Great Pianists

by Harold C. Schonberg

Book Overview

From Mozart's fabulous legato that "flowed like oil" to Beethoven's oceanlike surge, from Clara Schumann's touch "sharp as a pencil sketch" to Rubinstein's volcanic and sensual playing, 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...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0671638378
• ISBN13: 9780671638375
• Release Date: June 1987
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster
• Length: 528 Pages
• Weight: 1.66 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.5" x 6.0" x 9.1"

Customer Reviews

Entertaining and educational

This is one of those rare books that educates you on a subject and yet is highly entertaining at the same time. The author was a highly respected music critic for the New York Times for many years and was in fact the first music critic ever to win the Pulitzer Prize for Criticism. He knows his subject inside out and is a wealth of information. In this book he presents the story of the piano, from Bach to the present day, and he does it by describing and discussing the personalities of the many pianists who contributed to the history of the instrument.It is a wonderful book, full of memorable descriptions, amusing anecdotes and telling insights. Mr. Schonberg writes with a great deal of humour and a dose of healthy scepticism as to some of the more abstruse utterings of the piano community. He brings to light not only Mozart, Beethoven, Chopin and Rachmaninoff, but also all the lesser known figures active at the time as well as the great pianists of the 20th century. It is fascinating. You'll learn all about Thalberg (remembered now only for losing a piano "duel" with Liszt) but who must have been a tremendous musician, you'll read about Leopold de Meyer, who wasn't averse to playing the keyboard with his knee or elbow. You'll laugh at the antics of de Pachmann, learn how Beethoven played his own sonatas, be touched by the life story of Josef Hoffmann.Above all, this book will open your mind about the piano and pianism. Today everyone concentrates on a handful of composers and pianists, a bit like looking only at a fragment of a painting. Mr. Schonberg brings the whole canvas to light in a clear, fluent, refreshing and readable way and does not confuse the reader with esoteric mumbo-jumbo. This is an accessible book, readable by lay person and musician alike.The same author has also written a number of other books which I highly recommend, especially Lives of the Great Composers and Horowitz, His Life and Music.

The great pianists

The most fascinating book I have so far read on this topic. Amusing, accurate, solid, and objectively written, full of humour and anecdotes that make its reading real fun. A turn-pager that one can read at any time and regardless of the page. A must for piano lovers. I look forward to reading other books from the same author.

An extraordinarily informative account

This book, by Harold Schonberg, is an endless description of the pianists who made the piano what it is today. It's humurous, factual, entertaining and most of all informative to maximum level that we laymen can cope with. Well, done. I will certainly read other Schonberg books - in between practicing my dim7 scales of course.

Wow!

This is one of the most amusing, entertaining, yet historically accurate books I have read. From Mozart's opinions of other pianists to Debussy's ideas of pedalling to Percy Grainger's thoughts on flappers and the feminist movement, this book is as alive as the great story it tells-the story of the piano and the influence it is had on every society that has known it. Written by a former New York Times music editor, this book is an essential addition to the bookshelf of any music maker or lover