While I was a piano major in college, I ran across an old volume in the library entitled "Great Pianists on Piano Playing". It consisted of interviews with all the great early 20th century pianists, including Paderweski, Godowsky, Busoni, and many more--including some that I had not heard of to that point. Each pianist was interviewed at some length, talking about various issues relevant to playing the piano. (That book, by the way, is still available in a Dover 1999 reprint).
Since the book was quite old at that time, I had thoughts of trying to put together an updated version of the book, consisting of interviews with pianists active at that time. Other people had the same idea, of course, and since that time I've seen more that one book with a similar concept.
The most recent is entitled "At the PIano--Interviews with 21st Century PIanists" by Caroline Benser. The author interviews eight pianists who are active performers today, including Simone Dinnerstein, Marc-Andre Hamelin, Stephen Hough, and more. The book is quite informative, and likely one that any serious pianist will want to add to their collection. My only complaint about Benser's work is that the interviews were generally conducted several years ago--I think some go as far back as 2005/2006. I am left to wonder if any of the artists might now have different views musically on some of the topics they address.
That misgiving aside, this is a book I suspect any serious pianist will appreciate.
Since the book was quite old at that time, I had thoughts of trying to put together an updated version of the book, consisting of interviews with pianists active at that time. Other people had the same idea, of course, and since that time I've seen more that one book with a similar concept.
The most recent is entitled "At the PIano--Interviews with 21st Century PIanists" by Caroline Benser. The author interviews eight pianists who are active performers today, including Simone Dinnerstein, Marc-Andre Hamelin, Stephen Hough, and more. The book is quite informative, and likely one that any serious pianist will want to add to their collection. My only complaint about Benser's work is that the interviews were generally conducted several years ago--I think some go as far back as 2005/2006. I am left to wonder if any of the artists might now have different views musically on some of the topics they address.
That misgiving aside, this is a book I suspect any serious pianist will appreciate.
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