Publication date:
24 October 2011Length of book:
184 pagesPublisher
Scarecrow PressISBN-13: 9780810881723
In At the Piano: Interviews with 21st-Century Pianists, Caroline Benser explores the kaleidoscopic world of twenty-first-century pianism through a series of extended interviews with eight major pianists: Leif Ove Andsnes, Jonathan Biss, Simone Dinnerstein, Marc-André Hamelin, Stephen Hough, Steven Osborne, Yevgeny Sudbin, and Yuja Wang.
The pianists represented here are not only a virtuosos on their instrument, renowned for their renditions of classic works by Bach, Beethoven, Liszt, Debussy, and Bartók, they are also dedicated to advancing pianism, commissioning and performing works by living composers as well as revisiting and re-exploring musical possibilities neglected by their predecessors. Interviewees talk with Benser about such matters as their first experiences at the piano, the critical role played by their earliest teachers, the literature they play, the instruments they prefer, the meaning of musicianship to them, and the joys and difficulties of a professional career doing what they love.
Teachers, students, and amateur pianists alike will learn about new and lesser-known piano literature; newly developed instruments that have extended the range of the keyboard; the phenomenal rise of pianists in such countries as China; and new research on pianists' injuries and healthy playing. At the Piano is written not only for the specialist and non-specialist pianist but also for all musicians and general music lovers.
The pianists represented here are not only a virtuosos on their instrument, renowned for their renditions of classic works by Bach, Beethoven, Liszt, Debussy, and Bartók, they are also dedicated to advancing pianism, commissioning and performing works by living composers as well as revisiting and re-exploring musical possibilities neglected by their predecessors. Interviewees talk with Benser about such matters as their first experiences at the piano, the critical role played by their earliest teachers, the literature they play, the instruments they prefer, the meaning of musicianship to them, and the joys and difficulties of a professional career doing what they love.
Teachers, students, and amateur pianists alike will learn about new and lesser-known piano literature; newly developed instruments that have extended the range of the keyboard; the phenomenal rise of pianists in such countries as China; and new research on pianists' injuries and healthy playing. At the Piano is written not only for the specialist and non-specialist pianist but also for all musicians and general music lovers.
This book consists of interviews with eight concert pianists: Leif Ove Andsnes, Jonathan Biss, Simone Dinnerstein, Marc-André Hamelin, Stephen Hough, Steven Osborne, Yevgeny Sudbin, and Yuja Wang. Benser (independent music historian) begins each chapter with a biographical summary of the interview subject, highlighting training, background, and professional accomplishments; at the end of the chapter, she provides a discography of recordings and notes with brief biographical data on all musicians mentioned in the interview. Due to the interview format of the book, information is presented in a nonsystematic way; the index proves especially helpful. This is an anecdotal volume providing fascinating glimpses into the minds of these pianists. This book does not serve as an exhaustive accounting of all important pianists performing today. Rather, Benser uses the eight interviews to delve more deeply into questions of motivation, approach to the instrument, repertoire, recordings, and personality....The present title would be a good supplementary resource for a piano literature course. Summing Up: Recommended.