Product Description

Carol Montparker's 31 stories are remarkable for their frankness and emotional honesty. Creative nonfiction from a life in music, they are in turn tender and intense, lyrical and riotously funny. There is a poignant friendship with the elderly, irresistible Rudi; the anguish of a marriage that needed to end; true love found later; a narrow escape from an outlandishly surreal piano; moving tales from her teaching studio; each story with its own satisfying shape and rhythm. "These autobiographical stories sparkle with vignettes of people, places and petss, but their deeper subject is that of the woman pianist in a male-dominated worlld. The subject is not new, but Ms. Montparker brings to it a rewarding freshnesss of insight." - Jerome Lowenthal Pianist; and faculty, The Juilliard School "Thee pianist's latest book deserves to be read by anyone who plays or wishes to playy or ever wished to play the piano, and by everyone else too. She writes about muusic in a sane, wise, humane voice in this charming, instructive, often moving coollection." - Michael Kimmelman Chief Art Critic, The New York Times; and pianiist

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #782316 in Books
• Published on: 2004-02
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 253 pages

From Publishers Weekly
She once had a promising career as a concert pianist, but Montparker (A Pianist's Landscape) decided to scale back on performing and to free herself from the pressures and anxieties of a touring musician's life. Although the piano is still the focus of her existence, and she still gives recitals from time to time, she is now able to pursue other activities; in these engaging personal essays, which she calls stories, she muses on some of these interests, such as her writing and painting, her garden, the birds in her backyard, her diaries and her travels. Montparker also reminisces about her childhood in Brooklyn; some of the many friends she has made over the years, including a charming elderly gentleman who managed to pass along to her his deceased wife's Steinway piano without making it look like a gift; her disastrous first marriage; and the happiness she has found with a second husband who shares her interests. Music plays the central role in her stories, however. She writes beautifully about the pianos she has owned and played (or not played, as in the tale of the gaudy blue piano of the title, which she refused to use for a recital at Steinway Hall), the perils of giving concerts in small towns, the revitalizing power of music after the tragedy of September 11 and her affection for all her students. Montparker's essays are slight, but they speak delightfully of the contentment of a musician who has never regretted her decision to trade a taxing career for full enjoyment of life's other pleasures.
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American Music Teacher Magazine, August / September 2004
"As [Montparker] tells the stories of her life, her craftsmanship as a wordsmith shines through. . . . "

Clavier Magazine, July 2004
"Montparker is a wonderful storyteller, and her straightforward, open style is refreshing."

Customer Reviews

Poignant And Lyrical
Carol Montparker's long experience as a pianist, writer and teacher shine through these poignant, often humorous stories of a life in music. Whether dodging the unwanted attentions of a classical superstar or consulting fellow musicians on the ethics of changing Mozart's notes, she reveals with touching humanity the hurdles that an artist -- particularly a female artist -- must leap in order to survive. Her writing is warm and generous. As the editor of a piano magazine, I have been delighted to publish her musings from time to time. I recommend them to anyone who wants to have a friendly guide "backstage" and behind the scenes in the world of classical music.

Not Very Interesting
There are so many people who write about themselves, and so few who tell a good story while doing so. In the grip of a good story, I will forgive self absorption, indulge even smugness - to a point. But the episodes in this book are simply not good enough as stories, and they display an unappealing self involvement on the part of the author. Her writing is craftsmanly, but these vignettes probably should have been limited to an appreciative circle of family and close friends; they are not compelling enough to hold the attention of a general audience. I am sure the author is a lovely person with a talent for friendship, but her tone of self congratulation (and self justification) is ultimately off-putting, especially when the narrative payoff is so slim. What is the point?

Represents very real insights into the music world
The Blue Piano is the third book by musician Carol Montparker, providing thirty-one short stories covering musicianship and adventures in the music world. It's hard to easily categorize Blue Piano: the stories represent very real insights into the music world and sensibility, yet contain the passion and vivid descriptions of fiction. Suffice it to say that musicians in general and pianists in particular will relish these lyrical first-person insights.