The Rachfan reading list

[scottmcc]

A while ago Rachfan posted a list of books on piano technique.  I have now had the opportunity to read several of them, and below I present my brief reactions to them.  As usual, Rachfan’s recommendations were overall quite good, and I thank him for them.  I’ll update these thoughts as I get through the rest of his list.  Happy reading.


Piano Techniqueby Walter Gieseking, Gieseking, Karl Leimer (With)
ISBN: 0486228673
This is an intriguing little volume that argues for very stringent study of a score before attempting to play it, to the point where it is already memorized, or at least mostly so, before touching the keyboard.  While I appreciate the emphasis on thorough study of a work and preparation, this is a bit impractical for me.  I’m not very good at conceptualizing how a piece of music will sound just by looking at the score, and so I won’t really be using this method in my practice, but I found it interesting nonetheless.

Leschetizky Method: A Guide to Fine and Correct Piano Playingby Malwine Bree, Arthur Elson (Translator)
ISBN: 0486295966
This is a very systematic approach to the study of the piano, and begins with basic 1 finger exercises and rapidly progresses to very advanced techniques.  It also includes a complete set of scales and arpeggios for reference.  I found the advice to be easy to understand and follow, and in general applicable to my studies, but sometimes the examples were from quite advanced pieces and definitely above the level of most students.  Additionally, it gets a bit dogmatic, and the emphasis on this method as the “only” correct way of playing piano is a bit silly.

Basic Principles in Pianoforte Playingby Josef Lhevinne, Rosina Lhevinne
ISBN: 0486228207
This is a very quick read, and covers the basic principles of piano technique only in brief.  It is somewhat disjointed in its organization, but there are many good kernels of wisdom contained within.  It is certainly not a complete treatise though.

Music at Your Fingertips: Advice for the Artist and Amateur on Playing the Pianoby Ruth Slenczynska 
ISBN: 0306800349
The advice on the principles of musicianship is great, the method that this woman uses to learn pieces is not the way I prefer.  She advises extensive metronome practice, with long hours of practice with a dummy keyboard as well, and quite frankly I won’t be doing that.  But her experiences with some of the big names of the piano are very interesting.

Piano Playing: with Piano Questions Answeredby Josef Hofmann, Hofmann 
ISBN: 0486233626
This is an amusing read, if nothing else than for the language used and the supercilious tone, which I find quite enjoyable.  The chapter on his experiences with Anton Rubinstein as teacher is very interesting as well.  In terms of practical advice, there’s not much here that isn’t found in other volumes.

The Art of Performance by Heinrich Schenker, Heribert Esser(Editor), Irene Schreier Scott (Editor
 ISBN: 0195151518
This is a slim volume that is about as readable as an algebra textbook, and is rather disjointed in its presentation as it was pieced together from unpublished notes.  There are sections with which I really connected, such as how to think orchestrally at the piano, but most of the book was lost on me.