Customer Reviews

Basic Principles in Pianoforte Playing (Dover Books on Music)

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Anyone listening to Josef Lhevinne's thirds etude by Chopin (op 25/6) will testify that he's got a wealth of technique, brilliance, and amazing tone. In his encompassing yet concise book he attempts to portray is very artisic beliefs to the reader. This book will help even the most advanced pianist, and the ideas presented are very clear and easy to understand. Lhevinne spares no effort to decorate his book with extensive excerpts by famous composers, mainly Chopin, Rubinstein, Liszt and Schumann. A recommended read for all pianists and anyone who enjoys listening to this great instrument. The book is relevant to all pianists regardless of level.

Josef Lhevinne has done an oustanding job in BASIC PRINCIPLES IN PIANOFORTE PLAYING. He covers many useful topics such as sight-reading, rhythm, practice, using the pedal, legato, but the majority of this book is devoted to the secret of a beautiful tone.

Although this book is very short (the material is supposed to be basic, after all), Lhevinne manages to effectively illustrate everything he presents by applying each principle to excerpts from well-known classical pieces.

As a pianist who is trying to improve his technique, I would highly recommend this to anyone who is seeking to do the same.

A well written book using only simple language, very easy to read. It's always better to get something right from the horse mouth--i.e. from someone who is really great, however brief it may be, instead of someone who merely aims great and is in fact no more than a mediocrity, however great their great pupils might be!

In a nutshell:

(1) Remember that the musician is the horse and the pianist only the cart; and, rhythm being the "spirit of music".

(2) Always seek for a rich singing tone, touch being the key.

(3) How to do it? Use the cushion flesh of the fingers supported by loose wrists as shock absorbers; " hold" instead of delivering blows to the keys ; and also give your left hand parts indivduality and independence "and your playing improves 100%", and a lot of other practical tips...

Perhaps the previous reviewer did not take note of the title - "Basic Principles in Piano Forte Playing", which is just what it is - nothing more, nothing less. Josef Lehvinne is of the old school of thinking, namely, he believes that only meisters should be teaching how to play music, although he grudgingly acknowledges that demand outstrips supply and American "method" teaching has reached acceptable standards. I dread what he would think of me trying to teach myself. I could make fun of his attitude, but in reality he is a perfectionist, and that is what it really takes to make an outstanding musician of any instrument. Furthermore, he shares in a very readable style what is important when mastering the piano. Even a beginner like me can appreciate the value of his very generous advice. Every page has at least one or more important gems, and his style of writing is such that you are sure to remember them!

This book has a wealth of information. It is a both scholarly and concise read, with musical terminology and examples to please serious pianists, but written in a style that is helpful to amateurs as well. Its shorter length and lower price make it an ideal study tool for high school and college piano students.

This is a book I have read several times over, highlighted important text and applied to my everyday practicing. It is a excellent read on how to play beyond notes - touch and feel.

In a way, I can understand the attitude of the reviewer below who prefers to play the piano with a waffle iron --- that is, who claims all notes sound the same no matter how the keys are struck. What a tragic attitude. But it is true, also, that in the latter half of the 20th Century, much of piano playing was reduced to the mere technicalities of hitting the right notes in the right places at the right time, the poetry of the music pretty much forgotten, displaced by waffle iron tachnique.

Lhevinne truly is one of the pianistic giants of the first half of the last century, among the giants of the late Russian romantic school. Schonberg (I think it was) wrote of him as among the pantheon of performers, along with his colleagues Levitzky, Rosenthal, Rubenstein and such youngsters as Horowitz and the forever young Earl Wild. Rachmaninov said Lhevinne had the greatest left hand technique of any pianist. His few recordings, even though not re-mastered, leave you breathless.

I am willing to enjoy the idiocyncratic few pages of such a giant. If you were into baseball, wouldn't you enjoy a few pages of Joe diMaggio? Of course, probably not, if you use a waffle iron instead of a bat.

This is still the most influential source on the Russian School of Piano Playing. It starts here - all other publications follow it. Still THE best book on piano playing.

This short tome should be required reading for ANY serious piano student. It is witty as well as informative. The piano is sensitive to all manner of touch, and Lhevinne's discussion of technique is no more and no less than keyboard common sense. His discussions about artistic issues are also absolutely on target. I have read and reread this book several times and always put it down with more insight than I had before. This small investment of time and money is sure to pay BIG pianistic dividends.

must have book for learning what you need to learn to play well...

talks about many things that especially american piano students tend not to know (apparently)

I fit exactly his example of that kind of student and this book helped immensely! In just a few weeks of focusing on what he wrote in the book i've noticed a huge improvement in my playing.. a few "aha!" moments!