Rating: 
Summary: All classicial pianists wouldn't want to miss it
Review: " What is the main theme of this book ? " is probably what one consider buying this book would ask. Well, it's about the pianists from the early day that this kind of music instrument was invented up to present : their lives, their styles, and some interesting remarks. I can say that this book is still far from being "perfect" if the word "perfect" can be used to describe this kind of mammoth tasks at all. Anyway, if u also consider the the page limitation, then I 'm dare to say the author is admirably successful. Of course, u can find that some chapter is better than the other one. But if you've gone through the book from cover to cover, then you'll see that the author has dedicated his tremendous efforts and passions in making up this book, and I can envisage hugh research has to be conducted over tons of the old materials many of them are not in English. Yet what makes this book the most interesting to me is the insight on each pianists. When author refer to any great names best known from their composing works, he made a reference to them as pianists, and not the composer. Oftentimes the great piano works are written by only an average pianist. Great piano composers like Beethoven, Chopin, or Liszt are more or less equally great as a pianists, but many of them are not at all. I won't put more detail over here but let you find out from the book. All in all, this book is a rare breed that is hardly show up. I recommend any one who has a great passion on piano works or piano playing to grab up this one.
Rating:
Summary: AN ALL-TIME GREAT BOOK
Review: As a follower of the piano scene for many years, I've got to say this book is THE one that you need to have. Its approach and tone reflect a glorification, awe, and love of pianism and its history -- and that's just great. Sometimes the facts aren't quite right, and sometimes questionable opinions are presented as though they were clear fact; but the thrust and the narrative are so great that it hardly matters. Some of the other reviews complain that certain subjects should have been given more space; but, INSTEAD OF WHAT?? If they mean that the book should have been LONGER, well, I would love it to have been longer, and I bet the author would have been glad to oblige. Much of the book consists of the author's commentary on recordings by pianists of yesteryear, and I've always had the idea that his initial inspiration for the book may have been his love of listening to old recordings and the wish to share his impressions of them. Does anybody know if this is true? Anyway, wouldn't we ALL love to have spent a few months (or years) just listening to those old 78's?
Rating:
Summary: AN ALL-TIME GREAT BOOK
Review: As a follower of the piano scene for many years, I've got to say this book is THE one that you need to have. Its approach and tone reflect a glorification, awe, and love of pianism and its history -- and that's just great. Sometimes the facts aren't quite right, and sometimes questionable opinions are presented as though they were clear fact; but the thrust and the narrative are so great that it hardly matters. Some of the other reviews complain that certain subjects should have been given more space; but, INSTEAD OF WHAT?? If they mean that the book should have been LONGER, well, I would love it to have been longer, and I bet the author would have been glad to oblige. Much of the book consists of the author's commentary on recordings by pianists of yesteryear, and I've always had the idea that his initial inspiration for the book may have been his love of listening to old recordings and the wish to share his impressions of them. Does anybody know if this is true? Anyway, wouldn't we ALL love to have spent a few months (or years) just listening to those old 78's?
Rating: 
Summary: Too little spent on each pianist
Review: For a book that's over 500 pages, Schonberg's The Great Pianists spends too little time on each pianist. Major 20th century figures are dealt with in a page or less. Liner note sleeves are more informative. It's too bad, too, because what's there is interesting, with biographical and technical insight that still is accessible and makes for great page-turning. There just isn't enough of it. Or, put another way, seminal figures don't get much more space than minor ones. Still, this is an interesting book, and a great general reference, especially for pianists who are relatively obscure today. I'd just suggest sampling before buying.
Rating:
Summary: Too little spent on each pianist
Review: For a book that's over 500 pages, Schonberg's The Great Pianists spends too little time on each pianist. Major 20th century figures are dealt with in a page or less. Liner note sleeves are more informative. It's too bad, too, because what's there is interesting, with biographical and technical insight that still is accessible and makes for great page-turning. There just isn't enough of it. Or, put another way, seminal figures don't get much more space than minor ones. Still, this is an interesting book. I'd just suggest sampling before buying.
Rating:
Summary: Must read. Even if you do not listen to classical music...
Review: I have read this book many times since I was first introduced to it in 1984. The book is about classical pianists, their styles and piccadelloes intermingled with the author's opinions. The writing is great. Yes, as some reviewers have opined, certain facets of the art have been treated too briefly. But one cannot expect an academic tome in a book directed to the general public. I found the book very educational and entertaining. If you have had no classical music training, such as myself, you will learn quite a bit from the book. If you are a classical pianist this book will whet your appetite to plunge further into your love of music. A great addition to your library.
Rating:
Summary: Must read. Even if you do not listen to classical music...
Review: I have read this book many times since I was first introduced to it in 1984. The book is about classical pianists, their styles and piccadelloes intermingled with the author's opinions. The writing is great. Yes, as some reviewers have opined, certain facets of the art have been treated too briefly. But one cannot expect an academic tome in a book directed to the general public. I found the book very educational and entertaining. If you have had no classical music training, such as myself, you will learn quite a bit from the book. If you are a classical pianist this book will whet your appetite to plunge further into your love of music. A great addition to your library.
Rating:
Summary: Most informative book about the history of pianists
Review: It is a thrill to read different chapters in this book. The author writes in simple, but differentiating jounalistic language that is enlieghtening to both musicians and laymen alike. His use of vocabulary is wide but never showy. A good analysis of the distinct characteristics of each pianist, not just complements but also weaknesses. He gets a perfect score for both contents and writing style. Some chapters are better written than others. For instance, his chapter on Paderewski and Liszt are especially interesting (there must be other good ones but I have not finished reading the whole thing). His chapter on Chopin is not as good as it could be. My only regret is that the book lacks account on contemporary pianists. Some of the contemporary pianists are viewed in a cursory manner (if at all) only towards the end of the book. For instance, except Pollini, he never wrote more than one (or two) paragraph on any of the other Chopin competition winners. Reading other books makes my brain tired, but reading this book makes my brain more relaxed.
Rating:
Summary: AN ALL-TIME GREAT BOOK
Review: Mr. Schonberg has passed away this week. He will be missed, but he will live on for us through his wonderful glorification of pianism and its history. I originally reviewed this book last December, but with his passing I felt compelled to revisit it. As a follower of the piano scene for many years, I must say that this book is THE one that you need to have. Its approach and tone reflect a glorification, awe, and love of pianism and its history. Some have alleged that the facts aren't always quite right, and for sure questionable opinions are sometimes presented as though they were clear fact; but the thrust and the narrative are so great that it hardly matters. Some reviews on this site complain that certain subjects should have been given more space; but, INSTEAD OF WHAT?? There's no wasted space in this book, either the original version or the update. If the reviewers mean that the book should have been LONGER, well, I would love it to have been longer, and I bet that Mr. Schonberg would have been glad to oblige. Much of the book consists of the author's commentary on recordings by pianists of yesteryear. I always had the idea that his initial inspiration for the book may have been his love of listening to old recordings and the wish to share his impressions of them. In my first Amazon review of this book, I wondered whether anybody knows if this is true. Secretly I hoped that Mr. Schonberg himself might see that, and give us the answer. Well, the time for that is past. Anyway, wouldn't we ALL love to have spent a few months (or years) just listening to those old 78's? Ruht wohl, Mr. Schonberg.
Rating:
Summary: Incredibly written, entertaining, and informative
Review: Mr. Schonberg knows how to put the reader at ease when writing about most any pianist. You feel comfortable with those great titans of pianism of years past, as if they were your own teachers. He paints vivid, honest pictures of each pianist, going into detail about how they played, their own peculiar strengths and weaknesses, about how they contributed to the overall history of piano-playing. Almost ALL the major and minor pianists of the past are described or at least mentioned. Also included are wonderful anecdotes giving insight into the personalities of the pianists involved. I had to laugh aloud when I read Chopin's disagreement over how rubato's should be played when arguing with fellow pianist Meyerbeer. The latter insisted that Chopin's playing of mazurkas sounds like 2/4 time, when Chopin was vehemently insisting that it was being played in 3/4 time (vehemence = screaming).
The only problems with the book is that Schonberg tends to stick to terms that become a little too commonplace throughout the book. He constantly refers to the "first modern pianist," "romantic," "ahead of his time," etc. He uses those terms so frequently that I forget which pianists were classicists, which were romantics, and which modernists. Also, the book is a little dated, the last publication being 1986.
However, if you're even MILDLY interested in the great pianists of the past please buy this interesting, thoroughly fact-packed book.
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