The Art of the Piano: Its Performers, Literature, and Recordings

Unlike a significant proportion of the pianists represented in the book David Dubal is unusually enterprising when it comes to covering the contemporary piano repertoire.Not so hot on detail (favouring the broadbrushstroke)Dubal is never less than engaging and doesn't simply go for the post-romantics and easy listening side of things.The new edition contains a number of significant additions including the British composer Michael Finnissy who is very eloquently described. Also, I rather like the way Dubal skimps on some of the big names and instead gives a brilliant account on a controversial figure like Weissenberg. Once again,some of what Dubal writes doesn't stand up to close scrutiny but in the end i'm persuaded by the gusto. Stongly recommended.

Note: I am writing as a non-pianist, reviewing the 1995 (Second)Edition of his book. David Dubal's The Art of the Piano, Its Performers and Recordings is a fascinating read. The breadth of the book is as astonishing as is both the number of pianists covered in Part One, and the time it must have taken to listen to their recordings and concerts, synthesizing both, presenting them in an interesting yet clear manner to the reader. Dubal gives great space to certain pianists such as Arrau, Rubinstein, Ashkenazy, Lipatti, Richter, Gould, and particularly to Horowitz, yet relatively little space to pianists that readers might have liked more elaboration about such as Uchida and Kovacevich (who is listed as Bishop-Kovacevich). Nonetheless, it is enjoyable to thumb through his book, compare and contrast one's views of a given artist with Dubal's sense of them. An essential underlying aspect of this book is the recorded legacy of some, but certainly not all, of the pianists discussed, the ability to study, compare and contrast differing approaches to the musical text, interpretation, and technique. As a non-pianist, I cannot speak to his comments, say, on pedalling technique, but I assume they are sharply and carefully drawn, and, given extant recordings as frames of reference, quite useful and instructive to pianists. Likewise, Mr. Dubal's discussion, in Part II, of the piano literature, with citations of recordings offering a range of approaches to the music in question is interesting if somewhat frustrating because so many recordings he mentions are on LP as opposed to CDs. What is positive is that the best of these recordings are being reissued. Mr. Dubal's knowledge of the piano, its history, lore, performance and recorded legacy is immense, and I don't know if another book (or author) can match him and his insights. I do, however, think, there is both equal room and need for a separate book such as Ernest Hutcheson's Literature of the Piano, which more comprehensively and exhaustively examines, enumerates and evaluates the literature of the piano itself, than Dubal's Art of the Piano which tends to provide short summaries of numerous composers while leaving unmentioned still more. Dubal's book seems aimed for the finished or professional pianist, Hutcheson for the student and amateur. Both books, I think, are essential to the pianist's, or piano lover's, library.

No one on earth does a better job writing about classical pianists than Mr. Dubal. For almost a decade, I consulted the second edition of this comprehensive book on an almost-daily basis to get invaluable information about the lives and art of great classical pianists. In the first half of the book, Dubal writes a separate essay on each pianist (hundreds of them), where he gives a brief biographical sketch and a more detailed discussion of his/her pianism. In the second half, Dubal discusses virtually all major compositions (solo pieces and concertos) in the classical piano repertoire, and recommends good recordings of each piece. I agree with virtually everything he says, and think this book is infinitely more useful than, say, the Penguin Guide and the Gramophone Good CD Guide. I thought the second edition was already perfect, but this (much thicker) third edition is EVEN BETTER! Lots of important updates have been added, e.g. articles about new pianists Lang Lang and Volodos and many others, comments on new recordings by Hamelin, Leslie Howard, Kissin and tons others, and many more recording recommendations in the second half of the book. This new edition includes a bonus CD loaded with historic recordings, many of which previously unpublished or unavailable on CD. So, get yourself a copy of this new edition even if you already have an older edition!

Simply I would put, "Must-own for all piano enthusiasts." It's really interesting to read through this book although it looks like a dictionary, as it contains a lot of gossips that might be taken from his interview with many pianists. Sometimes he put too much importance on his own favorite pianists (i.e., Horowitz), but still fun to read. I hope this book continues to grow its contents as time passes, if possible for him.

Dubal's Art of the Piano is an excellent resource for the pianist and listener alike. It covers almost the entire pianist's repertoire from Orlando Gibbons to George Crumb. It also advises the reader on excellent recordings of specific works which I have found an invalauable source. If you are a keyboard player, teacher, or enthusiast, don't hesitate to buy this book. A good companion volume is Maurice Hinson's Guide to the Pianist's Repertoire.