"A consideration, a celebration, a history and a genealogy of pianos and their friends".--Cover.

Award-winning biographer Elizabeth Rusch and two-time Caldecott Honor–recipient Marjorie Priceman team up to tell the inspiring story of the invention of the world’s most popular instrument: the piano. Bartolomeo Cristofori coaxes just the right sounds from the musical instruments he makes. Some of his keyboards can play piano, light and soft; others make forte notes ring out, strong and loud, but Cristofori longs to create an instrument that can be played both soft and loud. His talent has caught the attention of Prince Ferdinando de Medici, who wants his court to become the musical center of Italy. The prince brings Cristofori to the noisy city of Florence, where the goldsmiths’ tiny hammers whisper tink, tink and the blacksmiths’ big sledgehammers shout BANG, BANG! Could hammers be the key to the new instrument? At last Cristofori gets his creation just right. It is called the pianoforte, for what it can do. All around the world, people young and old can play the most intricate music of their lives, thanks to Bartolomeo Cristofori’s marvelous creation: the piano.

Growing up more than a thousand miles apart and worlds away from each other, Johnny and Adrianne seemed to have all that children could ask for. Born into a Great-Gatsby-like party, old-money wealth and privilege defined Johnny's childhood in Ladue, Missouri—the Beverly Hills of St. Louis. Born addicted to heroin in New York City, Adrianne was placed as an infant with loving, middle-class Jewish foster parents on Long Island. However, the demons of their respective biological mothers would eventually tear their fragile young lives apart as told in this compelling tandem narrative. Eventually, destiny would bring Johnny and Adrianne together, but first they had to endure the painful toll that alcohol, drugs, and a negligent court system would take on them. With parts of Adrianne's story ripped from national news headlines, their journeys take them for the depths of despair and near death to their first serendipitous introduction and the moment each knew they were finally safe. Filled with hope, inspiration, and humor, The Painting and the Piano is an unforgettable story of pain, loss, and the undying human quest for happiness.

"Explosively passionate, this story of forbidden love and unmet potential is ... for anyone who’s ever felt the ineffable power of music." —Aja Gabel, author of The Ensemble The Piano Student is a novel about regret, secrecy, and music, involving an affair between one of the 20th century’s most celebrated pianists, Vladimir Horowitz, and his young male student, Nico Kaufmann, in the late 1930s. As Europe hurtles toward political catastrophe and Horowitz ascends to the pinnacle of artistic achievement, the great pianist hides his illicit passion from his wife Wanda, daughter of the renowned conductor Arturo Toscanini. Based on unpublished letters by Horowitz to Kaufmann that author Lea Singer discovered in Switzerland, this is a riveting and sensitive tale of musical perfection, love, and longing denied, with multiple historical layers and insights into artistic creativity.

The place of the piano in classical and popular musical cultures and its changing roles over the past three centuries are examined by eminent authorities. Everything about the piano is here: its invention, innovations in design, importance of piano lessons in girls' lives, images formed around the piano, and more. 153 b&w, 65 color illustrations.

Pianist Mike Garson was David Bowie's most frequent musician, on record and onstage throughout Bowie's life. They played over a thousand shows together between 1972 and 2004, and Garson is featured on over 20 of Bowie's albums. Bowie's Piano Man is the first-ever biography of Mike Garson, written by Clifford Slapper, a fellow pianist who also played for Bowie, working closely with him on his last-ever television appearance. The book explores the special relationship between Garson and Bowie, beginning with the extraordinary story of how Garson went overnight from playing in tiny jazz clubs to touring the world on arena rock tours with Bowie after one short phone call and audition. A noted master of jazz, classical, and other genres, Garson has composed thousands of original works and has taught countless students, acting as mentor to many. Bowie's Piano Man explores his roots and childhood in Brooklyn, his ongoing strong presence in the jazz world, and his collaborations with a huge range of other artists in addition to Bowie. Touring and recording with the Smashing Pumpkins and Nine Inch Nails are given in-depth attention, as is his approach to teaching and creating music. Explored in detail in particular is his commitment to improvisation as a form of composition, a manifestation of his more general dedication to living in the moment and always moving forward – a trait he shared with Bowie.

This entertaining memoir provides a glimpse into the comedies, tragedies, and mundane miracles witnessed from the business perspective of a world-traveling lounge musician.