A History of Keyboard Literature: Music for the Piano and Its Forerunners

This is a wonderful reference book for anyone studying the piano. It begins with a brief history on the development of keyboard instruments (for a more in-depth history of the instrument, check out Men, Women and Pianos: A Social History), and then chronologically goes through each composer and gives a brief biography and then discusses their contributions to keyboard literature. One great thing about this book is that the author touches on features of most of the keyboard works of the masters, including every single sonata of Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, and Schubert. The book also contains musical excerpts to illustrate points made. This book is a wonderful place to start if you are interested in expanding your knowledge of piano literature; through studying this book and listening to the works discussed, I have found dozens of pieces I would love to learn that I would not have otherwise known about. Every serious pianist must have this book, along with Hinson's Guide to the Pianist's Repertoire. As a pianist and piano teacher, I highly recommend this book.

Gordon's "History of Keyboard Literature" sits next to Grout/Palisca's "History of Western Music" on my shelf. As a student studying piano and a future educator, I have found the book to be a great resource. One who sits at the either the piano, organ, or harpsichord must be familiar with the vast history and repertoire written for keyboard instruments. The book is organized chronilogically. It begins with a very satisfying history of the development and construction of early keyboard instruments as well as a thourough overview of the role of the keyboard up to the end of the Renaissance. After this it takes a composer by composer approach chronilogically starting with Bach and Handel. Published in 1996, this book is very up to date and provides many names, especially twentieth century composers. Like any history book, this is not the final word on the subject of keyboard music, but it is an excellent first stop for whatever research one is up to. A must for any pianists shelf.