The Piano: A History in 100 Pieces

by Susan Tomes

A fascinating history of the piano explored through 100 pieces chosen by one of the UK’s most renowned concert pianists

An astonishingly versatile instrument, the piano allows just two hands to play music of great complexity and subtlety. For more than two hundred years, it has brought solo and collaborative music into homes and concert halls and has inspired composers in every musical genre—from classical to jazz and light music.

Charting the development of the piano from the late eighteenth century to the present day, pianist and writer Susan Tomes takes the reader with her on a personal journey through 100 pieces including solo works, chamber music, concertos, and jazz. Her choices include composers such as Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, Robert Schumann, Tchaikovsky, Debussy, Gershwin, and Philip Glass. Looking at this history from a modern performer’s perspective, she acknowledges neglected women composers and players including Fanny Mendelssohn, Maria Szymanowska, Clara Schumann, and Amy Beach.

Genres: Music, Nonfiction, History, Art

400 pages, Hardcover

First published July 13, 2021

Reviews

[Mitch · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good!

+Women composers
+Many post-war composers
+Fun anecdotes
+Making fun of modern ambient piano
+Kinda obscure choices of significant composers' pieces

-Kinda obscure choices of significant composers' pieces

[Ends of the Word · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lately there have been several books, both about general history and, about more specific areas such as music, in which a potentially daunting subject is addressed through more easily digestible chapters or articles about items, objects or works which can serve as a springboard for a wider discussion. A case in point is Neil MacGregor’s A History of the World in 100 Objects or, in the classical music field, Laura Tunbridge’s recent Beethoven: A Life in Nine Pieces.

Susan Tomes’ The Piano – A History in Hundred Pieces follows a similar format, providing a more-or-less chronological account of the development of the piano through brief chapters on specific works. Tomes’ history is a wide-ranging one, starting off with a section on the piano’s “prehistory” (exploring the transition from harpsichord to Cristofori’s invention) and ending with chapters on 20th century and contemporary works by the likes of Gubaidulina, Pärt, Glass and Judith Weir (although admittedly there are many other composers who might have been deserving of a slot here). There is even a foray into jazz.

Wisely, Tomes does not feel unduly constricted by the title of her book. The “hundred pieces” are not all solo piano pieces, and include chamber works where the instrument may, at first glance, appear to have more of a supporting role. Some entries actually cover more than one piece, for instance the chapter on Domenico Scarlatti’s Sonata in E major K380, which slips in an overview of the composer’s prolific contribution to the genre. Tomes is herself a pianist with a solo and chamber career, and her insights into the pieces are the fruit of erudition, experience and technical knowledge.

This is a book which will be interesting and useful to pianists and lovers of the piano, whether professional or amateur, veterans or young students getting to know the repertoire. It can be read chronologically or kept by the bedside (or on the piano) as a knowledgeable and friendly guide to new pieces or composers.

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[Nicki Markus · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Piano - A History in 100 Pieces by Susan Tomes is a fascinating and delightful read. Through her chosen works, Tomes considers the history of the instrument, including the development of its capabilities and the innovative ways musicians and composers have used it over the years. If you are a classical music fan, you will doubtless find this an interesting book. However, it will probably have more impact if you are also a musician yourself (especially a pianist), as you will then understand all the references Tomes makes in her dissections of each piece: details that might be incomprehensible to those with no grounding in musical notation and theory. The only downside was, after three hundred pages, I began to feel a little weighed down by all the detail, so perhaps it is a book better dipped into, one piece at a time, rather than read cover to cover in one go, but for any piano aficionado, it is well worth the investment of your money and time. It gets 4.5 stars from me.

I received this book as a free eBook ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

[Julius · Rating 3 out of 5]

Did not finish. The book is great for someone who understands the Piano lingo. I found the first 100 pages an interesting read. The book explained some historical context around specific pieces, some aspects that are relevant now vs when the piece was written (e.g. Bach used harpischord, which sounds different than a regular piano). Eventually, I found the book a bit repetitive on the interpretation of the pieces, e.g. what the composer might or might not have wanted to say with a specific piece. Then, some references to specific bars of the compositions probably require a more intimate familiarity with the musical score than an average reader can have.

I imagine for an average piano player who is invested into the art this might be a quite insightful book. As for me, maybe I'll come back to it later.

[Victoria · Rating 4 out of 5]

Features overly dry, pedantic descriptions at times but overall an informative, thought provoking, and enjoyable book.

[Maxwell Dalton · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wow, 4 months later....

This is, as the title states, a "history in 100 pieces". A vast majority of these pieces are made up of sonatas, trios, or concertos, meaning that the average length of the pieces is probably right around 30 minutes. I made a playlist to which I added every piece, and the length of said playlist comes in at over 43 hours long, so I believe the amount of time it took me to read this book can be forgiven.

I found this book at the UCLA book store, browsing about the music section to find something which might get me some exposure to classical music, specifically piano music; I'd always wanted to become a more active listener and attain some more knowledge on the subject, primarily because I play piano a bit myself and thought it'd be useful for selecting pieces to try and learn. For those purposes specifically, I think this book fit the bill. I've come out on the other side I think a bit more aware at least of which eras / types of compositions are personally more to my taste. For example, I now know to steer clear of the vast majority of post-Romantic classical music, especially those composed using the 12-note method. Contrary to whatever words Tomes used to describe these pieces, they're really just pretentious garbage in my eyes.

Anyways, back to the book itself. Why not 3 stars? Well, for one, many of Tomes' choices seem a bit random and almost catering towards trying to be a bit niche. She will often choose little-known compositions from big composers as opposed to going with the obvious choices. Some of these are well-founded, while others seem to have been made in the spirit of diverting from the mainstream just for the sake of it, which is a bit annoying.

For another, while the brief summaries around each composer's life and the amusing various little tidbits regarding the compositions are great, the descriptions of the actual pieces often are done using some music theoretical terms which are not at all followable by the average reader. Furthermore, I feel that it would have been a nice touch for Tomes to maybe have added in a recommended recording for each piece, one which is widely available, rather than leaving the reader to find the piece for themselves.

All that being said, I'm glad I slogged through this book for the past few months, and I definitely will be checking out some other classical music literature in the near future, once the TBR is through with. Probably a biography or something, we'll see.

TL;DR: A useful reference for getting into classical piano, but with some weird choices and wordy descriptions.

[Brian · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is such a great book. I love the breadth of piano repertoire the writer covers, especially that she delves into material written for young people. I was inspired to check out Satie’s few pieces for children, and they are remarkable and unmistakably his. There’s a ton of detail here, and I did find myself skimming some of the descriptions of concerto this, that, or the other. I love that she really gets modern composers like Glass, as well as jazz. That music doesn’t always have to make you feel something, that minimalism and ambient music can just be a presence rather than an elaborate, highly decorated, and technically very difficult thing that only a few can play.

[Ian Lea · Rating 4 out of 5]

A bit too technical for me on the actual music, but enjoyable as a trip down the ages and short piano-oriented biographies of composers.

[indy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wolfgang Mozart left things until the last minute, Schumann was a musical windbag, and Schubert loved writing cosy piano duets. Thank you, Susan, for bringing the composers to life. I loved the funny behind-the-scenes anecdotes about the composers.

I read most of the book with the pieces playing in the background (YouTube is awesome). Check out the wood block in Ives's Piano Sonata 2.

My interest and enjoyment waned as the book progressed. I agree with other reviewers that the material was sometimes too dry and grew repetitive.

I appreciated the author's effort to include women composers like Maria Szymanowska, Clara Schumann, Amy Beach, and Sofia Gubaidulina. That said, it felt like the chapters about women were more biographical than analytical; I wondered about the lopsided treatment. Jazz pianists were covered separately, except for the women, clumped together in what felt like a passing mention.

I'll keep the book near my piano for future reference, and I don't regret buying a physical copy. Now, please excuse me while I explore Susan Tomes's other books.

[MaryEllen Clark · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a two year adventure, listening to one or more pieces of music in the morning as a meditation and reading about the piece in the book. It took me from Bach to the current day. I thoroughly enjoyed the author's, a renowned pianist herself, point of view, selections and commentaries. Although I don't agree with everything, she has opened my eyes and ears to some new works, new composers as well as revisiting composers and works I've known, performed and loved for years. She admirably tries to incorporate female composers and African-American composers as she explores ragtime, bebop and jazz. This was a wonderful adventure for me, I've expanded my collection of piano sheet music to include Schubert sonatas, all the Beethoven Sonatas and more Bach. I've taken excursions off to the side - Anthony Biss' coursera on Beethoven Sonatas for example. All in all a great journey, which I'm sad to see end.

[Miel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kan interessant voor iedereen met een muzikale achtergrond.

[Ian · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great but humbling book, which highlighted the limitations of my cultural knowledge, and made me determined to do something about it!

[L Rowan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such an fantastic insight into over 70 different composers: historical context, inspirations and general method of performance. Really insightful and I will use this as a mini dictionary for any performances I encounter.

[Nicole · Rating 4 out of 5]

My last catch-up review, and another book that I should have reviewed closer to my reading. Obviously, I loved this book. It's a list of music descriptions, by author and time period. How could I not love it? Of course, the writing could be a bit dry, just by design. And there's no real way to select just 100 pieces that outline the true history of the piano. I don't know that these 100 really do that, actually. But I'm not sure that was the entire point, either; this book gave the author, who obviously sincerely loves the topic, a chance to share her own thoughts about her own favorite selections. And she justified the choices very well. I found myself making notes at the end of each chapter about pieces I'd never known and now want to learn. A playlist on Spotify or Tidal to go along with this book would be OUTSTANDING and very relevant to today's readers. One thing I liked the most about this book was that it was written by a nonacademic musician. This wasn't a scholarly work; it was an ode to the beauty that people find in the piano across centuries. Yay. :-)