Harpsichord in America: A Twentieth-Century Revival [Paperback]

Larry Palmer (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Palmer presents a lively, readable overview of the harpsichord's return to musical life in this country, often relying on the observations of contemporary writers, both in the press and in letters. Where necessary, he spreads beyond the confines of the title, both in time and geographically, to put his content in context. This is essentially a book about people, and Palmer presents them warts and all. Occasionally, he drops in a bit of information that is never followed up, and some readers may quibble that this or that person or anecdote has been left out. Nevertheless, Palmer has done exhaustive research, and the result is enlightening and informative, a valuable contribution on a subject not covered like this before. For general and music libraries.
- Philippa Kiraly, Cleveland
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Indiana Univ Pr (August 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0253208408
• ISBN-13: 978-0253208408
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5.1 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,898,536 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The scoop, March 20, 2009

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Fernand Raynaud (California, USA) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Harpsichord in America: A Twentieth-Century Revival (Paperback)

Behind the harpsichord's return to the stage, after a century of obscurity, there are the wonderfully eccentric people who made it happen. It's a wonderful story, and Palmer tells it well, balancing the narrative with humor, supporting documents and photos. For anyone with even a passing interest in the instrument, it's great bedtime reading. The subject is far more complex than a simple tale, and it's inevitable that a small book like this would focus on the main personalities at some detriment to those Palmer considered less pivotal, a little arbitraily. It is also significant that he is more interested in performers before 1950 than in later figures, or the builders who made it possible. Most harpsichord enthusiasts have perhaps read so much on the amazing story of how the instrument-building know-how of centuries was lost and then gradually rediscovered, that a little attention is due to the personalities, beginning with Dolmetsch and Landowska, whom the public associated with each phase of the revival. Although published in 1989, Palmer's view has a retro slant, as when he mentions the suitability to all sorts of music, "including Boogie Woogie", and even leaves out crossover use by Keith Jarrett and The Beatles, but then again, we all know that. Still, an effort has been made to at least quickly summarize the later years, including "Kits, records and all that jazz", the title of a chapter, and the final "The harpsichord lives". An inexpensive and most enjoyable book dealing with a period most of us are too young to have experienced first hand.