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Great Pianists on Piano Playing: Godowsky, Hofmann, Lhevinne, Paderewski and 24 Other Legendary Performers
Learning from a virtuoso is something that any piano student would love to do. But while master classes are rare, this remarkable book allows us to share the thoughts, musical insights, and experience of the world's greatest pianists.
In 28 separate interviews, these legendary artists talk about piano technique, musical development, what is required to achieve virtuoso piano artistry, and many other topics related to keyboard performance. Included are Busoni's "Important Details in Piano Study," Rachmaninoff's "Essentials of Artistic Playing," Paderewski's "Breadth in Musical Art," Grainger's "Modernism in Pianoforte Study," as well as fascinating perceptions and commentary from Bachaus, Carreño, Gabrilowitsch, Godowsky, Hofmann, Lhévinne, Scharwenka, and other masters.
Containing a wealth of information and practical advice, including biographical sketches of each musician, Great Pianists on Piano Playing is a one-of-a-kind collection that piano students, teachers, and any music lover will treasure.
In 28 separate interviews, these legendary artists talk about piano technique, musical development, what is required to achieve virtuoso piano artistry, and many other topics related to keyboard performance. Included are Busoni's "Important Details in Piano Study," Rachmaninoff's "Essentials of Artistic Playing," Paderewski's "Breadth in Musical Art," Grainger's "Modernism in Pianoforte Study," as well as fascinating perceptions and commentary from Bachaus, Carreño, Gabrilowitsch, Godowsky, Hofmann, Lhévinne, Scharwenka, and other masters.
Containing a wealth of information and practical advice, including biographical sketches of each musician, Great Pianists on Piano Playing is a one-of-a-kind collection that piano students, teachers, and any music lover will treasure.
418 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1917
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October 18, 2025
A Gift Of The PIano
This book of interviews with great pianists of the early 20th Century fell into my hands by accident as a gift, twice removed, from an elderly woman who loved the piano and knew that I did as well. First published in 1917, "Great Pianists On Piano Playing" consists of interviews arranged in the form of essays with 28 great pianists and teachers. The American pianist and author James Francis Cooke (1875 -- 1960) conducted the interviews and wrote two introductory essays. Cooke also prepared biographical sketches of each of the 28 pianists he interviewed and, in addition, prepared study questions for each interview to assist in the reader's understanding.
As an amateur pianist for many years, I loved this book. I enjoyed getting to know the pianists. Some, of course, are still famous including Rachmaninoff, Paderewski, de Pachmann, Busoni, Bachaus, and others; while some other pianists in the volume, famous in their day, are now less well known. Each of the artists took the piano and music highly seriously, and their comments have a great deal to teach. Many of the essays are geared to the difficult process of becoming a concert or "virtuoso" pianist, but the essays are of great values for amateur pianists and teachers as well. I also enjoyed the book for the insights it gave into life in Europe and America just before the Great War. There is a degree of social history which may be learned as a by-product from these essays as the writing style, formality, and in some instances preconceptions of the era differ from those of the early 21st Century. Readers will not mistake these essays for contemporary writings.
Each pianist offers his or her (five of the pianists are women) on music, piano performance and piano study. The essays offer varying perspectives on piano technique, what it is, and how it is to be learned. Most but not all of the pianists favor substantial technical work for pianists, including scales, arpeggios, and etudes by, for example, Czerny. Virtually all of the pianists recommend the serious study of Bach to aspiring pianists at all levels.
Several essays discuss the importance of piano practice and emphasize the importance of regular effort, concentration, and not wasting one's time during practice. There are discussions of various pianistic "methods" (none of which are to be rigidly followed) and of acquiring a beautiful touch, learning to play with accuracy, and the study of phrasing and rhythm.
There are essays on the teaching of the piano in Russia, Hungary, and the United States. Several of the contributors offer comments on what, at the time of the interviews, was the contemporary state of piano music. More than one contributor, for example, speaks highly of the music of the American composer Edward MacDowell whose music today is too-little heard. There are two essays, by Katherine Goodson and Ernest Schelling, that offer insights into the process of learning a new piece.
An overriding theme of the volume is that learning the piano requires dedication and hard work. But the primary theme of the essays is that flawless, mechanical technique is only a means to an end. Pianism, from the beginner to the virtuoso level, requires love and understanding of the music and the development of informed musical individuality and personality. Work and the development of a personal musical style are the pervasive themes of the volume. One of my favorite essays in this book is Rachmaninoff's. He describes well musical training in Russian conservatories, including the emphasis on technique and on the use of Hanon's studies, but he is clear that technique is only a beginning. Rachmaninoff says:
"While, of course, the student must play the notes, and all of the notes, in the manner and in the time in which the composer intended that they should be played, his efforts should by no means stop with notes. Every individual note in a composition is important, but there is something quite as important as the notes, and that is the soul. After all, the vital spark is the soul. The soul is the source of that higher expression in music which cannot be represented in dynamic marks. The soul feels the need for the crescendos and diminuendos intuitively. The mere matter of the duration of a pause upon a note depends upon its significance, and the soul of the artist dictates to him just how long such a pause should be held. If the student resorts to mechanical rules and depends upon them absolutely, his playing will be soulless."
It is important to learn the technique of the instrument but it is vital and essential to play with what Rachmaninoff calls "soul".
I enjoyed learning about the history of this book. It was published first in 1917. The Dover edition, which I received as a gift, was published in 1999 but is now out of print and, apparently, rare. There are two current editions available of this book which I have not seen.
This book was a chance but lovely gift from a pianist who thought of me even though I didn't know her very well. The circumstances of me finding the book and its content made this a special volume.
Robin Friedman
This book of interviews with great pianists of the early 20th Century fell into my hands by accident as a gift, twice removed, from an elderly woman who loved the piano and knew that I did as well. First published in 1917, "Great Pianists On Piano Playing" consists of interviews arranged in the form of essays with 28 great pianists and teachers. The American pianist and author James Francis Cooke (1875 -- 1960) conducted the interviews and wrote two introductory essays. Cooke also prepared biographical sketches of each of the 28 pianists he interviewed and, in addition, prepared study questions for each interview to assist in the reader's understanding.
As an amateur pianist for many years, I loved this book. I enjoyed getting to know the pianists. Some, of course, are still famous including Rachmaninoff, Paderewski, de Pachmann, Busoni, Bachaus, and others; while some other pianists in the volume, famous in their day, are now less well known. Each of the artists took the piano and music highly seriously, and their comments have a great deal to teach. Many of the essays are geared to the difficult process of becoming a concert or "virtuoso" pianist, but the essays are of great values for amateur pianists and teachers as well. I also enjoyed the book for the insights it gave into life in Europe and America just before the Great War. There is a degree of social history which may be learned as a by-product from these essays as the writing style, formality, and in some instances preconceptions of the era differ from those of the early 21st Century. Readers will not mistake these essays for contemporary writings.
Each pianist offers his or her (five of the pianists are women) on music, piano performance and piano study. The essays offer varying perspectives on piano technique, what it is, and how it is to be learned. Most but not all of the pianists favor substantial technical work for pianists, including scales, arpeggios, and etudes by, for example, Czerny. Virtually all of the pianists recommend the serious study of Bach to aspiring pianists at all levels.
Several essays discuss the importance of piano practice and emphasize the importance of regular effort, concentration, and not wasting one's time during practice. There are discussions of various pianistic "methods" (none of which are to be rigidly followed) and of acquiring a beautiful touch, learning to play with accuracy, and the study of phrasing and rhythm.
There are essays on the teaching of the piano in Russia, Hungary, and the United States. Several of the contributors offer comments on what, at the time of the interviews, was the contemporary state of piano music. More than one contributor, for example, speaks highly of the music of the American composer Edward MacDowell whose music today is too-little heard. There are two essays, by Katherine Goodson and Ernest Schelling, that offer insights into the process of learning a new piece.
An overriding theme of the volume is that learning the piano requires dedication and hard work. But the primary theme of the essays is that flawless, mechanical technique is only a means to an end. Pianism, from the beginner to the virtuoso level, requires love and understanding of the music and the development of informed musical individuality and personality. Work and the development of a personal musical style are the pervasive themes of the volume. One of my favorite essays in this book is Rachmaninoff's. He describes well musical training in Russian conservatories, including the emphasis on technique and on the use of Hanon's studies, but he is clear that technique is only a beginning. Rachmaninoff says:
"While, of course, the student must play the notes, and all of the notes, in the manner and in the time in which the composer intended that they should be played, his efforts should by no means stop with notes. Every individual note in a composition is important, but there is something quite as important as the notes, and that is the soul. After all, the vital spark is the soul. The soul is the source of that higher expression in music which cannot be represented in dynamic marks. The soul feels the need for the crescendos and diminuendos intuitively. The mere matter of the duration of a pause upon a note depends upon its significance, and the soul of the artist dictates to him just how long such a pause should be held. If the student resorts to mechanical rules and depends upon them absolutely, his playing will be soulless."
It is important to learn the technique of the instrument but it is vital and essential to play with what Rachmaninoff calls "soul".
I enjoyed learning about the history of this book. It was published first in 1917. The Dover edition, which I received as a gift, was published in 1999 but is now out of print and, apparently, rare. There are two current editions available of this book which I have not seen.
This book was a chance but lovely gift from a pianist who thought of me even though I didn't know her very well. The circumstances of me finding the book and its content made this a special volume.
Robin Friedman
December 11, 2021
whelp it helped me get 100 on an assessment so i'm not complaining i guess
December 29, 2022
In this collection of engaging interviews, the world's most brilliant pianists of the early 20th century explain countless times how to hit a piano key the right way. More importantly, they also have timeless advice to help anyone achieve excellence calmly, purposefully, and passionately. Focus, commit, pause, begin again.
December 18, 2016
“Always practice slowly at first.” “Your job is to play “the mood of the composer”. “Phrasing is closely allied to the subject of accentuation.” “The soul feels the need for crescendos and diminuendos intuitively.” “If you do not know it well enough to practice it from memory, you have not grasped its harmonic content.” “Why waste time practicing passages which you can play perfectly well?” “Pearls lie at the bottom of the sea. Most pupils seem to expect them floating on the surface of the water.” “The greatest thing in an artist’s life is work.” “The practice of Bach is the shortest, quickest road to technical finish.” “The qualities which one develops through playing Bach are of incalculable benefit in playing Chopin.” “I see no object in practicing evenness in scales.” “Convey the idea of organic life”. “They are original because they listen to the little inner voice.” Technical ability = physiologically correct motion + artistic needs of the piece. It is the “trellis beneath the foliage.” “Railroad train rhythm = every measure of a student bumping along like the last one. “Scales and arpeggios seem to do away with the incessant need for watching the keys.” “The atmosphere of most homes of intelligent people is that of culture rather than commerce.” This old book is filled with wonderful advice and is still very interesting…
August 12, 2019
3 3/4 stars
June 27, 2021
Lessons learned: scale/arpeggio practices are indispensable, Bach's (harpsichord) compositions are superior, & careful, slow, meticulous concentration brings out excellence & virtuosity. A dozen exemplars mentioned, certain etudes & studies discussed, many exhortations to play authentically, and many more to perform not without the most sincere & strict attention to sound, touch, phrasing, and the like.
I enriched the reading (iBooks) by listening to some of the referenced pieces. More experienced musicians & pianists will probably know most or all of the names of teachers, virtuosos, & pedagogues that are mentioned in the book, but amateurs such as myself have atleast heard of some (Paderewski, Godowsky) and are familiar with some others (Hanon, Clementi). The field is so large that it takes some deliberation & verve to sit down and root out who is who & who did what. This book might only be for aspiring, amateur, or professional pianists, for it's all quite specific to the instrument, and addresses the more knowledgeable & well-versed of piano players by collecting dialogue from bona fide pianists of concert performance & of virtuosic capability. Rachmaninoff's in here, & Godowsky, and there are a couple women; they describe life travelling to & from Europe, draw comparisons between nations, and speak to the quiddities of devotion to the instrument; their lives are not all similar in origin, their perception of music refined, distinct, yet altogether uniformly of one entreating voice; and the reputation of them all is pronounced enough to warrant reflection for musicians who play in public the piano.
It's worth a look if you've got time, it's broken up into paragraph-like articles, and some points are common to most of their perspectives, like efficiently practicing, or carefully listening. I only had formal piano training (1 lesson/wk while at UC Riverside) for 4 years from 17-21 years old, started late and never entertained ambition in regard to learning the piano. Two hours' practice & study per day led to my ability to mechanically play a Bach invention but I had to continue outside of university & lessons, on my own, to merely retain the general skill. Over a decade I found spaces & periods of time to go through {scales, arpeggios, Hanon} and review what pieces I could play from {Bach, Chopin, Schubert, Mendelsohn, Beethoven}. Sometimes I had my own keyboard or upright at home & sometimes I trekked to studios to practice. Because I worked as a dancer in musicals & ballets, I was often around dancers & musicians, and I was encouraged & ultimately persuaded to try to play piano for ballet class. I never viewed myself capable but it was common for people to suggest ballet accompaniment to me. So off I went, searching for 16 & 32 measure music for ballet class, and after a year of vacillation, & of frustratingly rifling through uncut, unclear dance music, I finally landed my hands on actual books of music for ballet class--from there I was able to virtually replace the usual {scales, arpeggios, Hanon} w/{3/4s, 2/4s, 6/8s, & 4/4s} that were within my capacity to play. I never received great or extensive training, have no family background in classical music, & have hardly attended a concert in my life, but I always loved the piano sound & aspired to improve upon my playing, to the point where I 'fell into' a space of ballet class accompaniment. I went on to play piano accompaniment for ballet classes for four ballet schools (in San Diego), and after three years of real-time experience in public performance, I withdrew to return to practice, study, a conservation of my energy & a rehabilitation of my pride & integrity (playing music for the teacher & the students is a unique challenge, one made especially challenging if the teacher has not musical sensibility), and I now spend time studying more the classics so that I can challenge myself, improve, learn more about other composers & compositions, and transcend my limitations.
I enriched the reading (iBooks) by listening to some of the referenced pieces. More experienced musicians & pianists will probably know most or all of the names of teachers, virtuosos, & pedagogues that are mentioned in the book, but amateurs such as myself have atleast heard of some (Paderewski, Godowsky) and are familiar with some others (Hanon, Clementi). The field is so large that it takes some deliberation & verve to sit down and root out who is who & who did what. This book might only be for aspiring, amateur, or professional pianists, for it's all quite specific to the instrument, and addresses the more knowledgeable & well-versed of piano players by collecting dialogue from bona fide pianists of concert performance & of virtuosic capability. Rachmaninoff's in here, & Godowsky, and there are a couple women; they describe life travelling to & from Europe, draw comparisons between nations, and speak to the quiddities of devotion to the instrument; their lives are not all similar in origin, their perception of music refined, distinct, yet altogether uniformly of one entreating voice; and the reputation of them all is pronounced enough to warrant reflection for musicians who play in public the piano.
It's worth a look if you've got time, it's broken up into paragraph-like articles, and some points are common to most of their perspectives, like efficiently practicing, or carefully listening. I only had formal piano training (1 lesson/wk while at UC Riverside) for 4 years from 17-21 years old, started late and never entertained ambition in regard to learning the piano. Two hours' practice & study per day led to my ability to mechanically play a Bach invention but I had to continue outside of university & lessons, on my own, to merely retain the general skill. Over a decade I found spaces & periods of time to go through {scales, arpeggios, Hanon} and review what pieces I could play from {Bach, Chopin, Schubert, Mendelsohn, Beethoven}. Sometimes I had my own keyboard or upright at home & sometimes I trekked to studios to practice. Because I worked as a dancer in musicals & ballets, I was often around dancers & musicians, and I was encouraged & ultimately persuaded to try to play piano for ballet class. I never viewed myself capable but it was common for people to suggest ballet accompaniment to me. So off I went, searching for 16 & 32 measure music for ballet class, and after a year of vacillation, & of frustratingly rifling through uncut, unclear dance music, I finally landed my hands on actual books of music for ballet class--from there I was able to virtually replace the usual {scales, arpeggios, Hanon} w/{3/4s, 2/4s, 6/8s, & 4/4s} that were within my capacity to play. I never received great or extensive training, have no family background in classical music, & have hardly attended a concert in my life, but I always loved the piano sound & aspired to improve upon my playing, to the point where I 'fell into' a space of ballet class accompaniment. I went on to play piano accompaniment for ballet classes for four ballet schools (in San Diego), and after three years of real-time experience in public performance, I withdrew to return to practice, study, a conservation of my energy & a rehabilitation of my pride & integrity (playing music for the teacher & the students is a unique challenge, one made especially challenging if the teacher has not musical sensibility), and I now spend time studying more the classics so that I can challenge myself, improve, learn more about other composers & compositions, and transcend my limitations.
January 8, 2022
Cooke, in the 1920s, asked the most prominent classical pianists of the day to talk about piano playing: how they practice, what, what for, what they try to achieve in music, what music means to them, what the piano means to them, what they recommend one should do when aspiring to play etc.
Rachmaninoff has some great lines, and Josef Hofman, then one of the most famous pianists, reminds us that nothing changes: 'the regrettable tendency of modern technic toward being a purpose in itself'. :)
Very, very nice.
Rachmaninoff has some great lines, and Josef Hofman, then one of the most famous pianists, reminds us that nothing changes: 'the regrettable tendency of modern technic toward being a purpose in itself'. :)
Very, very nice.
July 2, 2022
Extraordinario libro
Las reflexiones y recomendaciones de muchos de los pianistas que se incluyen en este libro son de una profundidad y utilidad extraordinaria. Luego de una primera lectura se convierte en un libro de consulta permanente.
Las reflexiones y recomendaciones de muchos de los pianistas que se incluyen en este libro son de una profundidad y utilidad extraordinaria. Luego de una primera lectura se convierte en un libro de consulta permanente.
September 14, 2025
Readable musings about playing piano, practising, and more. The interesting ideas outnumber the sexist quips and stereotypes, so the latter are easy enough to ignore. I read the free copy available through Project Gutenberg.
March 14, 2015
This would be an interesting book at a different time in my life but these days it is simply boring.
Read
January 24, 2018I read some of the interviews and I especially liked Rachmaninoff's.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews