The great pianists / Harold C. Schonberg.
| Author/creator | Schonberg, Harold C. |
| Format | Book |
| Edition | Revised and updated. |
| Publication Info | New York : Simon & Schuster, ©1987. |
| Description | 525 pages : illustrations, portraits ; 25 cm |
| Subjects |
| Contents | In the beginning -- It should flow like oil -- Thirds, sixths, and octaves -- In profile and on the road -- String-snapper, hands on high -- In the interim -- From Ireland to Bohemia -- Romanticism and its rules -- Tubercular, romantic, poetic -- Thunder, lightning, mesmerism, sex -- Old arpeggio, other salonists, and the American penetration -- More salonists, and the Revolutionary in octaves -- Two sensitive ones -- The first American -- The virtuous -- Tyrant and intellectual -- The children of the Abbe -- Thunder from the East -- French neatness, precision, elegance -- The Lisztianers and Leschetizkianers take over -- An archangel come down to earth -- The little giant, and other Liszt-made giants -- Some of the Leschetizky group -- The Chopinzee, the Buddha, and others -- The ladies -- Composers at the keyboard -- Dr. Faust at the keyboard -- Perfection plus -- The Puritan -- Some headliners of the day -- New philosophies, new styles -- The man who invented Beethoven -- Romanticism still burns -- Twentieth-century schools -- After the thaw -- Bach a la mode -- Two cult figures -- Made in America. |
| Abstract | From Mozart's fabulous legato that "flowed like oil" to Beethoven's oceanlike surge to Chopin's earsplitting dissonances, from Clara Schumann's touch "sharp as a pencil sketch" to Rubinstein's volcanic and sensual playing to Rachmaninoff's exquisitely shaped phrases, this book brings to life the brilliant, stylish, and sometimes eccentric personalilties, methods, and technical peculiarities of history's greatest pianists -- from Mozart to the modern-day masters. Pulitzer Prize-winning critic and author Harold C. Schonberg presents a vivid account of each artist's performances, styles, and even their personal lives and quirky characteristics -- Mozart's intense competition with Clementi; the dandyism of Chopin; Liszt's magnetic effect on women (when he played, ladies flung their jewels on stage); Gottschalk's persistent nailbiting, which left the keys covered with blood; and Landowska's dramatic entrances, her eyes cast to the heavens, in "communion" with Bach. This new edition has been completely revised and updated to include expanded material on Horowitz, Cliburn, and others, and four new chapters detailing the playing and careers of such modern pianists as de Larrocha, Ashkenazy, Gilels, Gould, Brendel, Bolet, Gutierrez, Watts, and many others. |
| General note | "A Fireside book." |
| General note | Includes index. |
| LCCN | 87000341 |
| ISBN | 0671642006 |
| ISBN | 0671638378 (pbk.) |
Availability
| Library | Location | Call Number | Status | Item Actions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Music | Music Stacks | ML397 .S3 1987 | ✔ Available | Place Hold |