The Art of the Piano: Its Performers, Literature and Recordings

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Summary: A good reference and a good read
Review: Almost full marks to Mr. Dubal for his excellent and ambitious effort. It is a good reference and interesting read - at times. The only drawback it is not very well written from an English literature point of view, it could definately be smoother, although there are lots of interesting descriptions and discussions. The second drawback is that Mr. Dubal is a die hard Horowitz fan, perhaps a little too much. No body can argue against Horowitz qualities, but it needs to be toned down a little in a book of this nature.

Rating:
Summary: A good reference and a good read
Review: Almost full marks to Mr. Dubal for his excellent and ambitious effort. It is a good reference and interesting read - at times. The only drawback it is not very well written from an English literature point of view, it could definately be smoother, although there are lots of interesting descriptions and discussions. The second drawback is that Mr. Dubal is a die hard Horowitz fan, perhaps a little too much. No body can argue against Horowitz qualities, but it needs to be toned down a little in a book of this nature.

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Summary: An encyclopedic A-Z reference of performers and recordings
Review: If David Dubal's The Art Of The Piano: Its Performers, Literature And Recordings Sounds Familiar, It Should: Revised and expanded this is the second edition of a popular classic and has been extensively revised and expanded, including a cd of rare piano recordings as it details performers, literature, and recordings key to the piano. Individual chapters provide an encyclopedic A-Z reference of performers and recordings and provide not just biographical coverages, but in-depth insights.


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Summary: [e-mail]
Review: It's the best book on pianists I have read. I always consult this book instead of the Penguin Guide or the Gramophone Good CD Guide.

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Summary: *THE* Bible for pianophiles!
Review: No one on earth does a better job writing about classical pianists than Mr. Dubal. For almost a decade, I consulted the second edition of this comprehensive book on an almost-daily basis to get invaluable information about the lives and art of great classical pianists. In the first half of the book, Dubal writes a separate essay on each pianist (hundreds of them), where he gives a brief biographical sketch and a more detailed discussion of his/her pianism. In the second half, Dubal discusses virtually all major compositions (solo pieces and concertos) in the classical piano repertoire, and recommends good recordings of each piece.

I agree with virtually everything he says, and think this book is infinitely more useful than, say, the Penguin Guide and the Gramophone Good CD Guide. I thought the second edition was already perfect, but this (much thicker) third edition is EVEN BETTER! Lots of important updates have been added, e.g. articles about new pianists Lang Lang and Volodos and many others, comments on new recordings by Hamelin, Leslie Howard, Kissin and tons others, and many more recording recommendations in the second half of the book. This new edition includes a bonus CD loaded with historic recordings, many of which previously unpublished or unavailable on CD.

So, get yourself a copy of this new edition even if you already have an older edition!

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Summary: Brilliant Book of Piano
Review: Please read brilliant book all about piano. Author Dubal truly genius world class piano knowledge. Also Jung Lin piano recital Friday December 10, 2004 at Lincoln Center Alice Tully Hall. Jung Lin is called songbird of piano. World class international acclaimed pianist, playing Chopin, Medtner, Beethoven. Please support! Thank you.

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Summary: Must Own Book For Any Piano Enthusiast
Review: Simply I would put, "Must-own for all piano enthusiasts." It's really interesting to read through this book although it looks like a dictionary, as it contains a lot of gossips that might be taken from his interview with many pianists. Sometimes he put too much importance on his own favorite pianists (i.e., Horowitz), but still fun to read. I hope this book continues to grow its contents as time passes, if possible for him.

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Summary: Much Useful Knowledge
Review: There is much to learn in this useful book for piano fans and students. I was a bit disappointed though that prominent pianists were given little coverage or not updated at all - Thibaudet, Andsnes, Hough, Lortie, Perahia - and pianists who are largely unknown to the public were updated, and highly praised. This was puzzling to me. I understand wanting to celebrate the careers of lesser known pianists, but why not also cover the careers of those who are performing at Carnegie Hall before the public? I get the feeling that many of these biographical entries are not for the benefit of the reader, but for the pianists who are listed. Yet the ordinary reader is the book's customer. Surely we are worth a little regard. More useful to the reader is the piano literature section of Part II. There is a lot of interesting updating here, including Beethoven, Busoni, Godowsky, Medtner, and much more. The list of recommended recordings is helpfully expanded. But there is too much in Part I that seems like excess, and minor careers are overpraised.

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Summary: Minority opinion - No really progressing from 2 edition
Review: When I ordered Mr Dubal revised "The Art of Piano" I have high expectation - his second edition is my "piano bible" and I have all his book. So my dissapointment was very big. I have feeling that this is "rushed edition" and Mr Dubal didnt work hard on this revision. Why ?

My big "suprise" was to look back and forward in H when searching for Mrs Angela Hewitt who in my humble opinion is the leading Bach pianist and her complete recording of Sebastian is best avaible. No Hewitt. Also serious book edited in 2004 should notice Piotr Anderszewski activity. Many other pianists that developed major carriers in last decade have very "pale" and not update bio: Hough, Demidenko Andensen .... Others like Gulda and Zacharias have also small note. I understand that You can't write tottaly objective book and maybe these pianists are not writer favorites but you can't miss their work and progress in last decade !

Why I thing this book is rushed ? Because updates on some major pianists are not visible. For example - Murray Perahia. I found that Mr Dubal didnt notice this wonderful pianist work from 1995. Also, when copying from 2-ed his bad review from Mr Perahia recital, it will be fair to note that the event happened some 10 years ago and maybe is not relevant now. I suppose that Mr Dubal have listened to Perahia recitals/concerts in last decade and I'm sure that He listened to new CD's. No single word about Perahia Bach and wonderful Chopin Etudes. It's also case when speaking about Pollini and others. For example I would like to read about Zimerman new recordings , comparing his Chopin concertos (I personnaly prefer the first version). My dissapointment was great because the writer is real "guru" of piano and his knowledge about piano and pianists is huge and he is wonderful writer.
The book is real treasure for person who have not read 2-nd edition but has little to offer for readers familiar with previous edition

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Summary: very useful
Review: While this book doesn't contain ALL the piano performers and literatures and recordings you expect, it has quite a bit of information.

What I like about it is it's not just a list of names of pianists and composers or the titles of works. He inserts his own comments and opinions, in some cases historical/cultural background, about each pianist and literature, in addition to anecdotes and famous quotes here and there, which is really very helpful. If you are musically inclined, you might find some of his comments not agreeable. In such case, just remember that every writer is subject to his/her own bias, or entitled to his own opinion. You just have to take his words for reference only.

I use this book all the time as a reference, as I am writing a story about a pianist right now. Not only that, it inspires me to check out the piano pieces I've never listened before. It also helps me to understand piano music in general.

Only, I wish he included piano trio/quartet/quintet, and piano works for four hands, etc. But if he did that, it'll be a huge book.

I am thankful for all the research and works he had done to put this one together.