Piano: A Photographic History of the World's Most Celebrated Instrument [Hardcover]

Crombie (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1995

This striking tribute to the piano captures its physical beauty as well as its technical and musical magic, tracing the instrument's 300-year evolution, from its forerunners--the clavichord and harpsichord--to today's electric, electronic, and digital models. Photos and graphics illustrate the piano's broad range of major landmark variations. 200 color photos.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Here from the publisher of Keyboard magazine are 200 color photos of historic and contemporary pianos, beautifully displayed with informative captions and an accompanying narrative in a sewn binding for a reasonable price. The book serves as a concise history of the piano, a pictorial record of its development (many photos and illustrations reveal design and mechanical details), and a source, through an appendix, for information on specific piano manufacturers. Eight foldout pages may become shabby after heavy use, but even libraries with Domenic Gill's Book of the Piano (Cornell Univ., 1981) and Larry Fine's The Piano Book (Brookside, 1994. 3d ed.) will want to treat themselves to this visually delightful title.?Bonnie Jo Dopp, Long Branch Community Lib., Silver Spring, Md.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

This photographic history of the piano presents stunning views of over 150 pianos, using these to trace the evolution and history of the instrument and its manufacturers. Piano players and those absorbing the history of the instrument will find these photographic embellishments fine tools for understanding the piano's changing appearance and purposes. -- Midwest Book Review

Product Details

• Hardcover: 112 pages
• Publisher: Backbeat Books (September 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0879303727
• ISBN-13: 978-0879303723
• Product Dimensions: 12.9 x 10.2 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,477,152 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

24 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Should have ten stars!, August 13, 2000

By 

kellytwo "kellytwo" (cleveland hts, ohio) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Piano: A Photographic History of the World's Most Celebrated Instrument (Hardcover)

If your musical bookshelf has room for only one book about pianos, then it MUST be this one. It is truly gorgeous to look at, lavishly and lusciously illustrated with color photos on every page. Once you get past its pretty face, however, you'll be pleased by the technical content as well. Presented in easy-to-understand fashion and accompanied by 200+ color photos of some 150 keyboard instruments, or paintings that feature keyboards or some other facet of music appreciation, here is the history of these marvelous instruments from the late 1600s right up to the very latest electronic machines, all in one, wonderful-to-look-at volume.

There are four double, double-page fold-outs (four-page centerfolds, if you will, but minus staples) with full-color photos of the best examples of the craftsmanship being explained in easy-to-understand language. The last one is my particular favorite, unveiling modern--even futuristic--examples of art as partner with design and function. On the regular pages, there are diagrams demonstrating the various keyboard instruments and the sometimes subtle differences between them. There is a chronology of piano manufacturers or 'houses' plus an alphabetical description or short history of them; a discography of recordings made on 'notable' (author's term, not mine) pianos and a glossary of terminology used in the book as well as the instruments, plus an index. Truly, everything you always wanted to know about these marvelous instruments--with the bonus of those wonderful, scrumptious photographs.

It's as much an ART book, as it is a MUSIC book, or even a HISTORY book. It's on my shelf, and it should be on yours. I wish I could give it ten stars! At the very least.

16 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A wonderful resource for the piano fan!, July 1, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Piano: A Photographic History of the World's Most Celebrated Instrument (Hardcover)

David Crombie has compiled the definitive collection of facts and photos detailing the evolution of the world's most popular musical instrument, The Piano. Glorious color photographs, detailed construction techniques, why some designs survived while others did not, interesting insights into many of the builders and player/composers for which this most intricate of musical instruments were built, fill the pages of a book that should be in the library of any and all that love music in any form. Crombie has presented the development and evolution of the piano in an easy to read and hard to put down reference book.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Some assembly required, February 26, 2005

By 

misterbeets "misterbeets" (Safe Harbor, MD USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Piano: A Photographic History of the World's Most Celebrated Instrument (Hardcover)

The book is nice visually, as a gallery of handcrafted wooden marvels, many hundreds of years old, and has a wealth of interesting facts and photos, but, because it is so fragmented, is not a history that can be easily read straight through. For a briefer history, but with descriptions and samples of modern makers, and with maintenance and buying advice, get The Piano by Jean-Paul Williams. Just as nice visually.