Table of Contents

Preliminary Table of Contents:

The Less Fractious World
1. The Triumph of Marsyas
2. "Le concert, c'est moi"
3. The Critic and the Spider

After Two Concerts
4. Notes on Gourmandism
5. The Circus
6. The Nature of the Bis
7. "The Colour of Classics"

Of Paris
8. Some Virtuosi in Literature
9. The Virtuoso at Home
10. Possibilities of a Homosexual Aesthetic of Virtuosity
11. Celluloid
12. "The pianola 'replaces' Sappho's barbitos"
13. Musical Chairs; or, Il virtuoso seduto
14. "Aut Caesar, aut nihil"

Aristocracy
15. Muscles and Soul
16. Mephistopheleses in Soutanes

The Angel of the Mud

Bibliography

Promotional Information

An informed, artful, and passionate look at the world of virtuoso pianists.

About the Author

Mark Mitchell is the author of Virtuosi and Vladimir de Pachmann both published by Indiana University Press. He is the recipient of a John Simon guggenheim Fellowship for 2006-2007.

Reviews

"A literary work of real elan, vibrancy, and grace." - Cynthia Ozick "Vigorous, opinionated, and always entertaining ... a personal essayist of great charm and sincerity." - Edmund White "Other subjects that Mr. Mitchell explores include the traditional linking of musical and sexual virtuosity, the ethical implications of the 'original instruments' movement, the near deification of Mozart in Anglo-Saxon culture, and, in a particularly witty section, the relationship of the virtuoso to his stool. Throughout, Mr. Mitchell's prose is humorous, intimate, and unapologeticaly polemical." - Cynthia Ozick "This excitingly partisan book takes up such subjects as child prodigies, the homosexual aesthetic, the pre-eminence of Schumann, the continuing development of the piano as mechanism, the significance of player piano rolls, and the presentation of virtuoso music in film and literature. Mitchell's erudition - his collection of odd and illuminating bits of knowledge - is always a delight and adds a sauce piquante to the whole dish!" - Edmund White