wrist and arm action, phrasing, and much more.



Pianist Reflection
Speaking of Pianists
Abram Chassins
Paper back – 35.00
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Abram Chasins holds a unique place in American musical history. As a pianist, author and music critique, he grew up in the heyday when pianists of world renown were performing in Carnagie Hall in New York. This book documents his friendship with the great pianists of the day…Josef Hofmann, Leopold Godovsky, Josef Levinne, Rachmaninoff, Rubinstein and even the young Horowitz to name a few. His writing is eloquent. His insights, unique. A book you will reread many times.



Pianists World
Piano Notes
Charles Rosen
Paper back – 14.70
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“From Publishers Weekly: Music is not just sound or even significant sound…. There has to be a genuine love simply of the mechanics and difficulties of playing, a physical need for the contact with the keyboard,”” writes Rosen, a concert pianist, music critic and National Book Award winner (for 1970’s The Classical Style: Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven). He explores those mechanics, difficulties and more in this thoughtful and wide-reaching blend of history, homage and memoir. In a slightly uptight but obviously learned manner, the author explains the various elements that the piano-playing experience entails, from a child’s understanding of the fingering for a C major scale to an accomplished concert pianist’s position on her stool. Rosen is mainly concerned with the physicalities of playing the instrument, and he takes readers from concert halls, discussing the order of pieces to be performed lest a pianist follow a work in E-flat major by one in D major to the recording studio, examining the facility with which one can splice piano music. Although nearly all of Rosen’s examples are from the music of Bach, Debussy, Chopin, Mendelssohn, Schumann and other classical musicians which may alienate readers who play jazz or popular piano his musings are indeed modern; he ponders what will become of the “”dinosaur””-like piano in the 22nd century and addresses the problems of performing in a country where piano concerts are only de rigueur in large cities. Filled with trivia and thought-provoking commentary, Rosen’s book is a sometimes dense, but important, study of the physical factors involved in tickling the ivories. FromBooklist From a professional’s point of view, pianist Rosen carefully links the physical act of playing and the aesthetics of the music it produces, with movements of the fingers, arms, feet, and torso that introduce dance and gesture into the interpretation of music. He comments on the role of technique, which becomes routine and sublimated to how a score is interpreted; a hall’s acoustics, audience interruptions, and the particular instrument played all affect a performance, but the technique is truly unconscious. Competitions and contests tend to breed standard performances thought to please judges, he says, while private concerts lead to experimentation, and public concertizing produces consistent performances. In recordings, a pianist tends to strive instead for perfection because a record freezes a performance. Finally, Rosen comments on the styles and manners of performers he has witnessed. He truly sheds light on all aspects of piano performance, and piano-music lovers and players alike will benefit from his thought-provoking and appreciation-enhancing comments. Alan Hirsch



Piano Atlas
Pierce Piano Atlas 12th Edition
Larry Ashley and Bob Pierce
Paper back – 35.00
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About the Author: W. R. (Bob) Pierce spent 68 years in the piano and organ business and was internationally known as Mr. Piano. His son, Larry Ashley who joined the business in 1963, spent over 20 of those years working with his father in their Mr. Piano Salon. Bob collaborated with N. E. Michel on the first Atlas published in 1947. In 1963 Bob and Larry assumed sole ownership and expanded the Pierce Piano Atlas to include international brands. The Atlas is now updated and published by Larry E. Ashley.



Piano History
Men, Women and Pianos: A Social History
Arthur Loesser
paper back 22.08
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An internationally renowned pianist presents a delightful “piano’s-eye view” of Western European and American social history from the 16th through 20th centuries. With wit and erudition, Loesser traces the history of the instrument’s design and manufacture and its music, from the clavichord and harpsichord to the modern spinet and concert grand.



Piano Lesson
Piano Lessons: Music, Love, and True Adventures
Noah Adams
Paper back – 10.41
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From Publishers weekly : “It is my dream, when I touch the keys, to release the notes. It is music waiting there,” writes Adams in this delightful recreation of the year he recently spent trying to learn to play the piano and, most specifically, trying to master Robert Schumann’s Traumerei. The experience may have been frustrating for the author, but he is such an unself-conscious raconteur that he catches the reader’s sympathy and amusement at his befuddlement as to why he, a 51-year-old, would be so foolhardy as to suddenly spend $11,375 for an instrument he neither knows how to play nor, given the pressures of his job as host of NPR’s All Things Considered, has time to practice. Figuring that he has only 20 minutes a day to devote to activities unrelated to his work, he sets out to become a pianist, first studying with a computer program, then a sight-reading system on tapes and finally, in the most captivating episode here, at a 10-day adult music school in Vermont run by the family of the saleswoman who sold him his Steinway. Adams interrupts his practice sessions throughout the book to reminisce about pianists he admires, educate us about keyboard instruments, tell us about his domestic life with his wife, Neenah, and about his job and related travels. At year’s end he feels confident enough to play the Schumann for his wife as a Christmas present. A piece Horowitz could play in two minutes and 32 seconds Adams needs 20 minutes to complete. No matter, for his performance brings his audience of readers to its feet with shouts of “Bravo!”



Piano Lesson
Note by Note
Tricia Tunstall
Paper back – 14.35
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“From Publishers Weekly: Starred Review. For readers who possess the mildest interest in reading about music or how the mysterious process of learning to play a musical instrument is transferred from teacher to student, this well-composed narrative will be a joy to read. Those so inclined will undoubtedly revel in Tunstall’s elegant prose based on her 15 years as a private music teacher. She offers graceful discussions of tonal music, how the pull of pop music has altered the musical environment and why the astonishingly hardy phenomenon of the recital endures in our culture. But for those tempted to dismiss this slim volume because they’ve never had a music lesson or read a score, this too short memoir offers a rare glimpse into a fascinating world. Tunstall cites her students, the endlessly interesting and varied young people who have sat on my piano bench for six days a week for many years, as the inspiration for the story. She weaves together her insights into the role music plays in the development of self, why teaching kids how to practice is a central preoccupation for piano teachers and what advanced piano students have discovered about themselves. This is a gem that deserves a wide audience. (Apr.) Review: An elegant, unforgettable homage to the piano lesson and the often mysterious relationship of teacher and student.”” — Booklist (starred review)



Purchasing Piano
The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Buying a Piano
Marty C. Flinn
Paper back – 0.01
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About the Author: Both musicians, Jennifer and Marty Flinn have more than 44 combined years in piano retail. Jennifer is a former school music teacher and Marty is a member of the Piano Technicians Guild. This is the first book written by salespeople that dispels myths and airs dirty tricks, making it an easy-to- use buyer’s guide for all the well known, and many of the not-so-well known, piano models.



Purchasing Piano
Grand Obsession: A Piano Odyssey
Perri Knize
Paper back – 13.37
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Embarking on piano lessons in middle age, environmental journalist Knize sets out on an ancillary quest to find the perfect piano on a limited budget. She scours North America’s piano outlets, immerses herself in the colorful online subculture of piano aficionados and grows fluent in the language of keyboard connoisseurship (a thin, shrill, brittle treble, she sniffs at a Steinway). Then she falls in love with Marlene, a Grotrian-Steinweg grand with the sultry and seductive tone of Dietrich herself; she’s so smitten that she mortgages her house to buy it. Then disaster strikes: when shipped from the New York showroom to her Montana home, the piano sounds weird and echoey, and its glorious treble is dead. Desperate to restore Marlene’s voice, Knize mobilizes an army of eccentric piano technicians (these lowly craftsmen emerge as wild-eyed artists in their own right), delves into the subtle intricacies that influence a piano’s sound and ponders the haunting evanescence of music. Sometimes the mysticism—music ‘is a way of exiting the petty self and entering the Over-soul… [i]t’s about existing at a certain vibration’ —gets thick enough to cut with a knife. But Knize writes in a wonderfully evocative, lushly romantic style, and music lovers will resonate to her mad pursuit of a gorgeous sound. (Jan.)



Question & Answer
Ornamentation : A Question & Answer Manual
Valery Lloyd-Watts and Carole L. Bigler
Paper back – 8.84
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This guide to understanding ornamentation in each era of music includes information on how to understand and remain faithful to the composer’s intention, how many and which notes to use in each ornament, how to integrate ornaments smoothly into a performance and simple strategies and systems for realizing and practicing ornaments. A synthesis of years of scholarly research resulting in a logical, easy to follow and accurate volume.



Science of Human Obsession
This is Your brain on Music
Daniel J. Levitin
Paper back – 12.09
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From Publishers Weekly: Starred Review. Think of a song that resonates deep down in your being. Now imagine sitting down with someone who was there when the song was recorded and can tell you how that series of sounds was committed to tape, and who can also explain why that particular combination of rhythms, timbres and pitches has lodged in your memory, making your pulse race and your heart swell every time you hear it. Remarkably, Levitin does all this and more, interrogating the basic nature of hearing and of music making (this is likely the only book whose jacket sports blurbs from both Oliver Sacks and Stevie Wonder), without losing an affectionate appreciation for the songs he’s reducing to neural impulses. Levitin is the ideal guide to this material: he enjoyed a successful career as a rock musician and studio producer before turning to cognitive neuroscience, earning a Ph.D. and becoming a top researcher into how our brains interpret music. Though the book starts off a little dryly (the first chapter is a crash course in music theory), Levitin’s snappy prose and relaxed style quickly win one over and will leave readers thinking about the contents of their iPods in an entirely new way. (Aug.) From School Library Journal Adult/High School–Levitin’s fascination with the mystery of music and the study of why it affects us so deeply is at the heart of this book. In a real sense, the author is a rock ‘n’ roll doctor, and in that guise dissects our relationship with music. He points out that bone flutes are among the oldest of human artifacts to have been found and takes readers on a tour of our bio-history. In this textbook for those who don’t like textbooks, he discusses neurobiology, neuropsychology, cognitive psychology, empirical philosophy, Gestalt psychology, memory theory, categorization theory, neurochemistry, and exemplar theory in relation to music theory and history in a manner that will draw in teens. A wonderful introduction to the science of one of the arts that make us human.–Will Marston, Berkeley Public Library, CA



Story
Life and Liszt: The Recollections of a Concert Pianist
Arthur Friedheim
Paper back – 15.60
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In this profound and scholarly study, Liszt’s friend, favorite pupil, and secretary presents an intimate portrait of the composer’s private and professional life. Its vibrant, richly textured prose recaptures a golden age of music during the 1870s and 80s, an era populated by giants of the keyboard and the podium, as well as scholars, writers, soldiers, and statesmen.


Story
Am I Too Loud?
Gerald Moore
Paper back – 3.99
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The memoirs of the Unashamed Accompanist are at once a witty, informative and provocative record of the musical life of the past forty years. As a boy Gerald Moore was dull at work and sport and had no hobbies. Fortunately his mother detected the latent musician and forced him to practice his piano until he became something of a child wonder. In 1913 his family emigrated to Canada where he was at intervals an unreliable cash boy in a department store, a church choirmaster and caretaker and a cinema organist. Narrowly escaping Holy Orders, Gerald had his first professional experience at sixteen, touring Canada with a cellist and a tenor, at a dollar a concert. Returning to London in 1919 he embarked on a career, thanks to the advice of Sir Landon Ronald, that was to make him world-famous.



Story
Farewell Recital
Gerald Moore
hard cover 4.69
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no description available



Story
Piano Girl
Robin Meloy Goldsby
Paper back – 11.36
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This is the story of one woman’s accidental career as a cocktail lounge piano player. Connecting the people she has met with the places she has played and the pianos she has known, Robin Meloy Goldsby discovers the human side, for better or worse, of her audiences – mobsters and moguls, the down-and-out, the downright scary, and ordinary people dealing with life in extraordinary ways.



Study of Piano Pedaling
The Pianist’s Guide to Pedaling
Joseph Banowetz
Paper back 18.86
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“Review; … a most precious book which every serious pianist and teacher must own.”” – Journal of the American Liszt Society. Joseph Banowetz and four distinguished contributors provide practical suggestions and musicological insights on the pedaling of keyboard works from the 18th to the 20th century.



Technique Advise
Interpreting Bach at the Keyboard
Paul Badura-Skoda
Paper back – 63.95
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“Review: The most comprehensive and authoritative treatment of its topic ever attempted….His intimate familiarity with Bach’s keyboard music is evident throughout….This is an important study that deserves an international audience.””–Russell Stinson, SUNY at Stony Brook
“”For all musicians, not just keyboardists.””–Choice
“”This exceedingly comprehensive work is particularly significant not only as a revelation of the musical perceptions of one of the foremost keyboard artists of our time, but also for the sound musicological evidence it presents for the illumination of a wide range of performance problems inherent in Bach’s keyboard works. The author’s demonstrated ability to convey the composer’s intentions to present-day performers in the interests of musical perfection undoubtedly will enrich the experience and understanding of Bach’s music for audiences for many years to come.””–The Diapason



Techniques Advice
Basic Principles in Pianoforte Playing
Josef Lhevinne
Paper back – 5.36
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Written at the height of his career, this little book by the “inward poet of the piano” is a clear statement of principles based on his lifelong experience in performance and teaching. The heart of the guide is devoted to the attainment of a beautiful tone, and specific musical examples are presented as illustrations throughout.



Techniques Advise
An Amateur At the Keyboard
Peter Yates
Hard cover 4.99
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Techniques Advise
Effortless Mastery
Kenny Werner
Paper back – 14.49
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From the Publisher: This is a great book for any musician, and it has literally changed the way people all over the globe think about their lives and their music. Kenny’s candid confession of frustrations regarding his own early development really reveal how *everyone* struggles to reach a place of mastery, no matter what facade of confidence they present publicly. It is an inspiring book that seems to immediately connect with musicians, who say to us over and over, “I’ve always felt there was something holding me back, and now I know how to let go and move forward!” The accompanying CD of meditations will be helpful for those wishing to investigate further the practical techniques Kenny discusses in the book.



Techniques Advise
Just Being at the Piano
Mildred Portney Chase
Paper back – 1.00
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Topics covered include body awareness and movement, warming up, tone, listening, slow practice, feedback, fingers: strength or alignment, innate rhythm, the left hand, the adult beginner and others.



Techniques Advise
What Every Pianist Needs to Know About the Body
Thomas Mark
Paper back – 29.43
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Thomas Carson Mark studied piano in New York, then philosophy at Columbia University. His dissertation “Spinoza’s Theory of Truth” received the Ansley Award at Columbia was published by Columbia University Press. He taught philosophy for a number of years, then left academia and returned to the piano. After moving to Oregon, he organized and performed in a chamber music series. He became interested in the problem of pianist’s injuries, which led to the publication of his second book, “What Every Pianist Needs to Know about the Body,” which has been well received by pianists and translated into several languages. His latest book, “Motion, Emotion, and Love: The Nature of Artistic Performance,” published in fall, 2012, explores issues related to the concept of artistic performance.



Techniques Advise
The Pianist’s Problems
William Newman
Paper back – 14.85
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The reader must have noted in the favorite magazines of the practicing pianist how often the same troubled queries reappear: How can memorizing be made easier and more secure? How can the fourth and fifth fingers be strengthened? What produces musicianship? These and many others are perennial questions of the greatest practical importance to student, teacher, and performer. Strange, then, that adequate answers are so hard to find. With all the time and effort devoted to the study of the piano, with all the advances in the psychology of training, with all the special studies that have been conducted, there should be, by now, if not one right answer to each question, at least a preferred answer that will be right for the large majority of pianists. As a matter of fact, there are preferred answers in almost every instance. . . . The need is to bring these answers together, in one place, and to present them in nontechnical language as a concise, up-to-date, coordinated philosophy of piano playing. To meet this need, the present book has been written.”—from the Preface


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