What's your favorite piano literature/book?

Creativity Beyond Compare and Music, Joy, Creativity by Forrest Kinney. Really eye-opening about what art and art lessons can aspire to.

All of Graham Fitch's Practising the Piano e-books are practical and clear. Extremely useful. Madeleine Bruser's The Art of Practicing is a beautiful book that I go back to often. There are many, many more - it's hard to sift through all of them in one's memory.

Santiago  I just received my copy about a month ago... "The Complete Pianist". An endearing novel I read in 2004 when I took a literature course was Oslo in April by John Slade.  I need to find it and reread it. It was quite serendipitous for me. I had 3 young children at home, just returned to college and returned to taking piano lessons after 15 years of not touching a piano seriously. The literature course I took happened to assign this as one of the novels. Along with me taking music theory... it was a done deal. My degree would absolutely be in music/piano.  Not to mention, the previous year I had spent a month in Norway, a dear friends husband is from Norway, one of my university audition pieces was from Grieg's Lyric Pieces - Notturno Op 54 No 4. You might say I was quite smitten with the novel. It's a good month for it too... Hmmmmm 

Santiago  Thank you. I grew up in NY (state - not the city) and while my mom paid for my piano lessons, when I suggested I major/minor in college - I was told it was unacceptable. My first attempt at college was math/computer science, and I stayed in my home town. Mom and I always had our differences, and ultimately I left and enlisted in the Navy without completing much college. She sold the piano that I used my savings to purchase... (another long story... I have been told to write a book!)    At any rate, I married young, and when the marriage started falling apart, I invested in a Yamaha clavinova on an impulse and was reacquainted with my childhood best friend.  Met Jason online, beta testing software ... of all things, come to find out he was a pianist... the rest is history.  As far as achieving a music degree, I did it at 36 while my children were still relatively young, the same year my divorce was finalized. Other than crippling performance anxiety, it was not easy because ensembles, practice time etc... but I would do it over in a heart beat! I had a friend once tell me... "Must be nice, playing your way and having fun to a degree... " Because I went to a state university, not a conservatory, all of the liberal arts requirements still applied. Not to mention one of our newer professors came from Eastman and he wanted to shift the focus to a more "conservatory" style study in the theory department... I WANTED TO CHOKE HER! I had no life other than music. None. BUT... again, I would do it over in a heart beat. My children are adults now. 26, 25, and 21 ... and all have a well rounded appreciation for any style of music. They have been to concerts galore. Jason plays traditional Jazz and I have been in green rooms with some of trad jazz greats, am friends with those who have played with Count Basie, Chet Baker, Benny Goodman... to name a few. So, I have indeed been very blessed.

If someone says to me, should I major in music... I give them a reality story. They will work nearly, if not harder than a pre-med student, and chances are they will become a barista at Starbucks. However... life has so much more meaning. Many of those I graduated with back in 2007 have either switched to another career, are gigging, adjunct professors, or are a crazy hybrid like myself. BUT - we all still share a deep seeded love/appreciation of music in (most if not) all forms. 

If I had to do it again though, I would do it right out of secondary school! NOT while going through a divorce with 3 kids... so I could absorb more and have less anxiety! ;-)

~Denise

I recently read two of Jan Swafford's books: 1) Johannes Brahms and 2) Mozart: the Reign of Love. I will be starting to read his third book later today: Beethoven: Anguish and Triumph. They are well-written, well-researched and absolutely fascinating! Because Swafford includes many quotes from their letters/correspondence, one feels closer to the geniuses- as if we are in their "inner circle" for brief, but glorious moments. And some not-so-glorious moments. For instance, did you know that Mozart had six children, but only two survived to adulthood (but remained single and never had any children)? Also, did you know that Mozart married the sister of his first love? And that "first love"- Aloysia Weber, soprano - said she knew Mozart loved her until the day he died? And...perhaps Mozart was a gambler...out of control?  Swafford highlights payments for concerts, and cost of living, etc. to show that money appeared to slip through his hands somehow. Borrowing and lending were then quite common, but be forewarned...it is painful to read Mozart's letters to his friend Michael Puchberg...imploring him for yet another loan. And after Mozart died, his sister Nannerl (with whom Mozart had become estranged during the last years of his life, sadly) said his only faults: "...a single one...he had too soft a heart, and did not know how to handle money." Is that the reason he was so overworked?

I highly suggest, as you can tell from another post, any of Jan Swafford's books. He writes compelling books that bring one closer to the composer. In addition, he delves into the music, in depth, when he highlights particular pieces/works in the lives of the composers. He is insightful and comprehensive in the ways he conveys the emotional and musical aspects of the composers' lives. That combination plumbs the depths of their lives. His books are rich, meticulous, thorough and enjoyable from start to finish.

Does anyone have a recommendation for a J.S. Bach biography?

Hi Santiago

I have UK pianist Stephen Hough’s Rough Ideas on my bedside but yet to read it. He is such a remarkable pianist and a brilliant thinker so I can wait to start once I’ve finished a novel I’m reading. Also  check out Susan Tomes writings and Chopin’s Piano by Paul Kildea.
I’ve found Thomas Mark’s book What Every Pianist Needs to Know About the Body useful and Lisa Marsh’s book Coordinate Movement for Pianists: Anatomy, Technique and Wellness Principles has just arrived on my doorstep so I look forward to reading that.

cheers, Andrew

The Complete Pianist is fabulous! I’m a bit of a bibliophile and this is an absolutely excellent resource esp with the embedded video demonstrations. Murray McLachlan, another British pedagogue and performer, has also written several excellent books which are smaller and more portable than Penelope Roskell’s tome. I’d also recommend Madeleine Bruser’s book. It presents a unique and organic perspective - a bit before it’s time perhaps. Another great book is ‘The Perfect Wrong Note’ by William Westney - again taking a different slant on how to approach practising. 

Two pianist biographies that I’ve read several times because they were so enjoyable are ‘The Piano Shop on the Left Bank’ about an American journalist on sabbatical in Paris resuming lessons as an adult and ‘Grand Obsession’ about a woman’s search for her dream piano. Both books made me envious of the enormous range of instruments available in Europe and the States. May be good to loan from the library rather than buy. 

Theres also a biography of the British pianist John Ogden which is fascinating but might not be what you are looking for. So many great books!!

Has anyone read this book, as recommended in the "Sound and Touch" course here on Tonebase? Do you recommend it for a Level 3 player?

https://yalebooks.yale.edu/book/9780300221527/notes-from-the-pianists-bench/