Great Pianists on Piano Playing

James Francis Cooke

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The full title of this book, published in 1913, gives a good idea of its contents: “Great Pianists on Piano Playing: Study Talks with Foremost Virtuosos. A Series of Personal Educational Conferences with Renowned Masters of the Keyboard, Presenting the Most Modern Ideas upon the Subjects of Technic, Interpretation, Style and Expression.”

The author, James Francis Cooke, in addition to publishing a dozen books, was involved in music in many ways, including as a composer, a music educator, the president of a music publishing house, and the editor of a music magazine. He taught piano for 20 years.

For this book, he interviewed 19 accomplished pianists of his day, gleaning their wisdom about a large range of topics regarding piano performance. In addition, each section ends with a list of ten questions intended to encourage the student reader to think about and interpret the interviewee’s advice. - Summary by Verla Viera