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Mein Cello und ich und unsere Begegnungen.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
September 2, 2018
Truly entertaining and captivating. Piatigorsky's understated style of storytelling draws you in as if you just happened to start a conversation with the most witty person on earth on a fresh caffeine high.
It's not easy for me to describe his style, but i think a major element is understatement and letting the reader/listener (he dictated these stories) fill in the gaps. He almost never draws a conclusion for you, because he knows you will make it yourself. For example here:
"The man handed me two flight tickets. 'This one is for Mr. Gregor Piatigorsky, and this one for Miss Cello Piatigorsky'". No comment.
The story continues with his trademark clownery and practical jokes, asking the stewardess to treat his cello like a second passenger, and making her answer every question twice.
Oh and by the way, Piatigorsky sometimes talks about his many encounters with famous composers and pieces, and his genius level playing, not that he needs to spell it out for you.
I do not recommend reading this in bed. This book actually robbed me of more sleep than any other i can remember, either because the stories were so fascinating and short that i had to read "just one more chapter", or because i was laughing so hard that i could impossibly calm down enough to fall asleep.
It's not easy for me to describe his style, but i think a major element is understatement and letting the reader/listener (he dictated these stories) fill in the gaps. He almost never draws a conclusion for you, because he knows you will make it yourself. For example here:
"The man handed me two flight tickets. 'This one is for Mr. Gregor Piatigorsky, and this one for Miss Cello Piatigorsky'". No comment.
The story continues with his trademark clownery and practical jokes, asking the stewardess to treat his cello like a second passenger, and making her answer every question twice.
Oh and by the way, Piatigorsky sometimes talks about his many encounters with famous composers and pieces, and his genius level playing, not that he needs to spell it out for you.
I do not recommend reading this in bed. This book actually robbed me of more sleep than any other i can remember, either because the stories were so fascinating and short that i had to read "just one more chapter", or because i was laughing so hard that i could impossibly calm down enough to fall asleep.
April 13, 2023
witzige Biographie eines überaus beeindruckenden Künstlers; wie bin ich erst jetzt draufgekommen, dass Piatigorsky in meiner absoluten Lieblingsaufnahme des Mendessohn Octets [und eine der genialsten Aufnahmen überhaupt] mitspielt??
August 20, 2018
wow, that cellist knew/met so many famous persons! fun quick read.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews