A natural history of the piano - Stuart Isacoff

A
beautifully illustrated, engrossing celebration of the piano, and the
composers and performers who have made it their own. Stuart Isacoff -
pianist, critic and teacher - explores the history and evolution of the
piano: how its sound provides the basis for emotional expression and
individual style, why it has so powerfully entertained generation upon
generation of listeners. 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 Vienna'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 Ranging from the groundbreaking music of
Mozart, Beethoven, Liszt and Debussy to the breathtaking techniques of Glenn
Gould, Oscar Peterson, Arthur Rubinstein and Van Cliburn, Isacoff delineates
how classical music and jazz influenced each other as the uniquely American
art form progressed from ragtime, novelty, boogie, bebop, and beyond, through
Scott Joplin, Fats Waller, Duke Ellington, Herbie Hancock and Bill Charlap.
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, as brilliantly evoked as
its most recent performance. This wide-ranging volume is an essential for
music lovers, pianists, and the armchair musician.