| Contents |
Preface. The instrument. The literature before Bach. Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750). The Inventions, Preludes, and Fugues: The Inventions ; The Well-Tempered Clavier ; The performance of polyphony ; The Suites and Partitas ; The Toccatas and miscellaneous works ; The chamber music and concertos ; Transcriptions of Bach ; Editions -- From Bach to Beethoven. Franz Joseph Haydn (1732-1809) ; Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-91). The miscellaneous pieces and Variations ; The sonatas ; The concertos -- Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827). The sonatas ; The smaller works ; The chamber music and concertos ; Editions -- Weber, Schubert, and Mendelssohn: Contemporaries of Beethoven. Carl Maria von Weber (1786-1826). The piano sonatas ; Concertos and the Concertstück ; Franz Peter Schubert (1797-1828). The piano works ; Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn-Barthody (1809-47). The piano works -- Robert Alexander Schumann (1810-56). The piano works ; The chamber music and the concertos -- Frederic Francois Chopin (1810-49). The waltzes ; The polonaises ; The mazurkas ; The nocturnes ; The ballades ; The scherzos ; The preludes ; The études ; The sonatas ; The miscellaneous works ; Editions -- Johannes Brahms (1833-97). The piano sonatas and Variations ; The shorter piano works ; The chamber music ; The concertos ; Editions -- Franz (Ferencz) Liszt (1811-86). The lyrical piano pieces ; The études ; The rhapsodies ; Some larger works: The concertos -- French piano music: Franck, Saint-Saëns, Fauré, and others ; Claude Achille Debussy (1862-1918). Piano works ; Maurice Ravel (1875-1937). Piano works ; After Ravel -- Russian and Polish composers. The Russian Schools ; Russian piano music ; Polish composers -- Piano music since Liszt . Modern German and Austrian composers ; Hungarian composers ; Bohemian composers ; Swiss composers ; Scandinavian composers ; Italian composers ; Spanish composers ; Latin-American Music ; British composers ; Australian composers -- American composers: Louis Moreau Gottschalk (1829-69) ; Folk music ; General history ; New England ; Edward MacDowell (1861-1908) ; Some Middle-Period composers ; Charles T. Griffes (1884-1920) ; Light music ; George Gershwin (1898-1937) -- Living composers and the state of music since Hutcheson. The magnetic tape and concrete music ; Electronic music ; Living American composers. Postscript to the amateur and student -- Appendix A: Techniques -- Appendix B: Fingerings. |
| Abstract |
The book has been updated in view both of later compositions and of later musical and musicological publications. For over fifteen years, the original version of this book, which was the product of a lifetime's experience on the author's part as concert pianist and teacher, proved to be an invaluable guide and companion for everyone who played the piano. Now it has been expanded and revised by the editor, who has added entirely new material on performance, practicing, and style. A guide to the world's great piano music, ensemble as well as solo, the book offers specific help in the selection, interpretation, and performance of individual pieces, as well as delightfully enlightening information about composers, music, and music history. It is enriched with observations and practical advice by two distinguished pianists, and is illustrated with more than three hundred musical quotations. It includes convenient lists of works, helpful notes regarding editions, together with a bibliography and index. The book affords the student or amateur, wherever he may be, the equivalent of an opportunity to study with a combination of two renowned teachers. It can help him to develop his technical ability, enlarge his repertoire, and enhance both his understanding and his enjoyment under their guidance. It is what used to be called a vademecum: a delightful and useful chair-side, piano-side, or bedside companion for amateur and student. |
