MORE THAN THE WORLD IN BLACK AND WHITE: How music came alive and my life became music

By Birgit Matzerath

Birgit Matzerath's book traces her development from a musical child who resented her talent into a woman whose life is grounded in music. Her memoir explores how the fulfillment of talent is influenced by family dynamics and life events. In her early life at home, Birgit feels trapped by the obligation to practice and by her mother's expectations. At 16 the German-born teenager becomes an exchange student in a small town in the American Midwest. With no understanding of the way of life and values there, music becomes the only way to express who she really is, and so Birgit finally comes to embrace her musical talent. A kind and caring choir teacher is the catalyst in this transformation. More than 20 years later another American teacher will enter her life and liberate the pianist in her. Life-changing insights, though, don't happen at home. That pattern repeats after her return to Germany from America. She struggles through music college. Trying to break away from her family, she enters a marriage that quickly deteriorates. A trip to Japan is the first step out of that life. An almost forgotten dream reawakens: to explore life behind the Iron Curtain. Her encounter with Russia is defined by the struggle for love, survival, and music. She is past 40, and her mother is dying, when a friend gives her the German translation of Seymour Bernstein's book With Your Own Two Hands: Self-discovery through Music. Convinced that the author can teach her what she is lacking as a pianist, Birgit travels to New York City for lessons with him. Dismantling inhibitions that prevent her from playing her best goes hand in hand with acknowledging trauma suffered in childhood. It leads to the beginning of a new life in the United States.Fulfillment as a pianist comes late, but it comes. Looking back, detours and challenges on the way were lessons that taught Birgit how to survive. More than the World in Black and White is a tribute to the power of music and to courage, patience, and persistence in following your calling.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1731108605
• ISBN13: 9781731108609
• Release Date: December 2018
• Publisher: Independently published
• Length: 297 Pages
• Weight: 0.98 lbs.
• Dimensions: 9.0" x 0.8" x 6.0"