“The work had its own history of struggle. Originally intended as a showpiece for pianist Nikolai Rubinstein, it was dismissed by that renowned pianist as “worthless, absolutely unplayable.” His critical attack was stinging. “An outsider, dropping into the room,” claimed… — Stuart Isacoff Copy Share Image
“Recent breakthroughs in the field of neuro-science have shown that playing the piano is good for your brain. Dr. Gottfried Schlaug of Beth Israel… — Stuart Isacoff Copy Share Image
“To the young among his admirers, he was the fresh face of an emerging, better world; to the old, a balm for the pain… — Stuart Isacoff Copy Share Image
“Though his rivals at the competition were well trained, there was something different about Van’s art. For many in the audience it represented the… — Stuart Isacoff Copy Share Image
“Those admirers created so strong a ballast against possible Kremlin tampering with the jury vote that it was said years later by critic Tamara… — Stuart Isacoff Copy Share Image
“As Victorian-era prudishness set in, some upstanding citizens also took to putting coverlets over the instrument’s legs out of an exaggerated sense of modesty.” — Stuart Isacoff Copy Share Image
“The handful of leading craftsmen turning out pianos during that time produced only around thirty to fifty of them per annum. But by 1798,… — Stuart Isacoff Copy Share Image
“Peterson revealed that he had decided the only way to get attention was “to frighten the hell out of everybody pianistically.” — Stuart Isacoff Copy Share Image
“They include conceptual artist and “environmental music” composer Annea Lockwood, who created a work entitled Piano Burning. Debuted in London in 1968, it requires… — Stuart Isacoff Copy Share Image
“Alkan even wrote a piece for four feet, called Bombardo-Carillon, in which the player’s legs are likely to get entangled during performance. (When Swiss-American… — Stuart Isacoff Copy Share Image
“The Soviet performers felt that every note had to be strictly controlled. They had excellent training, but the result lacked freshness and poetry.” That… — Stuart Isacoff Copy Share Image
“The work had its own history of struggle. Originally intended as a showpiece for pianist Nikolai Rubinstein, it was dismissed by that renowned pianist… — Stuart Isacoff Copy Share Image
