Jonathan Biss

Confused I didn't mention this when I read it, which is several months ago. Been meaning to write something more in depth at Disquiet.com, or elsewhere. In the meanwhile: this book is a pianist talking about the difficulty about recording, by which he means both recording in general, and specifically recording an extended survey of Beethoven's work. Given that he has indeed written a book (or at least a lengthy Kindle Single), he protests a little too much about not actually being an author. It does get him off the hook a bit for logical inconsistencies. This isn't a book to concern yourself about when the author contradicts himself. What's worth focusing on is a musician who is still very much in the live performance tradition writing cogently about the complications of freezing those moments.… (more)