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An exploration of the delights and demands of the piano. It considers various aspects of the instrument: from what makes a beautiful sound to suffering from stage fright, from the physical challenges of playing to tales of great musicians, including Vladimir Horowitz’s recording tricks, and why Artur Rubenstein applied hairspray to the keys.
Entertaining and Enlightening,
Approaching this book as a reader who is not a musical performer and has only very basic understanding of reading musical notation, I was a little bit trepidatious. I needn’t have been though, as ‘Piano Notes’ is an enjoyable book full of anecdotes and insights into piano techniques, performance and repertoire, and any lover of classical music will get a lot from this elegantly written book.
The stories Charles Rosen weaves into each themed chapter often involve the famous names of twentieth century pianism (Horowitz, Richter, Gould etc), and he brings privileged and often quirky information into them – from the strains of memorising works, to the importance of how high (or low) the piano stool is set. I also found the chapter on recording classical music very interesting, in which he discusses both the technicalities of splicing different takes of one piece, and the artistic problems inherent in doing so.
My overall opinion then is that this book is accessible enough for non-specialists, and anyone with an interest in classical piano music will thoroughly enjoy it.
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|Rosen’s new work will make all pianists run to the keyboard,
An ideal gift for the pianist in your life, Piano Notes is a well-organised collection of ideas and anecdotes, motifs and memories, written enthusiastically and informatively by Rosen.
His academic background and his successful performing career are the key to my accepting his writings to be both accurate and truly based on his experiences. Rosen writes with fluidity and style, engaging the reader from start to finish as you join him on a tour of the life of the concert pianist.
In the early chapters he refers to specific pieces of music, with printed extracts, which mean that the book is useful for referring back to as your own repertory increases. There are interesting discussions on the physical nature of piano playing, as well as insights into his feelings on the mental aspects of the art.
The book is accessible and not anywhere near as challenging as his most famous work, The Classical Style. For me, as a student of the piano, its success lies in being able to identify with many of the situations he presents. While his style in on occasion somewhat dramatic, and perhaps in places even self-pitying (oh! the traumas of playing piano professionally across the United States!) it is on the whole an enjoyable and informative read. In addition the 2002 edition is printed on beautiful cream paper with a lovely staggered edge to the pages.
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|Discovering performance of music. A bit dry but not as is seems,
Piano notes presents the experiences not only of Rosen himself, but anecdotal items which illustrate the difficulties pleasures and excitement of the performance of music. Where else would you discover that a CLEAN keyboard at the piano is not what a pro wants since it affects his grip on the keys!
It has been privilege, pleasure and a joy to realise that many of the difficulties that we experience at the lower levels of amateur and semi-professional performance are shared by those in the stratosphere of continuous professional engagement. An instructive and entertaining read!!!
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