Two books for those who play the piano
I just reconnected with a friend from my director of admissions days—1971-74—and on hearing that she was playing the piano regularly, I sent her two admirable books (links to secondhand copies):
Playing the Piano for Pleasure, by Charles Cooke: only the hardbound edition works: the author shows how to mark up piano scores to help your playing, and he illustrates it by including a score with original notation in black and his added notations in red. In the paperback version of the book, they went with black ink only, which pretty much destroys the point he was making.
Men, Women, and Pianos: A Social History, by Arthur Loesser: a wonderful social history of the piano.
Nowadays I also recommend this movie available on Netflix Watch Instantly: Note by Note: The Making of Steinway L1037.
Turns out I sent her the same two books back in the 70′s. Well, they’re great books. Keep in mind for the piano players you know as we head into gift-giving season.
