Notable Twentieth-Century Pianists: A Bio-Critical Sourcebook [2 volumes]

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Pianists - their lives, performances, and recordings - are detailed in this two-volume set. Each biographical essay emphasises musical background and training, special influences on development, significant performances, and more. Performance is analysed and emphasis given to style and repertoire. For those pianists who recorded, there are selective discographies and reviews of outstanding recordings. The authors attended many performances and often supply a personal dimension to the discussions. This readable work, containing extensive documented coverage of 100 artists, should be appreciated by scholar, student and music buff alike. As a sourcebook, this work contains: biographical data; style analyses (culled from reviews, recordings, articles, and essays); pedagogical history and methods, when applicable; lists of selected references and reviews; and a representative discography. The result is an objective, thorough presentation of the lives and performances of 100 notable pianists. The list initially derived from correspondence with pianists and pedagogues in music conservatories and colleges throughout the United States and after eight years of research in both libraries and concert halls. The text reads easily (and is fascinating), but the vast amount of information and the careful "scientific" analysis make it a scholarly work of the highest order, useful to graduate students as well as the general public.

Reviews

A wonderfully entertaining and informative sourcebook. Non-technical and accessible to a general audience of music lovers as well as scholars and musicians.-Reference & Research Book News
The Gillespies have provided a handy guide for quick access to biographies, bibliographies, discographies, and videographies of major pianists....the critical opinions of reviewers are cleverly incorporated into the body of the text, providing an informative introductory background for pianists. Since information about very famous pianists is readily available elsewhere in a variety of sources, this book becomes particularly useful for pianists outside the "star" category. It is recommended for undergraduate libraries, those lacking large music collections, and those serving a varied public.-Choice
The Gillespies have written a monumental work on 100 pianists of this century. It is evident that the research for these two volumes involved listening to recordings and reading reviews, interviews, articles, and books about the pianists. All of this investigation results in a fair, enlightening analysis. The reviews and references are extensive. This is a perfect reference source for music collections in academic and public libraries, but the readability of the volumes will make it an excellent choice for circulating collections as well.-Booklist/Reference Books Bulletin
"A wonderfully entertaining and informative sourcebook. Non-technical and accessible to a general audience of music lovers as well as scholars and musicians."-Reference & Research Book News
"The Gillespies have written a monumental work on 100 pianists of this century. It is evident that the research for these two volumes involved listening to recordings and reading reviews, interviews, articles, and books about the pianists. All of this investigation results in a fair, enlightening analysis. The reviews and references are extensive. This is a perfect reference source for music collections in academic and public libraries, but the readability of the volumes will make it an excellent choice for circulating collections as well."-Booklist/Reference Books Bulletin
"The Gillespies have provided a handy guide for quick access to biographies, bibliographies, discographies, and videographies of major pianists....the critical opinions of reviewers are cleverly incorporated into the body of the text, providing an informative introductory background for pianists. Since information about very famous pianists is readily available elsewhere in a variety of sources, this book becomes particularly useful for pianists outside the "star" category. It is recommended for undergraduate libraries, those lacking large music collections, and those serving a varied public."-Choice

Author Bio

JOHN GILLESPIE is Professor Emeritus, University of California, Santa Barbara, Music Department, where he taught courses in keyboard literature and American music. He is the Series Editor for Greenwood's Bio-Critical Sourcebooks on Musical Performance. ANNA GILLESPIE John Gillespie and Anna Gillespie have collaborated on and coauthored several books and anthologies.