Five Centuries of Keyboard Music (Dover Books on Music) [Paperback]

John Gillespie (Author)

Book Description

Series: Dover Books on Music | Publication Date: June 1, 1972

Practicing musician and professor of music discusses 350 composers and their works for harpsichord and piano. Includes 116 musical examples.

Product Details

• Paperback: 463 pages
• Publisher: Dover Publications; New edition edition (June 1, 1972)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 048622855X
• ISBN-13: 978-0486228556
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.5 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #227,955 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #69 in Books > Arts & Photography > Music > Theory, Composition & Performance > Sheet Music & Scores > Instrumentation > Keyboard

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A must-have resource for pianists, January 11, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: Five Centuries of Keyboard Music (Dover Books on Music) (Paperback)

John Gillespie has written an invaluable resource for anyone interested in solo keyboard music. There are brief biographies of the most important composers, and the author's recommendations of each composer's best solo keyboard works. Gillespie also mentions minor composers, and summarizes the "mood" of each musical period. I don't always agree with his critiques, but that just makes it more interesting. If you are a pianist, teacher, or student, you should own this book

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One seat of honor books in my personal library!, December 18, 2004

By 

Hiram Gomez Pardo (Valencia, Venezuela) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Five Centuries of Keyboard Music (Dover Books on Music) (Paperback)

Gillespie was professor of Music at the Indiana University. He endeavored to satisfy a wide range of interests. From the clavier literature student to the musical gourmet , he presents the different phases of keyboard development . Beware about the organ music . He prevents the organ music has its own niche and requires a separate volume .
Individual chapters and articles will be helpful in quickly locating information about particular composers , even the most unknown and sometimes neglected composers of the different countries and periods . Footnotes and bibliographies will be important for the professional , student , performer or simply casual investigator .
As result of the final reading you will obtain a precise scope about the development of the works for the solo keyboard , traditions , interconnections from the first works of the sixteenth century to the new composers of today.
A real must for the music lovers and every person sincerely interested in the evolution of the instrument.

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great starting point for budding pianists, May 17, 2010

By 

Mark Tabla (Provo, UT USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Five Centuries of Keyboard Music (Dover Books on Music) (Paperback)

I ordered this book out of a glossy Dover reprints catalog that I in turn ordered from the inside cover of a Dover reprint score. This five-century survey was my first introduction to keyboard music and 25 years later, bits and pieces of this book are still ingrained in my musical awareness. It has influenced the repertoire selections I have practiced, the repertoire I have sought when purchasing CD's, and its chapter-end bibliographies have directed my attention as to where to learn more. I first learned of the Liszt b-minor piano sonata reading this book & later sought out the seminal Horowitz recording of the same from the 1930's to hear what I was reading about. Any piano student starting out desiring to get a lay of the land would do well to begin here.

It's interesting to look back at this book and see which names and works did and did not make it into its pages. One glaring omission is Leopold Godowsky whose name appears nowhere, not even in the chapter on pianist-technicians. How tastes have changed!