At the Piano

In At the Piano: Interviews with 21st-Century Pianists, Caroline Benser explores the kaleidoscopic world of 21st-century pianism through a series of extended interviews with eight major pianists: Leif Ove Andsnes, Jonathan Biss, Simone Dinnerstein,Marc-André Hamelin, Stephen Hough, Steven Osborne, Yevgeny Sudbin, and Yuja Wang. Each pianist was chosen because he represents not only the virtuoso pianist playing the classics from Bach, Beethoven, Liszt, Debussy, and Bartók, but also because he is dedicated to commissioning and performing today's living composers and because he is interested in those musical skills that were neglected in the past. Interviewees talk about such topics as their earliest experiences at the piano, the crucial importanceof their earliest teachers, the literature they play, the instruments they prefer, what it means to be a musician, and the joys and difficulties of a professional career doing what they love. Teachers, students, and amateur pianists alike will learn about new and obscure literature for the instrument; newly developed instruments that extend the range of the keyboard; the phenomenal rise of Chinese pianists; and new research on pianists' injuries and healthy playing. At the Piano is written not only for the specialist and non-specialist pianist but also for all musicians and general music lovers.