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9780300255119

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Pianists . . . will have much to gain from Rosen's admirably wide range of musical reference, and his usual rich mixture of musical wisdom and opinion, both eminently worth having. --Leon Plantinga, Times Literary Supplement In this sparkling 'short companion, ' Rosen guides the listener through both musical structures and knotty performance decisions. . . . A CD on which Rosen himself plays completes a gorgeous package. --The Guardian [R]ich in detail . . . graceful and embracing. All admirers of this repertory will gain much from this book. Highly recommended . . . --Library Journal [An] outstanding work: a performer's guide to Beethoven's piano sonatas. . . . The text is rich in detail, and Rosen's prose is typically graceful and embracing. All admirers of this repertory will gain much from this book. Highly recommended for all collections. --Library Journal (starred review) There is scarcely an observation from first page to last that doesn't prompt the most fruitful reflection on the very essence of interpretation at every level. If you buy only one book on music this year, let it be this one. --Bettina Neumann, Piano For someone seeking to understand the evolution and reception of the sonatas as a cultural and musical narrative, Rosen's book will furnish a more vivid and illuminating experience. --Charles Fisk, Notes [An] indispensable book. --Andrew Patner, Chicago Sun-Times [W]ritten in clear, logical prose . . . with the sensibility that . . . perhaps only a performer brings to the challenge of interpretation. --Michael Kimmelman, New York Review of Books Rosen's book is written in clear, logical prose, suited to serious readers with basic training in music theory. It is full of his familiar intelligence and attention to detail. . . . Despite evocative passages that the general reader can appreciate, this is a book by a pianist for other pianists, musicologists, and serious amateurs, about the tasks facing the player, and inevitably it casts light on Rosen's own playing. . . . This book's value has to do with the general common sense of its arguments combined with the sensibility that a performer, and perhaps only a performer, brings to the challenge of interpretation. . . . However we ultimately decide to play and hear the Beethoven sonatas, Rosen's excellent book at least compels us to think freshly about them. --Michael Kimmelman, New York Review of Books [An] indispensable book. --Andrew Patner, Chicago Sun-Times

Author Information

Charles Rosen (1927–2012) was an internationally respected pianist. A pupil of Moriz Rosenthal, he has performed and recorded a wide repertoire from Bach to Pierre Boulez. His prize-winning books include The Classical Style, The Romantic Generation, Romantic Poets, Critics and Other Madmen, and Critical Entertainments.

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