Piano roles : three hundred years of life with the piano / James Parakilas ... [et al.] ; foreword by Noah Adams.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Parakilas, James, Author.

Contributor:

Parakilas, James.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Piano--History.

Piano.

Music--Social aspects.

Music.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (402 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

New Haven : Yale University Press, 2001.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

The piano puts whole worlds of musical sound at the fingertips of one player, evoking the singing of a solo voice, the textural richness of an orchestra, and the rhythmic impetus of a dance band. It has been background or center stage in concertgoing, parlor singing, choir rehearsals, theatrical tryouts, and many other activities, forging a common bond among people of very different social spheres. This delightfully written and copiously illustrated book examines the place of the piano in classical and popular musical cultures and the piano's changing cultural roles over the past three centuries. Eminent authorities discuss the impetus for the invention of the piano; the innovations in its design, manufacturing, and marketing that promoted its growing significance in concert life and domestic life; and the importance of the piano lesson in the upbringing of the young-especially of girls. They explore the relationship between the piano on the public stage and the piano in the parlor; the spread of the piano to all parts of the world; and the images formed around the piano in literature, art, and movies. And they eloquently describe what the piano has meant to different eras, as it evolved from the plaything of European aristocrats to companion of people of all classes and cultures.

Contents:

Front matter

Contents

Acknowledgments

Introduction

One. 1700 to 1770's: The Need for the Piano

Two. Designing, Making, and Selling Pianos

Three. 1770's to 1820's: The Piano Revolution in the Age of Revolutions

Four. The Piano Lesson

Five. 1820's to 1870's: The Piano Calls the Tune

Six. The Concert and the Virtuoso

Seven. 1870's to 1920's: The World's the Limit

Eight. Hollywood's Embattled Icon

Nine. 1920's to 2000: New Voices from the Old Impersonator

Afterword: Making the Piano Historical

Notes

Recommended Readings

Contributors

Index

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9786611730949

9781281730947

1281730947

9780300130829

0300130821

OCLC:

1024036417