What do you think?
Rate this book
The Great Pianists
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 vivid accounts of the artists� performances, styles, and even their personal lives and quirky characteristics� such as Mozart’s intense competition with Clementi, Lizst’s magnetic effect on women (when he played, ladies flung their jewels on stage), and Gottschalk’s persistent nailbiting, which left the keys covered with blood.
Including profiles of Horowitz and Van Cliburn, among others, and chapters detailing the playing and careers of such modern pianists as de Larrocha, Ashkenazy, Gilels, Gould, Brendel, Bolet, Gutierrez, and Watts, The Great Pianists is a comprehensive and fascinating look at legendary performers past and present.
Pulitzer Prize–winning critic and author Harold C. Schonberg presents vivid accounts of the artists� performances, styles, and even their personal lives and quirky characteristics� such as Mozart’s intense competition with Clementi, Lizst’s magnetic effect on women (when he played, ladies flung their jewels on stage), and Gottschalk’s persistent nailbiting, which left the keys covered with blood.
Including profiles of Horowitz and Van Cliburn, among others, and chapters detailing the playing and careers of such modern pianists as de Larrocha, Ashkenazy, Gilels, Gould, Brendel, Bolet, Gutierrez, and Watts, The Great Pianists is a comprehensive and fascinating look at legendary performers past and present.
528 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1963
48 people are currently reading
1,339 people want to read
About the author
Harold C. Schonberg
29books30followersHarold Charles Schonberg was an American music critic and journalist, most notably for The New York Times. He was the first music critic to win the Pulitzer Prize for Criticism (1971). He was the author of a number of books on musical subjects, and also one on chess.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 40 reviews
February 8, 2019
When the late pianist Arthur Rubinstein was asked why he no longer performed in Germany, he said “That is a sad question that I have answered too often.� The truth was that he had over 100 family members killed by the Nazis and when he lived in Paris during World War two, they took 71 of his music manuscripts. The Germans finally did return them but not until after his death.
I have always been fascinated by the masterful Arthur Rubinstein and his genius at the piano. Reading “The Great Pianists� by the wonderful author Harold C. Schonberg was a special pleasure and I listened to Rubinstein's music for weeks after reading this book. The biographies of these great pianists-composers were amazing and I want to immerse myself even more in their music now.
Favorite Profiles include: Clara Schumann, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Franz Liszt, Vladimir Horowitz, Van Cliburn and Louis Moreau Gottschalk.
The author Harold C. Schonberg was the chief music critic of The New York Times from 1960 to 1980. His reviews and essays on opera and classical music are must reads for serious music lovers and won the Pulitzer Prize for criticism in 1971, the first for a music critic.
Highly recommend this book. I gave it four stars.
I have always been fascinated by the masterful Arthur Rubinstein and his genius at the piano. Reading “The Great Pianists� by the wonderful author Harold C. Schonberg was a special pleasure and I listened to Rubinstein's music for weeks after reading this book. The biographies of these great pianists-composers were amazing and I want to immerse myself even more in their music now.
Favorite Profiles include: Clara Schumann, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Franz Liszt, Vladimir Horowitz, Van Cliburn and Louis Moreau Gottschalk.
The author Harold C. Schonberg was the chief music critic of The New York Times from 1960 to 1980. His reviews and essays on opera and classical music are must reads for serious music lovers and won the Pulitzer Prize for criticism in 1971, the first for a music critic.
Highly recommend this book. I gave it four stars.
August 10, 2011
Note: I read the original 1960s publication.
Quite a charming little book, complete with Schonberg's own particular diction. While a bit "outdated" in the sense that the book no longer writes to the "present," I loved how Schonberg encompassed all known virtuosity since the very beginning of the instrument.
Some sections I considered much more charming and interesting than others. Particularly, the older time periods really captured my interest. Maybe that is just personal bias, but I really love how Schonberg weaved together the tales of Mozart, Clementi, and the other beginning classical pianists. The details he incorporated - everything to Mozart's style, the expectations of piano performance at the time period, and some of the pianist's eccentricities particularly amused me.
As the book passes into the present, I feel it drags a bit more, as though Schonberg settled into a groove and just repeated the same sorts of details for all the pianists without making the effort to distinguish each one from the other. Again, some parts were better than others. I certainly had no hesitation reading about Horowitz, Rubinstein, de Pachmann (oh my goodness I love that guy), and so forth.
What I really get out of this book is how connected the musical eras are together. I felt the constant movement and morphing as one era blurred into the other, something new always occurring in music. And how close together everything is! Suddenly it no longer seems as though Mozart performed so long ago; it seems as though the Romantic Era began yesterday. So few generations from then until now! A beautiful connectedness of music... it makes me excited to see what else will froth forward in the constantly-surging sea.
Quite a charming little book, complete with Schonberg's own particular diction. While a bit "outdated" in the sense that the book no longer writes to the "present," I loved how Schonberg encompassed all known virtuosity since the very beginning of the instrument.
Some sections I considered much more charming and interesting than others. Particularly, the older time periods really captured my interest. Maybe that is just personal bias, but I really love how Schonberg weaved together the tales of Mozart, Clementi, and the other beginning classical pianists. The details he incorporated - everything to Mozart's style, the expectations of piano performance at the time period, and some of the pianist's eccentricities particularly amused me.
As the book passes into the present, I feel it drags a bit more, as though Schonberg settled into a groove and just repeated the same sorts of details for all the pianists without making the effort to distinguish each one from the other. Again, some parts were better than others. I certainly had no hesitation reading about Horowitz, Rubinstein, de Pachmann (oh my goodness I love that guy), and so forth.
What I really get out of this book is how connected the musical eras are together. I felt the constant movement and morphing as one era blurred into the other, something new always occurring in music. And how close together everything is! Suddenly it no longer seems as though Mozart performed so long ago; it seems as though the Romantic Era began yesterday. So few generations from then until now! A beautiful connectedness of music... it makes me excited to see what else will froth forward in the constantly-surging sea.
December 1, 2016
A fantastic overview of some of the most talented musicians, pianists, and composers of the post-Bach, post-harpsichord era. I'm not normally drawn to encyclopedic books like this (I prefer doing a deep dive), but I enjoyed this book immensely. The stories are delightful and tragic and all things in between. Schonberg makes each pianist seem unique in a way that honored, to whatever degree was warranted, the contribution each made to the world of piano performance. That is difficult to sustain for 500 pages and over 50 significant profiles and he should be commended.
(I took away one star because it really is encyclopedic and at times the names came too fast and furious for me to absorb or appreciate. Also, in the older copy I read I wasn't thrilled that he bucketed one group of female pianists into their own chapter rather than weaving their stories into the full history. "The Ladies"? Really?)
What will stick with me from The Great Pianists is not just a better understanding of the pianists themselves, but a better understanding of the acts of piano performance and interpretation. I enjoyed the consequential history that emerged of how piano performance and interpretation styles shifted over the centuries, and of the varying ways people in different decades "received" or "conceived of" composers and their best works. After reading, I now have a richer language for describing piano performance, a lengthy list of discs to add to my music library, and access points into those recordings. I'm looking forward to developing my ear first by trying to hear what Schonberg heard, and second to see if I agree with his assessment. Schonberg gave me a greater appreciation for the indelibly individual and creative act of piano performance and I look forward to returning to this book over the years whenever I need to recapture the magic of music.
(I took away one star because it really is encyclopedic and at times the names came too fast and furious for me to absorb or appreciate. Also, in the older copy I read I wasn't thrilled that he bucketed one group of female pianists into their own chapter rather than weaving their stories into the full history. "The Ladies"? Really?)
What will stick with me from The Great Pianists is not just a better understanding of the pianists themselves, but a better understanding of the acts of piano performance and interpretation. I enjoyed the consequential history that emerged of how piano performance and interpretation styles shifted over the centuries, and of the varying ways people in different decades "received" or "conceived of" composers and their best works. After reading, I now have a richer language for describing piano performance, a lengthy list of discs to add to my music library, and access points into those recordings. I'm looking forward to developing my ear first by trying to hear what Schonberg heard, and second to see if I agree with his assessment. Schonberg gave me a greater appreciation for the indelibly individual and creative act of piano performance and I look forward to returning to this book over the years whenever I need to recapture the magic of music.
January 8, 2011
This was a great book -- probably not something most people would want to read for pleasure. Actually, I own this book because it was a textbook from college. But I remember enjoying the reading for this class a great deal and wishing we read more of it.
And so I come back to revisit this book - I am so glad I did! It's a long book (528 pages), but if you are a pianist or an avid music appreciator, this is a must-read. Sadly, the author has passed away, or I'd be calling for a new edition. What is there is fantastic material, but I just want more of it! This last edition was published in 1987, and quite a bit has happened since then.
My one quibble with this book is that there were occasional quote in other languages; generally a translation wasn't provided. Why? I'm not sure! Sometimes there was a translation, and I think maybe it was supposed to be obvious what was being said. It wasn't obvious for this reader.
With that said, I certainly recommend this book, especially read the last half if you're looking for insights and ideas on which recording to buy.
And so I come back to revisit this book - I am so glad I did! It's a long book (528 pages), but if you are a pianist or an avid music appreciator, this is a must-read. Sadly, the author has passed away, or I'd be calling for a new edition. What is there is fantastic material, but I just want more of it! This last edition was published in 1987, and quite a bit has happened since then.
My one quibble with this book is that there were occasional quote in other languages; generally a translation wasn't provided. Why? I'm not sure! Sometimes there was a translation, and I think maybe it was supposed to be obvious what was being said. It wasn't obvious for this reader.
With that said, I certainly recommend this book, especially read the last half if you're looking for insights and ideas on which recording to buy.
July 4, 2022
The chapter that talks about Heinrich Neuhaus, Gilels, and Richter is a horribly inaccurate perception of reality. Calling Neuhaus naive in the context of saying Russians were not cosmopolitans is a joke.
Goes through basically everyone, there’s a few pianists I think left out or that I would like to hear more about.
The early chapters were very insightful and interesting though, I think this book will give you a good general understanding of the classical piano tradition, from Cristofori (inventor of piano) to Cliburn.
Some sections I really enjoyed and found interesting were: Pachmann saying milking cows is best finger exercise, Godowskys big program, Salon musicians in general and early/transitory romantics, and the stories about Anton Rubinstein. Horowitz was also portrayed quite well here, despite there being only a brief amount of him.
Goes through basically everyone, there’s a few pianists I think left out or that I would like to hear more about.
The early chapters were very insightful and interesting though, I think this book will give you a good general understanding of the classical piano tradition, from Cristofori (inventor of piano) to Cliburn.
Some sections I really enjoyed and found interesting were: Pachmann saying milking cows is best finger exercise, Godowskys big program, Salon musicians in general and early/transitory romantics, and the stories about Anton Rubinstein. Horowitz was also portrayed quite well here, despite there being only a brief amount of him.
March 17, 2018
The challenge of a book like this is that it tries to cover a large amount of information, particularly about people practicing a specific art. Music is an auditory experience, and it is quite difficult to write about it well, especially to describe individual artists' styles. This book was interesting and valuable, but it often broke down into lists of names and one- or two-sentence blurbs. It also was the product of a past era--references to people as "mental defectives" or descriptions of someone having a "noble head" have gone out of fashion.
It did capture some intriguing stories and sparked my curiosity. Now that we have that garden of endless delights known as YouTube and the Google search, I have written down several recordings I plan to search for, notably the collaborations caught on disc between Sergei Rachmaninov and Fritz Kreisler(!), or the bizarre incident in Carnegie Hall on April 2, 1951, in which the featured piano soloist, Simon Barere, died at the piano. (We may talk about "going out doing what we love," but this was pretty extreme.)
I also plan to look for further information on the blind pianist Edward Baxter Perry (b. Haverhill, MA, Feb. 14, 1855; d. Camden, ME, July 13, 1924).
Eventually, Schonberg runs out of adjectives. Many pianists played "with clarity," or possessed "glorious" tone, or demonstrated superb fluency because of their "brilliant" technical skills.
Schonberg is right about one thing, though: Ours is a cautious age. Gone are the days when an author would pour romantic adjectives and descriptions all over various pianists on one page, only to follow it on the next with scathing remarks about another. Schonberg is not shy about expressing his opinions. Even if I end up disagreeing with him about the best recorded example of a Chopin nocturne, I'll definitely be hunting for the recording he mentions as his pick to see if I can hear what he heard.
This book is geared more toward specialists than a general readership, and it was undoubtedly a stupendous undertaking to compile. Even if it is now outdated, it was a valuable contribution to the overall literature on piano playing.
It did capture some intriguing stories and sparked my curiosity. Now that we have that garden of endless delights known as YouTube and the Google search, I have written down several recordings I plan to search for, notably the collaborations caught on disc between Sergei Rachmaninov and Fritz Kreisler(!), or the bizarre incident in Carnegie Hall on April 2, 1951, in which the featured piano soloist, Simon Barere, died at the piano. (We may talk about "going out doing what we love," but this was pretty extreme.)
I also plan to look for further information on the blind pianist Edward Baxter Perry (b. Haverhill, MA, Feb. 14, 1855; d. Camden, ME, July 13, 1924).
Eventually, Schonberg runs out of adjectives. Many pianists played "with clarity," or possessed "glorious" tone, or demonstrated superb fluency because of their "brilliant" technical skills.
Schonberg is right about one thing, though: Ours is a cautious age. Gone are the days when an author would pour romantic adjectives and descriptions all over various pianists on one page, only to follow it on the next with scathing remarks about another. Schonberg is not shy about expressing his opinions. Even if I end up disagreeing with him about the best recorded example of a Chopin nocturne, I'll definitely be hunting for the recording he mentions as his pick to see if I can hear what he heard.
This book is geared more toward specialists than a general readership, and it was undoubtedly a stupendous undertaking to compile. Even if it is now outdated, it was a valuable contribution to the overall literature on piano playing.
July 13, 2016
If you have an interest in piano, either because you play it (I don't) or just love to listen to it (I do), then this book is for you. I picked up the Fireside Book edition for a 'song' and from time to time refer back to it when listening to a piece by a composer pianist, or just watching the incredible technique I see on You Tube virtuoso. Who wouldn't want to be able to hear some of the early great composers and pianists play their piece?
How then, can Schonberg rate pianists he has never even heard ? To answer, read the preface and first chapter. If nothing else, you will be impressed with his thought and work behind his 'criticism'. After all, he was a great critic writing for the New York Times, and not just on piano. He gives you Bach as a start (not the father, but one of the sons, C.P.E.) who wrote 'the book' on clavichord art, the harpsichord of Mozart which eventually gave way to the Viennese light piano, and finally our present day heavy, the piano forte, of Broadwood's England.
From Mozart in 1770, to Perahia in 1967, Schonberg gives us a glimpse of their virtuosity, musicality and influence on our present great pianists. We can only wish to have his critical insight and ear to help us listen to our current great pianists.
How then, can Schonberg rate pianists he has never even heard ? To answer, read the preface and first chapter. If nothing else, you will be impressed with his thought and work behind his 'criticism'. After all, he was a great critic writing for the New York Times, and not just on piano. He gives you Bach as a start (not the father, but one of the sons, C.P.E.) who wrote 'the book' on clavichord art, the harpsichord of Mozart which eventually gave way to the Viennese light piano, and finally our present day heavy, the piano forte, of Broadwood's England.
From Mozart in 1770, to Perahia in 1967, Schonberg gives us a glimpse of their virtuosity, musicality and influence on our present great pianists. We can only wish to have his critical insight and ear to help us listen to our current great pianists.
June 11, 2010
I do believe this is one of the most important books that a piano student can read, especially one still in his formative-of-technique years. At least it is a very good resource for teachers, as the book does not cover so much the biographies of the great pianists but focuses on their style, technique, and how their inception into the concerting world. This is one I definitely plan on rereading, and I only wish that the "present" really was modern and not referring to its publication in 1963.
December 4, 2010
I liked this better than I thought I would - as someone trying to learn the piano I thought it behooved me to try and learn a bit about the past. I expected to be bored silly, but was pleasantly surprised at how the great pianists, and their styles of interpretation, and how they were influenced by their generation, etc, were brought to life. A great starting point for someone who wants an overview of pianist history up til the late 50's/early 60's.
January 4, 2016
This book was both entertaining and educational.
A WONDERFUL read for the serious pianist or piano teacher, it had me laughing and running off to read quotes to my family about the eccentricities and recommendations of people like Liszt, Moscheles, and lots of people whose names I won't attempt to spell. :)
The only problem is that it was convicting me so badly that I kept having to stop reading to go practice my technique very thoroughly. Hah.
A WONDERFUL read for the serious pianist or piano teacher, it had me laughing and running off to read quotes to my family about the eccentricities and recommendations of people like Liszt, Moscheles, and lots of people whose names I won't attempt to spell. :)
The only problem is that it was convicting me so badly that I kept having to stop reading to go practice my technique very thoroughly. Hah.
August 21, 2011
Schonberg was one of the eminent music critics of his day. I gobbled up this book with a gusto. From amusing anecdotes about the pianist Gottschalk from New Orleans, to Beethoven's infamous extemporization battle against the musical charlatan Steibelt, Schonberg captures it all with incisive wit and a perspicaciousness that seems to have been largely forgotten in contemporary writing.
August 8, 2014
I bought this book at a thrift store for twenty-five cents and could not have imagined at the time that it would transform into a solid piece of gold that I could not put down. This is a great book that I thoroughly enjoyed reading from beginning to end, every page presenting amusing and interesting anecdotes
February 15, 2016
What a fun and informative read about the history of piano playing from Mozart’s time to the mid-1980s (“the present� mentioned in the book’s subtitle). Schonberg writes in a humorous and easy-to-read manner, describing changes in piano construction, technique and interpretation over the centuries, as well as treating the reader to juicy gossip about the many pianists he discusses.
April 18, 2020
Despite its length it feels like a breezy read through the lives and accomplishments of dozens of famous pianists. The big names Beethoven, Chopin, and Liszt only get a few pages each, and the rest of the journey is spent on learning about their colleagues and other interesting minor players. It is also super interesting to hear whenever he drops in brief historical context of the world outside the piano sphere: there’s a paragraph where he talks about Liszt living at the same time as Lincoln, which connected all sorts of weird neurons for me.
This isn’t so much about important composers or even important piano composers, but important piano players. Why do we care about who was good at playing piano? What do i personally get out of reading a book? well for a time I thought that one of my life’s goals was to be have a wikipedia page. The goal was phrased exactly like that—no idea what I would have done to get a wiki page, but I wanted one. This book, an anthology of who deserves to be included in the pantheon of great pianists, gives perspective on what it takes to be considered great or to be remembered. Who is worth a paragraph in this book? What did they do to merit a whole chapter? What kinds of things make waves? I have no real good answer after reading a bunch of these stories, but you get a sense: you’re either a genius, you work hard, or you’re really weird.
One thing I noticed is how he describes people who are both good players and compose, pushing the boundaries of the instrument and its music; versus his descriptions of those who are ‘merely� good pianists. He gives less space to people who got caught up in the stage and fame but haven’t left behind a legacy (e.g. Kalkbrenner). Then there are those who taught important students and maybe edited or wrote scholarly stuff about music, and left their legacy that way (Leschetizky). Then there are those who played well and composed amazing music, and those get the most space in the book and are the names we know today (Liszt).
It’s overall a super easy read and I learned a lot about minor pianists and their place in the development of the instrument and its repertoire. The book could be better organized into smaller chunks. Rather than 50 or so consecutive chapters, they could be read in ‘Parts� divided into the different eras of music. What makes it an easy read is he stays very surface level, never gets too philosophical, there’s not a lot of speculation about the different eras, or theories about greatness, or like reflections on pedagogy. It’s just a roll of� great pianists, how they played. All of this considered, it stays fresh and interesting because in order to be included in this pantheon, you have to had been innovating or doing something different. So even though it’s structurally repetitive over 500 pages, each new person brings something new to the instrument and its tradition. Which is crazy!
Another small organizational note that bugged me: even though he’s steamrolling a straight trail from beginning to end, Mozart to present day, it is narratively chronologically uneven. He’ll talk about Amy Bay, Godowsky, Hofmann, and Rachmaninoff before they are introduced properly in the timeline, so if you read this straight from beginning to end you have to know who these people are already. Check out the index: Rach is mentioned like dozens of times before he’s even “born� on p390. De Pachmann, who I’ve never heard of, debuts on p332. but he is definitely mentioned before. So when reading about a certain pianist, you don’t really know if Schonberg is comparing to a forerunner or someone yet to come.
I also came away from this crazily inspired with some crackpot ideas. We should teach piano starting with crazy modern stuff first, then end up at Bach at the end. I’m absolutely writing this book, don’t steal it. I also began to think about what kind of music I leave behind. Every time I think about sitting down to create music, I sit down and prepare to create “piano music�. Beethoven is spoken of being a musician first, a pianist second, in that he came up with the musical template, and then superimposed it on the piano. I am the opposite. I don’t usually have this abstract ‘music� in mind that i put down on paper, and then orchestrate. For me the starting point would always be blank piano staff, and then I take off. I’m inspired to explore making music going the other way around.
This isn’t so much about important composers or even important piano composers, but important piano players. Why do we care about who was good at playing piano? What do i personally get out of reading a book? well for a time I thought that one of my life’s goals was to be have a wikipedia page. The goal was phrased exactly like that—no idea what I would have done to get a wiki page, but I wanted one. This book, an anthology of who deserves to be included in the pantheon of great pianists, gives perspective on what it takes to be considered great or to be remembered. Who is worth a paragraph in this book? What did they do to merit a whole chapter? What kinds of things make waves? I have no real good answer after reading a bunch of these stories, but you get a sense: you’re either a genius, you work hard, or you’re really weird.
One thing I noticed is how he describes people who are both good players and compose, pushing the boundaries of the instrument and its music; versus his descriptions of those who are ‘merely� good pianists. He gives less space to people who got caught up in the stage and fame but haven’t left behind a legacy (e.g. Kalkbrenner). Then there are those who taught important students and maybe edited or wrote scholarly stuff about music, and left their legacy that way (Leschetizky). Then there are those who played well and composed amazing music, and those get the most space in the book and are the names we know today (Liszt).
It’s overall a super easy read and I learned a lot about minor pianists and their place in the development of the instrument and its repertoire. The book could be better organized into smaller chunks. Rather than 50 or so consecutive chapters, they could be read in ‘Parts� divided into the different eras of music. What makes it an easy read is he stays very surface level, never gets too philosophical, there’s not a lot of speculation about the different eras, or theories about greatness, or like reflections on pedagogy. It’s just a roll of� great pianists, how they played. All of this considered, it stays fresh and interesting because in order to be included in this pantheon, you have to had been innovating or doing something different. So even though it’s structurally repetitive over 500 pages, each new person brings something new to the instrument and its tradition. Which is crazy!
Another small organizational note that bugged me: even though he’s steamrolling a straight trail from beginning to end, Mozart to present day, it is narratively chronologically uneven. He’ll talk about Amy Bay, Godowsky, Hofmann, and Rachmaninoff before they are introduced properly in the timeline, so if you read this straight from beginning to end you have to know who these people are already. Check out the index: Rach is mentioned like dozens of times before he’s even “born� on p390. De Pachmann, who I’ve never heard of, debuts on p332. but he is definitely mentioned before. So when reading about a certain pianist, you don’t really know if Schonberg is comparing to a forerunner or someone yet to come.
I also came away from this crazily inspired with some crackpot ideas. We should teach piano starting with crazy modern stuff first, then end up at Bach at the end. I’m absolutely writing this book, don’t steal it. I also began to think about what kind of music I leave behind. Every time I think about sitting down to create music, I sit down and prepare to create “piano music�. Beethoven is spoken of being a musician first, a pianist second, in that he came up with the musical template, and then superimposed it on the piano. I am the opposite. I don’t usually have this abstract ‘music� in mind that i put down on paper, and then orchestrate. For me the starting point would always be blank piano staff, and then I take off. I’m inspired to explore making music going the other way around.
July 28, 2018
Upon finishing this books, I almost turned back to the beginning and started again. For a pianist this is a treasure trove of useful information and stories threading together the interpretive philosophies that make up the historical fabric of pianism. This is a life altering book. For a piano teacher this is an invaluable, inspiring, and practical source of information to encourage students in their interpretation of classical piano music. This is a career enhancing book. For a non-musician, this book might be a bit dry or confusing in places, but there are still interesting stories that help open the mysteries of the eccentricities of pianists and musicians. This is a fascinating book on all accounts.
September 27, 2019
This is not the kind of nonfiction that you read straight through. I picked it up again after starting it a long time ago. Each chapter is kind of independent: discussing either one particular pianist or a group of pianists. It was written in 1963, so is already a bit dated. Schonberg must have had to rely on lots of contemporary criticisms, since many of those pianists discussed did not make any recordings.
In some ways, I wish I had read this 40+ years ago when I was still taking piano lessons. I think I might have gained more from it back then than I do now, but I'm glad I read it.
In some ways, I wish I had read this 40+ years ago when I was still taking piano lessons. I think I might have gained more from it back then than I do now, but I'm glad I read it.
January 19, 2018
Really enjoyed how Schonberg brought to life the stories, and quirks of the greatest pianists of the past few hundred years. I especially liked some of the chapter titles that encapsulate the essence of the characters: "Tubercular, Romantic, Poetic"....guess...yep, Chopin. Or "Thunder, Lightning, Mesmerism, Sex"......that would be Liszt.
Great addition to any musical library.
Great addition to any musical library.
March 25, 2019
I’ve read this countless times since first encountering it at age 11, and have gone through two copies since then. The appeal is obvious for me, but even if you don’t play the piano or know much about classical music, you will still be enlightened and entertained. Indispensable.
December 3, 2019
Entertaining and well-written. In depth and fascinating profiles of foundational (early) pianists. Coverage of later pianists feels a mile wide and an inch deep - hard to maintain interest. Not available in digital form - read as a paperback.
July 15, 2021
Excellent book about the history of classical pianists. Lots of insights into their lives and piano styles. The book helped me put into perspective how do these pianists contributed to the development of classical music.
October 13, 2024
A fun romp through piano history. Schoenberg is opinionated, and always has the best quotes from history: My copy of the book is dog-eared by marking pages that got at least a hearty chuckle out of me!
January 19, 2018
From The NY Times critic, who took kept detailed comments in the scores of pieces heard at concerts he reviewed comes a splashing history of pianists
February 22, 2018
Very good, fascinating book. Good for those learning about music, learning the piano, to learn, or for pleasure.
February 16, 2021
Very good. More entertaining than "The great conductors" by the same author.
October 20, 2024
Great general overview on all the important classical composers/pianists from Bach to present
December 26, 2024
really good, didnt shed a lot of light on some specific pianists from the 19th and 20th centuries though.
May 12, 2016
Bach, Mozart, Clementi, Beethoven,Czerny, Hummel, Chopin, Lizst, Gottschalk,Clara Schuman, Anton Rubenstein,Paderewski, Busoni,Rachmaninoff, Schnabel, Howowitz......
Their lives, their music, the piano as the purveyor of magic.
In the 18th and 19th century, all pianists had to improvise and play their own music.
Today none do except jazz folks.
Brilliant book for anyone who loves the piano.
Their lives, their music, the piano as the purveyor of magic.
In the 18th and 19th century, all pianists had to improvise and play their own music.
Today none do except jazz folks.
Brilliant book for anyone who loves the piano.
November 28, 2016
This was great. Schonberg manages to run through a plethora of pianists without exhausting words like "elegant" or "restrained". He offers scant biographical details, focusing on the personalities, idiosyncrasies, and unique touches or technique that each one brought to the piano. He also traces schools of thought and approaches to keyboard playing. Very nice overview.
September 24, 2012
It's some kind of historical book about the piano and the pianists. their lives and it's a timeline about what happened to the instrument of piano within these years.
I liked the parts it talks about liszt.
I liked the parts it talks about liszt.
February 9, 2008
My sister gave me this because I am a pianist. Slow read because it is mostly history but has some interesting information
Displaying 1 - 30 of 40 reviews
Can't find what you're looking for?
Get help and learn more about the design.