In this widely acclaimed volume, Susan Tomes, a rare example of a leading musician who writes about the craft of performance, describes her experience of twenty years of rehearsal, concerts and recording. Her performing life has been centred on chamber music and the need to communicate it fully to an audience hungry for meaningful musical experience. She was a founder member and the pianist of both Domus and the Florestan Trio, award-winning groups at the top of their field. Part One is a series of diaries describing their travels and performances: Domus in the 1980s with its own portable concert hall, struggling to create the conditions for informal but intense concert performances, and the Florestan Trio, currently one of the world's finest piano trios. Part Two is a collection of thought-provoking essays about teachers, making records, practising and rehearsing, audiences, earning a living, and the particular challenges of being a concert pianist. Beyond the ! Notes gives an unusually candid view of the complexities of a life in music.
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Editorial Reviews
Review
Susan Tomes is a superb chamber player; now we know that she's a superb writer too. --Michael Church, Independent
...reveals [Tomes'] talents as a writer,... as natural and compelling a communicator in words as she is in music. --BBC Music Magazine
...intensely illuminating picture of life of a pianist...Just as she magnetises with her playing, so too with her words. --Edward Greenfield, Guardian
...reveals [Tomes'] talents as a writer,... as natural and compelling a communicator in words as she is in music. --BBC Music Magazine
...intensely illuminating picture of life of a pianist...Just as she magnetises with her playing, so too with her words. --Edward Greenfield, Guardian
About the Author
SUSAN TOMES, alongside her packed concert schedule, is a frequent contributor, on music and other subjects, to the Guardian.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Remarkable account of the professional chamber music life,
By
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Beyond the Notes: Journeys with Chamber Music (Hardcover)
I have been a fan of Susan Tomes and her trio's prize-winning recordings for several years, and when Gramophone magazine had a laudatory review of her new book, "Beyond the Notes", it was irresistible. So I bought it, and devoured it ravenously over the course of 3 days. I don't think that the review did the book justice: I think that it's one of the most remarkable books on music that I have ever read. It has so much: musical insights and useful points for the non-professional player, humor, colorful descriptions of personalities, insights about teaching, learning a piece, rehearsing, the nature of audiences, extramusical considerations in performance, etc. I marked dozens of places in the book, and listed the pages with the marks so I can return to them often. Over and above all this, the book conveys the passion for excellence and the love of music that sustained the author and her partners in the most difficult times. Splendid and riveting. A must read for music-lovers and players.
0 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
domus/florestan,
By abel marquez julio (El Junquito, Venezuela) - See all my reviews
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Beyond the Notes : Journeys with Chamber Music (Paperback)
Although I enjoyed the book because of my listening association with both Domus and the Florestan Trio, I thougth there was an excess of philosophising and that made it heavy going in some parts of the book. I regret that in my numerous visits to the UK in the 80's and 90's I never coincided with a concert by either of the chamber groups.
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