Neil Rutman’s best-selling book and #3 Hot New Release on Amazon ‘Stories, Images, and Magic from the Piano Literature’ brings together for the first time under one cover, for the delight and edification of the musician, a plethora of programmatic, poetic, or imaginative musical images and stories on piano works from the classical literature. Many images originate with the composers themselves, the pens of their acquaintances or contemporaries, while others derive from pianists and authors of distinction from later generations, as well as from translations of poetry on which a piano work is based. The purpose of this book is to stimulate the imagination of pianists as they study and perform the great works from the piano literature.
from Leon Fleisher “A fascinating tapestry of tales, letters, and comments from the composers themselves, from their colleagues and friends, as well as from well-known performers who consistently confront the challenge of making choices that are authentic, imaginative, and inspiring.”
from Nancy Lee Harper in the European Piano Teachers Association Journal, “Neil Rutman is to be congratulated for his foresight in bringing to pianists, teachers, and aficionados alike a volume of “indispensables of piano playing” — that of interpretative imagery. This book belongs in the hands of everyone who loves the piano.”
from Antonio Pompa-Baldi “A true gold mine of information- this book is a must read.”