Piano Mastery Talks with Master Pianists and Teachers

by Harriette Brower

This book was converted from its physical edition to the digital format by a community of volunteers. You may find it for free on the web. Purchase of the Kindle edition includes wireless delivery.

Genres: Music

204 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1915

Reviews

[Wendy · Rating 3 out of 5]

The writing style is interestingly flowery - lots of comments on the decor of the house - but it's a curiosity book, for dipping into. And it reinforces my thinking, as a piano teacher, that there is no One Way to play the piano.

[Vicki · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quaint and charming! It was originally written in 1915, during the age where Harriette Brower had heard Brahms play live, within 30 years of Liszt composing his Années de Pèlerinage, when Rachmaninov and Debussy were considered ultra-modern, and Rachmaninov's Second Concerto had not had enough time to be considered a success yet. Ms. Brower interviews 30 different concert pianists in this short book (or originally, series of articles), most of whom are unknown these days except for - interestingly enough - those who left their mark as pedagogues or composers, including Ferruccio Busoni, Ignace Pederwski, Tobias Matthay, and Wilhelm Bachus. There is a tiny reference in the interview with Paroul Pugno to a "pretty young woman" named Nadia Boulanger sitting with him, whom they soon learned was "a composer and musician of brilliant attainments," but the attention was fully returned to Mr. Pugno. If only Harriet knew!

Much attention is given to technique (i.e. scales and etudes), the amount of time spent practicing, how they memorize, how they attain their power and their tone, and unfortunately, their appearance and the way their home is situated and decorated. Brower said that her goal was to understand how these great artists became great, and while she passes on their good - and varied - advice that is still useful today (minus practicing on tabletops), I fear she got a little too caught up in the details and missed the big picture. The best parts of the book are when these great pianists of another era speak about the art and beauty of music, but most of the book is concerned more about the how and less about the why of making music at the piano.

Never touch the piano without trying to make music.
- Tobias Matthay

For me the piano is capable of reflecting every mood, every feeling; all pathos, joy, sorrow - the good and the evil too - all there is in life, all that one has lived.
- Ethel Leginska

Also, prepare yourself for some blatant American patriotism, in the form of "our own" MacDowell and Mrs. Beach, the number of these pianists mentioning how fond they are of America, and an inordinate amount of time comparing the state of the musical world (concertizing, teaching, and music appreciation) in the United States to Europe, which is hopefully an issue of the past. If you, like me, are not from the USA, you may need to resist the urge to roll your eyes, or you could take extra delight in Miss Aus der Ohe saying, "Even when it is only ragtime that pleases you [Americans], you are not afraid to own up to it."

For piano lovers only.

[indy · Rating 4 out of 5]

You can get the Kindle edition of this book for free (!), so I gave it a bonus star in my rating.

I enjoyed reading many and varied perspectives on playing and teaching piano, but some sections were more interesting than others. The physical descriptions of the women pianists and teachers made me think the author was a man; I found myself checking the author's name.

Piano talk can go so deep and get so technical, and this book's got it all: cold vs warm fingers, tone colours, finger curvature, posture, and so on.