Description

TONE MOVES
A History of Piano Technique

Luca Chiantore

760 pages, 161 musical examples, 710 bibliographical references. A unique book enabling the reader to follow the progressive incorporation of anatomical resources involved in keyboard technique from the 16th century onwards, the biomechanical inquiries of leading pianists and composers, the diversity of their bodily approaches to the keyboard amidst increasing hand and arm involvement as well as the relation of all this with organological innovations, changes in musical taste and the emergence of often contrasting pedagogical theories.

The result of intense, rigorous research, Tone Moves contains an impressive amount of documentation, including a vast number of theoretical works which had never before been studied thoroughly. Through all this, the author narrates a “history” that uncovers crucial parallels with the past three century’s aesthetic revolutions. Chiantore spins a tale of far-reaching and lasting changes, a searching narrative brimming with strong personalities often steering in opposite directions, all in all an avowal of the stunning diversity of options available when expressing ourselves through an instrument.