A beautifully illustrated, totally engrossing celebration of the piano, and the composers and performers who have made it their own. With honed sensitivity and unquestioned expertise, Stuart Isacoff—pianist, critic, teacher, and author of Temperament: How Music Became a Battleground for the Great Minds of Western Civilization—unfolds the ongoing history and evolution of the piano and all its myriad wonders: how its very sound provides the basis for emotional expression and individual style, and why it has so powerfully entertained generation upon generation of listeners. He illuminates the groundbreaking music of Mozart, Beethoven, Liszt, Schumann, and Debussy. He analyzes the breathtaking techniques of Glenn Gould, Oscar Peterson, Vladimir Ashkenazy, Arthur Rubinstein, and Van Cliburn, and he gives musicians including Alfred Brendel, Murray Perahia, Menahem Pressler, and Vladimir Horowitz the opportunity to discuss their approaches. Isacoff delineates how classical music and jazz influenced each other as the uniquely American art form progressed from ragtime, novelty, stride, boogie, bebop, and beyond, through Scott Joplin, Fats Waller, Duke Ellington, Bill Evans, Thelonious Monk, Chick Corea, Herbie Hancock, Cecil Taylor, and Bill Charlap. A Natural History of the Piano distills a lifetime of research and passion into one brilliant narrative. We witness Mozart unveiling his monumental concertos in Vienna’s coffeehouses, using a special piano with one keyboard for the hands and another for the feet; European virtuoso Henri Herz entertaining rowdy miners during the California gold rush; Beethoven at his piano, conjuring healing angels to console a grieving mother who had lost her child; Liszt fainting in the arms of a page turner to spark an entire hall into hysterics. Here is the instrument in all its complexity and beauty. We learn of the incredible craftsmanship of a modern Steinway, the peculiarity of specialty pianos built for the Victorian household, the continuing innovation in keyboards including electronic ones. And most of all, we hear the music of the masters, from centuries ago and in our own age, brilliantly evoked and as marvelous as its most recent performance. With this wide-ranging volume, Isacoff gives us a must-have for music lovers, pianists, and the armchair musician.

The first comprehensive study of Bartolomeo Cristofori's working life, featuring detailed technical documentation about his instruments.

Alfred's Basic Adult All-in-One Course is designed for the beginner looking for a truly complete piano course that includes lesson, theory, technic and popular repertoire in one convenient, all-in-one book. This course has a number of features that make it particularly successful in achieving this goal, among them are smooth progression between concepts, the thorough explanation of chords and outstanding song material. At the completion of this course, the student will have learned to play some of the most popular music ever written and will have gained a thorough understanding of the basic concepts of music.

A renowned concert pianist traces the instrument's design, manufacture, and music in a delightful "piano's eye-view" of the social history of Western Europe and the United States from the 16th to the 20th centuries.

This illustrated book treats the history of the piano from its invention in 1700 to the present in terms of its technology. Looking at the technologies of design, materials, and manufacture, and focusing its description on specific existing pianos, it describes the changes in pianos from the earlist days to contemporary instruments.

(Keyboard Instruction). Have you struggled through tedious lessons and boring instruction books in your desire to learn to play the piano? If you wish there was a fun and engaging way to motivate you in your piano playing quest, then this is it: "All About Piano" is for you. Whether it's learning to read music, playing by ear, improvising, or all of the above, this enjoyable guide will help you to finally start playing your favorite songs in many different styles. Plus, learn interesting tid-bits on piano makes & models, care and maintenance, other keyboard instruments, and other fun stuff about the piano. This fun-filled, easy-to-use guide includes: An introduction to pianos and keyboard instruments; Step-by-step music reading instruction; How to play by ear and improvise; Background on various styles of music, including dozens of favorite songs; Performing tips. Over 40 popular songs, including: All My Loving (The Beatles) * Can You Feel the Love Tonight (Elton John) * Fur Elise (Beethoven) * Imagine (John Lennon) * Linus and Lucy (Vince Guaraldi) * Wonderful Tonight (Eric Clapton) * Your Cheatin' Heart (Hank Williams) * and more. This e-book also includes 70 audio tracks for demo and play-along.

A fascinating history of the piano explored through 100 pieces chosen by one of the UK's most renowned concert pianists "Tomes . . . casts her net widely, taking in chamber music and concertos, knotty avant-garde masterworks and (most welcome) jazz."--Richard Fairman, Financial Times, "Best Books of 2021: Classical Music" "[One of] the most beautiful books I got my hands on this year. . . . About the shaping of this maddening, glorious, unconquerable instrument."--Jenny Colgan, Spectator, "Books of the Year" An astonishingly versatile instrument, the piano allows just two hands to play music of great complexity and subtlety. For more than two hundred years, it has brought solo and collaborative music into homes and concert halls and has inspired composers in every musical genre--from classical to jazz and light music. Charting the development of the piano from the late eighteenth century to the present day, pianist and writer Susan Tomes takes the reader with her on a personal journey through 100 pieces including solo works, chamber music, concertos, and jazz. Her choices include composers such as Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, Robert Schumann, Tchaikovsky, Debussy, Gershwin, and Philip Glass. Looking at this history from a modern performer's perspective, she acknowledges neglected women composers and players including Fanny Mendelssohn, Maria Szymanowska, Clara Schumann, and Amy Beach.

This is the second book I the Complete Piano Player course and is every bit as rewarding as the first. You will learn how to play songs by Elvis Presley, Rod Stewart, The Beatles and more, while introducing new notes for both hands, extending past the range of the original five-finger position. Letter names will appear alongside new notes only. Carefully follow the lessons and you will find you have learned all about accidentals, chord symbols, dotted rhythms and wrist staccato, as well as having increased your repertoire and grown as a musician Remember playing little and often is the best way to make rapid progress and become the complete piano player. Songlist: - A Hard Days Night [The Beatles] - Bright Eyes [Art Garfunkel] - By The Time I Get To Phoenix [Glen Campbell] - Danny Boy (Londonderry Air) [Trad.] - Guantanamera [Trad.] - He'll Have To Go [Jim reeves] - Laughing Samba [Edmundo Ros] - Let Him Go, Let Him Tarry [Trad.] - Let It Be [The Beatles] - Liebestraum [Liszt] - My Own True Love (from Gone With the Wind) - Plaisir D'amour [Martini] - Puff The Magic Dragon [Peter, Paul & Mary] - Sailing [Colin Downs] - Silent Night [Trad.] - Take Me Home Country Roads [John Denver] - The Winner Takes It All [ABBA] - Those Lazy Crazy Days Of Summer [Nat king Cole] - Under The Bridges Of Paris [Dean Martin] - What Kind Of Fool Am I? - William Tell Overture – Theme [Rossini] - Wooden Heart [Elvis Presley]

This book reveals the passion and expertise of those engaged in the construction of a unique and precious object destined for the world of art. Music critic Sandro Cappelletto tells the tale of a company that has been producing grand and concert pianos since 1981, when it was founded by Paolo Fazioli. Fazioli is therefore celebrating its fortieth anniversary in 2021. Passion for music and scientific skill, great craftsmanship, continuous technological research, and careful selection of materials are the necessary requirements for producing a Fazioli piano. The history of the company has been characterized by a crescendo of successes, from the first international exhibitions to acquisition by major global retailers, from sales at the world’s most prestigious theaters to close collaborations with famous artists who have exclusively requested Fazioli pianos for their concerts. The great pianists Angela Hewitt and Maurizio Baglini offer their precious perspectives in this book through conversations with Sandro Cappelletto.

This best-selling tale of exploration and belonging, which won the Waterstones Childrens Book Prize 2016, Illustrated Book Category, is now available in board book.