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Praise for "A Natural History of the Piano"

"In Stuart Isacoff's A Natural History of the Piano, never before have I learned and enjoyed so much about the instrument and its most distinctive practitioners — transcending so many categories of music. Whether the subject is jazz or classical music, the writing is unfailingly engaging and revealing."
— Nat Hentoff


"Supremely informative as well as fascinating and entertaining — highly recommended."
— Vladimir Ashkenazy


"Anybody who cares about the piano — past, present and future — will find this book irresistible reading. I always learn so much from Stuart Isacoff and have a good time in the process."
— Tim Page


"Stuart Isacoff's great meditation on all piano-related matters is a delight, both informative and entertaining. To borrow the author's categories, I find the writing both melodic and combustible."
— Dick Hyman

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Franz Liszt

Liszt at the piano, with arms flailing and hair flying

ARTICLES

SELECTED ARTICLES FROM THE WALL STREET JOURNAL

Cello's Golden Age Comes to a Close
János Starker
May 7, 2013

Plumbing the Depths
With Richard Goode
April 29, 2013

Five Best: Stuart Isacoff
On the Musician in Society
March 22, 2013

He's Kept Growing
Charles Lloyd | Cultural Conversation by Stuart Isacoff
March 13, 2013

With Music on Their Mind
Music, the Brain, Medicine and Wellness
August 8, 2012

Songs of a Feather Flock Together
Mostly Mozart Festival
August 1, 2012

A Sinuous Theme That Bears Repeating
Boléro by Maurice Ravel
June 15, 2012

The Guy With Four Sticks
Iconic jazz vibraphonist Gary Burton looks back at five decades in jazz with honesty about the industry and himself.
August 31, 2011

A Bigger Band, the Same Steady Hand
After 50 years in the business and 2,500 album credits, bassist Ron Carter is finally fronting a big band.
August 30, 2011

The Medievalists Go Modern
 Hilliard Ensemble performs with Norwegian jazz saxophonist Jan Garbarek.
November 12, 2010

Moving Toward The Modern
 A dance spectacle by the Belgian-Moroccan choreographer Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui
November 1, 2010

Denk and Ives, Partners in Pianism
Jeremy Denk Plays Charles Ives
October 19, 2010

The Musical Adventurer Comes to Play
Marc-André Hamelin
September 21, 2010

The Neuroscience of Jazz
Pianist Vijay Iyer has found the sweet spot where his two loves—physics and jazz—intersect.
September 6, 2010

The More Melodies, the Merrier
At Lincoln Center's Mostly Mozart Festival, Pianist Pierre-Laurent Aimard Explores the Musical Marvels of Polyphony
August 13, 2010

Clap, Slap, Stomp and Shuffle
 A free concert featuring the "International Body Music Festival"
August 12, 2010

Revisiting A Revolution
Lincoln Center Offers a Crash Course In the Radical Music of Edgard Varèse
July 17, 2010

His Intimate Creations
Beethoven's piano sonatas grip us and refuse to let go
June 5, 2010

Instruments From Every Single Nation
Musical Instrument Museum, Phoenix
May 20, 2010

This Is Your Brain On Music
 From neuroscience to rehabilitation medicine, studying the link between the body and mind.
December 18, 2009

Alicia de Larrocha, Shy Virtuoso
 Spanish pianist Alicia de Larrocha
October 7, 2009

Inspired by Kandinsky
 September 23, 2009

How To Find A Missing Masterpiece
 A new release of a forgotten work, “Song of the Stars” by the esteemed Spanish composer Enrique Granados, is real cause for celebration.
July 20, 2009

A Great Piano Teacher Remembered
 Joseph Bloch, a pianist and scholar
March 19, 2009

© Stuart Isacoff