A beautifully illustrated; totally engrossing celebration of the piano; and the composers and performers who have made it their own. With honed sensitivity and unquestioned expertise; Stuart Isacoffmdash;pianist; critic; teacher; and author of Temperament: How Music Became a Battleground for the Great Minds of Western Civilizationmdash;unfolds the ongoing history and evolution of the piano and all its myriad wonders: how its very sound provides the basis for emotional expression and individual style; and why it has so powerfully entertained generation upon generation of listeners. He illuminates the groundbreaking music of Mozart; Beethoven; Liszt; Schumann; and Debussy. He analyzes the breathtaking techniques of Glenn Gould; Oscar Peterson; Vladimir Ashkenazy; Arthur Rubinstein; and Van Cliburn; and he gives musicians including Alfred Brendel; Murray Perahia; Menahem Pressler; and Vladimir Horowitz the opportunity to discuss their approaches. Isacoff delineates how classical music and jazz influenced each other as the uniquely American art form progressed from ragtime; novelty; stride; boogie; bebop; and beyond; through Scott Joplin; Fats Waller; Duke Ellington; Bill Evans; Thelonious Monk; Chick Corea; Herbie Hancock; Cecil Taylor; and Bill Charlap. A Natural History of the Piano distills a lifetime of research and passion into one brilliant narrative. We witness Mozart unveiling his monumental concertos in Viennarsquo;s coffeehouses; using a special piano with one keyboard for the hands and another for the feet; European virtuoso Henri Herz entertaining rowdy miners during the California gold rush; Beethoven at his piano; conjuring healing angels to console a grieving mother who had lost her child; Liszt fainting in the arms of a page turner to spark an entire hall into hysterics. Here is the instrument in all its complexity and beauty. We learn of the incredible craftsmanship of a modern Steinway; the peculiarity of specialty pianos built for the Victorian household; the continuing innovation in keyboards including electronic ones. And most of all; we hear the music of the masters; from centuries ago and in our own age; brilliantly evoked and as marvelous as its most recent performance. With this wide-ranging volume; Isacoff gives us a must-have for music lovers; pianists; and the armchair musician.
#3286357 in eBooks 2010-11-01 2010-11-01File Name: B004OBZXMQ
Review
