Piano Technique (Dover Books on Music) [Paperback]

Walter Gieseking (Author), Karl Leimer (Author)

Book Description

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

Two books bound together, by one of greatest pianists of all time and his famed teacher: The Shortest Way to Pianistic Perfection, and Rhythmics, Dynamics, Pedal and Other Problems of Piano Playing.

Product Details

• Paperback: 160 pages
• Publisher: Dover Publications (June 1, 1972)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0486228673
• ISBN-13: 978-0486228679
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.4 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #96,039 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #42 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Entertainment > Music > Theory, Composition & Performance > Theory

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

47 of 49 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "A must" for piano pedagogues, November 21, 2002

By 

Pavel Stetsenko (Washington DC) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Piano Technique (Dover Books on Music) (Paperback)

There are only a few books that can be hailed as "a must for a piano pedagogue."
Heinrich Neuhaus, "On the art of piano playing"
Gieseking, "Piano Technique..."
Josef Lhevinne, "Piano..." (sorry, I don't remember the title, but it is the only one he wrote)
All three differ in style, but they have one in common: the authours were the three greatest pianists of the last century. Neuhaus, on top of that, was a terrific literary talent, and his book is the place where great subject meets great writing. Has it been translated? This book has been the Holy Writ of all Russian pianists.
Lhevinne's book is the shortest and the most comprehensive. It is uncanny that everthing a pianist must know about the mechanics of piano playing is given in a concentrated form in this book. Its English is not idiomatic; yet, it goes well with the whole "Russian school" thing.
The Leimer-Gieseking book is an attempt at presenting a philosophy behind their science. It is written in a heavy German style, which means you can read every other page and still get the point. The whole book can be formulated in a few short sentences, but a German-born and bred writer would never commit such a sacrilegious act ("leave it to the Russian barbarians..."). Namely, "practice with your head, not fingers; develop your inner hearing; study your scores mentally, not at the piano; cultivate your imagination of the sound-picture; visualize the physical act of playing, complementing the mental picture with a full-blooded image of the sound."

Still, READ THE BOOK, there is no excuse for being under-educated.

38 of 39 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very Informative, Very articulate, June 11, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Piano Technique (Dover Books on Music) (Paperback)

I have read other books written on this topic by Josef Hofmann, Josef Lhevinne and William Newman. All of these were informative in their own way and I therefore recommend them. However, none of these was as articulate as this book by Walter Gieseking and Karl Leimer. All of the previously mentioned books contained information, but none of them were able to state the information in such direct, simple, and honest terms. Most importantly, this book gives reference to the absolutely essential variety of touches required in piano technique and also speaks extensively on visualization.I give this book my greatest recommendation.

45 of 50 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Moderately interesting, December 11, 2000

By 

Claus Hetting (Gentofte, Copenhagen Denmark) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Piano Technique (Dover Books on Music) (Paperback)

This book is useful for piano students, but not one of the best in the category. The content relates much to the method of analyzing scores for the purposes of understand structures, and aiding memorization. There are other sections as well, which are mildly more interesting. To get true and solid advice, go for Art of Piano Playing by Henrich Neuhaus.