This short book was surprisingly fun, given its esoteric and nerdy subject matter. Few music lovers realize that the arrangement of notes on todays pianos was once regarded as a crime against god and na. The economist isacoff untangles the complexities of this issue with the aplomb of a virtuoso pianist playing scales. This acclaimed book by stuart isacoff is available at in several formats for your ereader. The story of pythagoras musical system lies at the root of stuart isacoffs temperament, an astounding and accessible journey through the culturedefining narrative hidden in arcane music theory. Stuart isacoff is a pianist, composer and writer, and the founding editor of the magazine piano today. As a supplement to the printed book, stuart isacoff here presents audio files to demonstrate directly some of the concepts he discusses in. Stuart isacoff has 22 books on goodreads with 2349 ratings.
Isacoff examines the tuning of the western diatonic scale, the problem of obtaining pure, harmonious intervals across the scale and across keys, and the development of equal temperament. In this engaging and accessible account, stuart isacoff leads us through the battles. Temperament the idea that solved musics greatest riddle. The idea that solved musics greatest riddle by stuart isacoff m. Isacoff untangles the complexities of this issue with the aplomb of a virtuoso planist. He does a good job of describing the mathematics behind the problem in a nontechnical manner. How music became a battleground for the great minds of western civilization, id like to share a podcast from the folks over at between the liner notes. Stuart isacoff relates the story of tempwrament reinvention of the pianoa story that encompasses social history, religion, philosophy, and science as well as musicologyin a concise and sparkling narrative. Duffins fine book should make any contemporary musician think differently. The idea that solved musics greatest riddle by stuart m isacoff find this book. Download for offline reading, highlight, bookmark or take notes while you read temperament.
A winner of the prestigious ascap deems taylor award for excellence in writing about music, he is a frequent contributor to the wall street journal and many music periodicals. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. Isacoff, a recipient of the ascap deems taylor award for excellence in writing about music, is a pianist, a composer, and the editor in chief of piano today magazine. Isacoff obviously did an immense amount of research, but his book is not ponderous. We like to think that music is a wonderfully simple thing, but, as you will read, it took a long while to get to this point. How music became a battleground for the great minds of western civilization is a good general introduction to the vexing question of how to tune a piano and other keyboard instruments. Review of stuart isacoffs temperament peterson piano. How music became a battleground for the great minds of western civilization. Discover delightful childrens books with prime book box, a subscription that delivers new books. Read temperament how music became a battleground for the great minds of western civilization by stuart isacoff available from rakuten kobo. For the british historian nigel cliff, whose moscow nights. However, the focus is not on a modern invention, but rather a modern convention. He also points out that, even though some works of some composers would work just as well, if not better, in well temperament, most were clearly conceived for equal temperament, and that the modern. Stuart isacoff hereby recounts this great battle over the best way to create music a battle that culminated in the destruction of the harpsichord and the emergence, from its.
Temperament isbn 9780375703300 pdf epub stuart isacoff. Indeed, from the time of the ancient greeks through the eras of renaissance scientists and enlightenment philosophers, the. A beautifully illustrated, totally engrossing celebration of the piano, and the composers and performers who have made it their own. In this accessible and engaging book stuart isacoff applies his musical expertise. How music became a battleground for the great minds of western civilization 9780375703300. Stuart isacoff, editor of piano today, is the author of temperament. The idea that solved musics greatest riddle knopf signals that the status quo is ok by. How equal temperament ruined harmony and why you should care. Pianist and composer isacoff delves into equal temperament, the18thcentury tuning system that carved the octave into 12 equal intervals. But this equal temperament tuning was once a hugely controversial notion. Praise for temperamenttemperaments most persuasive weapon is the unquenchable passion of its authoran immensely entertaining, original and informative book. A winner of the ascap deems taylor award for excellence in writing about music, he is a regular contributor on the arts to the wall street journal and has written for the new york times, chamber music, symphony, musical america, stagebill, and the new grove dictionary of. Stuart isacoffs examination of the evolution of this facet of music was, to my surprise, a really good read. This book reads like a novel, with an equal emphasis on the technical details of the tuning in western music.
Musical temperament is a somewhat esoteric subject, so i didnt expect it to be presented in such clear, literate prose. Few music lovers realize that the arrangement of notes on todays pianos was once regarded as a crime against god and nature, or that such legendary thinkers as pythagoras, plato, da vinci, galileo, kepler, descartes, newton and rousseau played a role in the controversy. Reproduced here courtesy of the author and alfred a knopf, publisher. How music became a battleground for the great minds of western civilization kindle edition by isacoff, stuart. Synopsis for hundreds of years, musicians, craftsmen, church officials, heads of state and philosophers fought heatedly against the introduction of equal temperament tuning. Like a pianist sitting down at the keyboard to tackle prokofieff or messaien, stuart isacoff himself a pianist and the editor of piano today magazine faced a daunting task when he decided to write this book. How music became a battleground for the great minds of western civilization reprint by isacoff, stuart isbn. How music became a battleground for the great minds of western civilizationunfolds the ongoing history and evolution of the piano and all. If you enjoyed nick torres gin and diatonic, then let me recommend stuart isacoffs fascinating book, temperament. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders.
The economist isacoff untangles the complexities of this issue with the aplomb of. Stuart isacoff relates the story of the reinvention of the pianoa story that encompasses social history, religion, philosophy, and science as well as musicologyin a concise and sparkling narrative. Stuart isacoff, a pianist and writer, was the founder of piano today magazine, which he edited for nearly three decades. See all books authored by stuart isacoff, including a natural history of the piano. A winner of the ascap deems taylor award for excellence in writing about music, he is a regular contributor to the wall street journal and more about stuart isacoff. Wise, warm, witty, and always erudite, isacoffs engaging style brings out a lifetime of love for the instrument and those who make music with it.
Stuart isacoff is a pianist, writer, and the founder of piano today magazine, which he edited for nearly three decades. He is the author of when the world stopped to listen knopf, 2017, as well as the highly acclaimed a natural history of the piano knopf, 2011 and temperament knopfvintage, 2003. How music became a battleground for the great minds of western civilization, and more on. Supplements for chapter 26 why you hear what you hear. Isacoffs temperament gives an indepth history of the development of piano tunings and temperaments starting with pythagorass perfect fifths in 6th century bc, moving through da vinci, meantone temperament, galileo, zarlino, and rameau, and finishing with contemporary minimalists such as michael harrison and philip glass. A fascinating and hugely original book that explains how a vexing. Temperament is that rare book that will delight the novice and expert alike. Temperament random house is a wild, nontechnical romp through the controversies surrounding temperament and our eventual settlement with even temperament. The van cliburn story was published just before stuart isacoffs book, cliburns death and the ensuing obituaries provided the first opportunity to hear the full story of the pianists life, a tale that he thinks resonates particularly strongly today. Praise for temperament temperament s most persuasive weapon is the unquenchable passion of its authoran immensely entertaining, original and informative book. How music became a battleground for the great minds of western civilization, a study of the challenges and changes to pythagorass findings in the sixth century that the harmonious intervals of the musical scale are mathematically fixed and are key to explaining. In this engaging and accessible account, stuart isacoff leads us through the battles over that scale, placing them in the context of quarrels in the worlds of art, philosophy, religion, politics and science. Temperament few music lovers realize that the arrangement of notes on todays pianos was once regarded as a crime against god and nature, or that such legendary thinkers as pythagoras, plato, da vinci, galileo, kepler, descartes, newton and rousseau played a role in the controversy. He sought to write for the general reader about an abstract and highly technical musical subject, one to which even many professional musicians give little thought as they go about.
The book s most persuasive weapon is the unquenchable passion of. The idea that solved musics greatest riddle stuart m. For hundreds of years, musicians, craftsmen, church officials, heads of state and philosophers fought heatedly against the introduction of equal temperament tuning. This book was given to me by my granddaughter, who has been learning piano and flute for nearly years. The instrument, the music, the musiciansfrom mozart to modern jazz and everything in between, and temperament. Stuart isacoff is an awardwinning writer, pianist, composer and lecturer who performs and lectures across north america and europe. Filled with original insights, fascinating anecdotes, and portraits of some of the greatest geniuses of all time, temperament is that rare book that will delight the novice and expert alike. The very title of stuart isacoffs book temperament. Read an interview with author stuart isacoff temperament. With honed sensitivity and unquestioned expertise, stuart isacoffpianist, critic, teacher, and author of temperament. How equal temperament ruined harmony and why you should.
1006 168 522 1521 251 1280 350 864 839 890 1089 1526 366 759 192 783 556 616 402 160 598 34 878 680 677 922 1001 25 14 14 175 474 1196 1189 1305 1518 1236 1001 700 425 1314 105 1238 925 594 867 1076 994 1249 8