{"title":"Susan Tomes","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSusan Tomes\u003c\/strong\u003e offers profound insights into the world of classical music, blending personal reflection with cultural history. Her works explore the intimate relationship between musician and piano, revealing the nuances of musical expression and the artistry behind performance.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eReaders can immerse themselves in richly detailed memoirs and thoughtful examinations of music’s place in society, where the voices of women in the arts are thoughtfully highlighted. Her writing resonates with both music lovers and those drawn to the broader themes of creativity and biography.\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"the-piano-by-susan-tomes-9780300267051","title":"The Piano","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eA fascinating history of the piano explored through 100 pieces chosen by one of the UK’s most renowned concert pianists\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eTomes . . . casts her net widely, taking in chamber music and concertos, knotty avant-garde masterworks and (most welcome) jazz.\u003c\/strong\u003e — Richard Fairman, \u003cem\u003eFinancial Times,\u003c\/em\u003e “Best Books of 2021: Classical Music”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e[One of] the most beautiful books I got my hands on this year. . . . About the shaping of this maddening, glorious, unconquerable instrument.\u003c\/strong\u003e — Jenny Colgan, \u003cem\u003eSpectator,\u003c\/em\u003e “Books of the Year”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eAn astonishingly versatile instrument, the piano allows just two hands to play music of great complexity and subtlety. For more than two hundred years, it has brought solo and collaborative music into homes and concert halls and has inspired composers in every musical genre—from classical to jazz and light music.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eCharting the development of the piano from the late eighteenth century to the present day, pianist and writer Susan Tomes takes the reader with her on a personal journey through 100 pieces including solo works, chamber music, concertos, and jazz. Her choices include composers such as Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, Robert Schumann, Tchaikovsky, Debussy, Gershwin, and Philip Glass.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eLooking at this history from a modern performer’s perspective, she acknowledges neglected women composers and players including Fanny Mendelssohn, Maria Szymanowska, Clara Schumann, and Amy Beach.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eThe Piano\u003c\/em\u003e is not only an exploration of the instrument’s history but also a celebration of its incredible ability to connect with musicians and audiences alike.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Unknown","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46796859703532,"sku":"9780300267051","price":30.99,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/24668253482294.jpg?v=1757113323"},{"product_id":"women-and-the-piano-by-susan-tomes-9780300281101","title":"Women and the Piano","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eWomen are an essential part of the history of the piano—but how many women pianists can you name?\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThroughout most of the piano's history, women pianists lacked access to formal training and were excluded from male-dominated performance spaces. Even the modern piano's keys were designed without consideration of women's typically smaller hands. Yet despite their music being largely confined to the domestic sphere, women continued to play, perform, and compose on their own terms.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eCelebrated pianist and author Susan Tomes traces fifty such women across the piano's history in \u003cem\u003eWomen and the Piano\u003c\/em\u003e. Including now-famous names such as Clara Schumann and Fanny Mendelssohn, Tomes also highlights overlooked women: from Hélène de Montgeroult, whose playing saved her life during the French Revolution, to Leopoldine Wittgenstein, influential Viennese salonnière, and Hazel Scott, the first Black performer in the United States to have a nationally syndicated TV show.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eFrom Maria Szymanowska to Nina Simone, and including interviews with women performing today, this is a much-needed corrective to our understanding of the piano—and a timely testament to women's musical lives.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Unknown","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46796945719532,"sku":"9780300281101","price":28.99,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/24808753482294.jpg?v=1757118590"},{"product_id":"women-and-the-piano-by-susan-tomes-9780300266573","title":"Women and the Piano","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eWomen are an essential part of the history of the piano—but how many women pianists can you name?\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThroughout most of the piano's history, women pianists lacked access to formal training and were excluded from male-dominated performance spaces. Even the modern piano's keys were designed without consideration of women's typically smaller hands. Yet despite their music being largely confined to the domestic sphere, women continued to play, perform, and compose on their own terms.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eCelebrated pianist and author Susan Tomes traces fifty such women across the piano's history. Including now-famous names such as Clara Schumann and Fanny Mendelssohn, Tomes also highlights overlooked women: from Hélène de Montgeroult, whose playing saved her life during the French Revolution, to Leopoldine Wittgenstein, influential Viennese salonnière, and Hazel Scott, the first Black performer in the United States to have a nationally syndicated TV show.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eFrom Maria Szymanowska to Nina Simone, and including interviews with women performing today, this is a much-needed corrective to our understanding of the piano—and a timely testament to women's musical lives.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Unknown","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46796945752300,"sku":"9780300266573","price":59.99,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/24663473482294.jpg?v=1757118630"},{"product_id":"nocturnes-by-susan-tomes-9780300278897","title":"Nocturnes","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAn engrossing history of the music of twilight and sleep, from the nocturnes of Field and Chopin to Max Richter\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eIn an insomniac age, ambient and sleep music have become increasingly popular. But our association between music and sleep is not new: lullabies may be the oldest form of music and are instantly recognisable across peoples and cultures. Why does the night hold such musical fascination for us, and what forms do its sounds take?\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eSusan Tomes explores the story of the nocturne, and the music of nighttime in the classical tradition. From John Field's pioneering, lyrical nocturnes composed in the haunting atmosphere of St Petersburg's midnight sun, to Chopin's emotionally complex mastery of the form, composers and musicians have endlessly produced music about the night, in which the piano plays a central part.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eNocturnes\u003c\/em\u003e offers us a rich cultural history of this expressive, often melancholic, fascinating genre—which has gone on to inspire not just musicians but generations of artists and writers.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Unknown","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47650171158764,"sku":"9780300278897","price":84.0,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/9780300278897-nocturnes.jpg?v=1779317641"}],"url":"https:\/\/bookhero.live\/collections\/susan-tomes.oembed","provider":"Book Hero","version":"1.0","type":"link"}