Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Adult Beginners Forum Heinrich Neuhaus' The Art of Piano Playing to be republished

I was browsing around Amazon and noticed this listing:
Upcoming Dover edition, Amazon link
Note the contrast in pricing with the out-of-print edition:
Out-of-print edition, Amazon link

For those who haven't heard of the book, here are a couple of old threads about it:
Old thread
Another old thread

There is a copy available on scribd, though I have suspicions of its provenance. Let's just say that I'm looking forward to having a nice, affordable paper edition.

Awesome! Scribd is almost certainly pirated - I'm sure it's not out of copyright. I have a version that I got from the Amazon UK site - had it shipped to my parent's house and picked it up when I went back for a visit.

They don't have the version I bought any more (unless you think that "1 new for £592.80" is a bargain - if you do, I'll sell you mine for £400!) but they are also listing the Dover reprint.

For what it's worth I also bought another classic at the same time: Walter Gieseking And Karl Leimer Piano Technique. That version is available at both the UK and US Amazon sites.

Hurray! I looked far and wide for a time for a copy that wasn't a hundred+ dollars/pounds, but couldn't find anything. If you can remember to, please update the thread when either the release date is released or the book itself.

Thanks tangle

Amazon says the release date is October 16, 2013

I purchased both the neuhaus and gieseking/leimer books a few years ago. The guiseking/leimar book is small but contains a goldmine of info... never got through the neuhause... amazed it costs so much... covered mine in red wine one evening... that just adds character right? :-)

From what i have read... the value is mainly due to supply and demand... people shouldnt get there hopes up for a magical book of miracles... playing the piano for pleasure is another one i would recommend.. (by cooke)...

"...The guiseking/leimar book is small but contains a goldmine of info... "

There must be something like 300 - 500 books and scores on the shelves in the music room--- yet, my hawk-eyed piano teacher spotted this slim little volume by Walter Gieseking, and recommended it, strongly, to my attention.

Slim it may be, but it's dense and the text takes some serious parsing. And, it's one thing to read the information, and another--- very much, another--- to bring the instructions to life on the keyboard (or away from it). Gieseking had great natural gifts, which are beyond the reach of most of us.

I would like to find a book with his life story. There's a lot to be learned from the lives of musicians, and his was quite a turnaround story.

Interesting, that my teacher spotted this little book, not knowing it was there--- and I can't find it now, knowing good and well it's somewhere close by.

Thanks for the recommendation, guys. That's one I don't have yet. I do so appreciate those affordable Dover reprints of classic titles.


I have a quantum theory of small household items. There's a very high probability that they'll be where you last saw them... until you go looking for them, whereupon they just might take a momentary trip to the far side of the universe.

Walter Gieseking (1895-1956) spent his childhood in France and, although he later studied and performed in Germany, never lost his deep feeling for French music. He was widely considered one of the finest interpreters of Debussy and Ravel of his age. Fortunately, his recordings of the complete piano works of both of these composers are still available on CD.

Bryce Morrison's brief article in Grove Music Online states that Geiseking had an immense repertory that extended well beyond Ravel and Debussy plus a phenomenal memory. He was reputed to have often memorized scores away from the keyboard.

Gieseking is given a few pages in Schonberg's The Great Pianists: From Mozart to the Present, but apparently the primary book-length biography is still Gavoty's Walter Gieseking (Geneva: Kister, 1955). This book is OP, of course, but still readily available used. Since the book was published just before Gieseking's death, a newer critical biography with more historical distance seems overdue.

A considerable chunk of the "Piano Technique" book is devoted to memorizing away from the keyboard.

I have been reviewing my copy all night whilst enjoying the pain gifted to me by an absess under my tooth.... his work on memorisation is rather intimidating.... a mountain seemingly as high as proficient sight reading... if only we had the time and discipline to work on everything as themasters have done :-)

tangleweeds, I have read your post, here:

I was browsing around Amazon and noticed this listing:
Upcoming Dover edition, Amazon link
Note the contrast in pricing with the out-of-print edition:
Out-of-print edition, Amazon link

For those who haven't heard of the book, here are a couple of old threads about it:
Old thread
Another old thread

There is a copy available on scribd, though I have suspicions of its provenance. Let's just say that I'm looking forward to having a nice, affordable paper edition.

______________________________________________

I am a beginner. I am very interesting in any book that might be written on playing the piano.

I am not interested in memorizing because it is easier to read the music for me.

But on any other aspect of piano playing, I think it would be very interesting.

I have method books that will keep me busy for a few years and should take me to grade 8, as I understand.

The nagging question is - beyond grade 8 - what pieces of music should one learn and in what order to get progressly better and better to be able to play more difficult and challenging music. I can't afford a teacher so I am not sure how to figure out what pieces or even what exists. There are lots of thread that discuss what are the most difficult pieces to play or learn, but there is no discussion, that I can find, of what pieces that should be played from grade 8 to whatever piano grades exists. It is not something to worry about in the short term, but in the long term it might be. Maybe by the time I get to grade 8, I will understand.

My guess is the last sentence of your statement will ring true ;-)

Hehe I agree

The Art of Piano Playing by Heinrich Neuhaus is available exclusively in:

USA/Canada from C F Peters, New York: http://www.edition-peters.com/ price: $24.90

UK/Europe from Central Books, London: www.centralbooks.com price: £15.95

You can also request this book from your local book store who will order it from these distributors. Scribd kindly removed the pdf download once they discovered that this was copyright material.

Hope this info helps

I could find the book on neither webpage...

Maybe it's a black flag to see if anybody would be interested and if there is a market.

well, apparently now you can buy the older one for about 20$ new...

It's now available at the Book Depository for $22 or so (also via Amazon sellers)

http://www.bookdepository.com/The-Art-of-Piano-Playing/9781871082456