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PIANO ROLES

Name: PIANO ROLES
Author: James Parakilas
ISBN: 0-300-08055-7

THREE HUNDRED YEARS OF LIFE WITH THE PIANO

by James Parakilas ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 1, 2000

while admiring the pictures here.

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A lavishly illustrated history of the piano at a comparatively reasonable price that falls considerably wide of the mark thanks

to its lackluster prose. The piano, more than any other musical instrument, owes its rise and fall in popularity to the tastes and mores of the middle class. In this one rather hefty package, academic Parakilas (Music/Bates Coll.) and 14 other scholars and pianists give us a 300-year history of the instrument, as well as an examination of its role in helping shape and define middle-class culture. Regrettably, however, Parakilas and most of his colleague often write in a deplorable academic jargon of the sort that is so prevalent today among university scholars. In his inauspicious introduction, for example, Parakilas informs us that "all the mutually re-inforcing, social-boundary-crossing systems by which giant media corporations today market their products grew out of marketing systems created a century or two ago around the piano." When Parakilas and company stick to actual history and technical matters, they write serviceably enough. They are, however, prone to lapse into politically correct jargon (e.g., a chapter on "piano imperialism" that ladles a stiff measure of pop psychology into its stew of analysis) that would be even more of an annoyance if it appeared in a book that was meant to be read. In a coffee-table tome such as this, admittedly, it is a minor handicap that will be noted by few. But it will be a determined reader indeed who can slog through prose that is often heavier and thicker than the fine paper on which the text and beautiful illustrations are printed. The classic work on the subject is Arthur Loesser's Men, Women and Pianos, published nearly 50 years ago. Read that one

while admiring the pictures here.

Pub Date: March 1, 2000

ISBN: 0-300-08055-7

Page Count: 480

Publisher: Yale Univ.

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2000

Categories:

GENERAL NONFICTION

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NUTCRACKER

by E.T.A. Hoffmann ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 28, 1996

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This is not the Nutcracker sweet, as passed on by Tchaikovsky and Marius Petipa. No, this is the original Hoffmann tale of 1816, in which the froth of Christmas revelry occasionally parts to let the dark underside of childhood fantasies and fears peek through. The boundaries between dream and reality fade, just as Godfather Drosselmeier, the Nutcracker's creator, is seen as alternately sinister and jolly. And Italian artist Roberto Innocenti gives an errily realistic air to Marie's dreams, in richly detailed illustrations touched by a mysterious light. A beautiful version of this classic tale, which will captivate adults and children alike. (Nutcracker; $35.00; Oct. 28, 1996; 136 pp.; 0-15-100227-4)

Pub Date: Oct. 28, 1996

ISBN: 0-15-100227-4

Page Count: 136

Publisher: Harcourt

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1996

Categories:

GENERAL NONFICTION

- BOOK REVIEW
THE NUTCRACKER AND THE MOUSE KING
by E.T.A. Hoffmann ; adapted by Natalie Andrewson ; illustrated by Natalie Andrewson

- BOOK REVIEW
THE NUTCRACKER
by E.T.A. Hoffmann & illustrated by Julie Paschkis

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TO THE ONE I LOVE THE BEST

EPISODES FROM THE LIFE OF LADY MENDL (ELSIE DE WOLFE)

by Ludwig Bemelmans ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 23, 1955

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An extravaganza in Bemelmans' inimitable vein, but written almost dead pan, with sly, amusing, sometimes biting undertones, breaking through. For Bemelmans was "the man who came to cocktails". And his hostess was Lady Mendl (Elsie de Wolfe), arbiter of American decorating taste over a generation. Lady Mendl was an incredible person,- self-made in proper American tradition on the one hand, for she had been haunted by the poverty of her childhood, and the years of struggle up from its ugliness,- until she became synonymous with the exotic, exquisite, worshipper at beauty's whrine. Bemelmans draws a portrait in extremes, through apt descriptions, through hilarious anecdote, through surprisingly sympathetic and understanding bits of appreciation. The scene shifts from Hollywood to the home she loved the best in Versailles. One meets in passing a vast roster of famous figures of the international and artistic set. And always one feels Bemelmans, slightly offstage, observing, recording, commenting, illustrated.