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Books related to music

Posted: Mon May 17, 2010 9:39 pm
by WCosand
Anyone else interested in texts that tie in to the piano literature?
I have recently added to my website a few books, including some by the following authors:
Byron, Chateaubriand, Amy Fay, Haweis, Heine, Hoffmann, Rameau, Senancour, Thalberg, Wieck
(Some originals and some translations.)
http://waltercosand.com/CosandScores/

Re: Books related to music

Posted: Wed May 19, 2010 4:39 pm
by WCosand

Re: Books related to music

Posted: Mon May 31, 2010 1:36 am
by WCosand
Today I uploaded books by Goethe, Hanslick, Heine, Hoffmann, Moericke, Nietzsche, Richter and Schumann in German; and added to the books in English with Nietzsche and Schumann.

Re: Books related to music

Posted: Mon May 31, 2010 3:07 am
by passthesalt
Anyone interested in piano-related novels might try The Death of David Debrizzi by Paul Micou. Published in 1991, it's out of print but still can be had second-hand from Amazon. For a brief synopsis of the book, here's a quote from my user review of it on Amazon:

'This satisfying tale of a has-been pianist who is redeemed by his own student is well worth hunting down and reading. The book is about a young pianist-turned-teacher and his prodigy student. Along the way, other musicians join the cast: an eccentric Russian piano prodigy and a scheming, mediocre conductor. Professional back-stabbing, career comebacks, and prima donna pianists with hilarious affectations litter the novel.

One of the funniest episodes in the book concerns Debrizzi's recording of a fictional work of music, The Death Spiral, described as "beautifully ugly," "a putrid musical stew," and . . . impossible to play.'

I regularly re-read this novel and give it as a gift to anyone who enjoys music. It's worthy of more readership than it seems to have attracted.

Re: Books related to music

Posted: Mon Jun 14, 2010 10:21 am
by davida march
del

Re: Books related to music

Posted: Mon Jun 14, 2010 3:38 pm
by iano
I liked this:

"It’s hard for me to describe my piano-playing sensibly, since I play at a high level but to a low standard"

Re: Books related to music

Posted: Mon Jun 14, 2010 5:02 pm
by WCosand
Does that mean more mistakes on more difficult pieces?

Re: Books related to music

Posted: Mon Jun 14, 2010 7:12 pm
by rob
WCosand wrote:Does that mean more mistakes on more difficult pieces?
I think he means he plays anything exceedingly well, but his taste is such that he wastes his talent on fripperies...

Re: Books related to music

Posted: Tue Jun 15, 2010 7:48 pm
by Jean-Séb
My understanding was that he prefers playing difficult pieces not perfectly than more reasonable pieces impeccably.

Re: Books related to music

Posted: Tue Jun 15, 2010 9:24 pm
by rob
Jean-Séb wrote:My understanding was that he prefers playing difficult pieces not perfectly than more reasonable pieces impeccably.
I'm sure iano will explain. But I think he is being self-deprecatory in matters of taste rather than technique - but I might be wrong, for once ;) .