The Piano: A History in 100 Pieces

This book contains short essays on 100 piano pieces, arranged in chronological order. These compositions represent a kind of "greatest hits" of the history of the instrument.The selections are excellent, and tilt about 70-30 in favor pre-1900s music. I could quibble a bit – if I were writing the book, I would have increased the space given to jazz and blues – but this comes down to a matter of taste. All major composers who worked before the mid-1900s are represented, and the selection of more contemporary works seems well thought out. (I might have included Lowell Liebermann's Gargoyles, or William Bolcom's Graceful Ghost Rag, since these appear a ton in modern recitals. But again, it's not my book.)Reading other reviews, I saw a negative one that begins "It looks as if the author has culled info from Wikipedia..." and goes on to say, essentially, that the descriptions of the works are superficial. It is true that there is no in-depth music theory-type analysis; you can fully enjoy this book without being able to read sheet music. But I have read a lot about the piano and its literature (including many Wikipedia articles!) and I still found interesting and original insights in the essays.Also, if you can play the piano yourself but don't know the "staple" literature well, I think you will find the book particularly valuable. All the pieces are too hard for beginners, and most are too hard for intermediate players (and many are hard even for professionals...). But if you like how they sound, all the composers wrote easier things in the same style, so it's a good way to begin your search for interesting music to play.

It looks as if the author has culled info from Wikipedia, without bothering so much to write an in-depth analysis of the piano pieces discussed by her. Maybe she was in a hurry to complete a perfunctory book in the times of Corona. This book could have been excellent, had the author really tried to give fewer examples and more explanations and background of each piece. Do not waste you time and money on it. There are much better books about the piano and its repertoire.

Packed full of information and enthusiasm. Love it!

Tomes' latest book (her earlier books are commentaries on the life of a musician and performer) is about the 100 most significant piano pieces in the traditional classical repertory. Narrowing down to 100 pieces is an interesting challenge, but she's managed it. The book takes a few pages for each piece in the list of 100, and dives into why it's important, some of the history around the piece, and how it relates to other works. The writing is good, easily readable, but it is a bit dense: this is not a light book! I ended up enjoying reading a new piece every day, listening to it after I read Tomes' analysis, and learned quite a bit. The pieces are in roughly chronological order, although light at the modern contemporary end. If you're interested in music history or piano, this book will inform and provoke some thoughts about the commentary and the pieces, but it's also a great way to get into the piano repertory.