Customer Reviews

The Pianist's Problems

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

 

 

This book is not about "problems" so much as it is a comprehensive overview of what it takes to become a professional, classically trained pianist. Especially usefull is the section describing a list of basic piano music (of the Masters) to purchase and to study from.

...concise and to the point, the author provides advice and ideas for practice and performance...although written for pianists I believe all musicians will find a wealth of useful information.

If you've already seen a number of books of this type, you know that these must be read very critically. For basically every conceivable answer to any given question (and some inconceivable ones, too), you'll find a book that advocates this as the only path to true mastery, especially if you add some older books to the mix.

The present book, while not patently absurd, strikes me as only moderately useful for the average reader. As another reviewer has noted, it is aimed at very advanced pianists. It also assumes the supercilious tone so commonly found in such books (I for one do have a clear preference for Chopin over Bartok, a condition Newman diagnoses as "unbalanced taste").

That said, most readers will probably take a few useful bits of advice out of this, so if you, like me, love to read about the piano, consider adding this to your library anyway.

This timeless essay on tips for practicing classical music is very useful, making the effort a joy.