Piano 300

Published in conjunction with the March 2000 exhibition at the Smithsonian International Gallery celebrating the tricentennial of the invention of the piano. The 250-plus color photographs and text by Smithsonian curators Cynthia Hoover, Patrick Rucker, and Edwin Good present the technical and social history of the instrument, highlighting the innovative craftsmen, manufacturers, entrepreneurs, teachers, performers and composers who helped to make it the most popular musical instrument of modern times. They also include rare composers' manuscripts and first editions tracing the diversity of music the piano inspired. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

The Encyclopedia of the Piano was selected in its first edition as a Choice Outstanding Book and remains a fascinating and unparalleled reference work. The instrument has been at the center of music history with even composers of large symphonic work asserting that they do not write anything without sketching it out first on a piano; its limitations and expressive capacity have done much to shape the contours of the western musical idiom. Within the scope of this user-friendly guide is everything from the acoustics and construction of the piano to the history of the companies that have built them. The piano-lover might also be surprised to find an entry for Thomas Jefferson, and will no doubt read intently the passages about the changing history of the piano's place in the home. Uniformly well-written and authoritative, this guide will channel anyone's love for the instrument, through social, intellectual, art history and beyond into the electronic age.

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.

Published in conjunction with the March 2000 exhibition at the Smithsonian International Gallery celebrating the tricentennial of the invention of the piano. The 250-plus color photographs and text by Smithsonian curators Cynthia Hoover, Patrick Rucker, and Edwin Good present the technical and social history of the instrument, highlighting the innovative craftsmen, manufacturers, entrepreneurs, teachers, performers and composers who helped to make it the most popular musical instrument of modern times. They also include rare composers' manuscripts and first editions tracing the diversity of music the piano inspired. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR