The Piano Shop on the Left Bank: Discovering a Forgotten Passion in a Paris Atelier
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | 4.12 (764 Votes) |
| Asin | : | 0375758623 |
| Format Type | : | paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 304 Pages |
| Publish Date | : | 2014-03-04 |
| Language | : | English |
DESCRIPTION:
Lovely, quirky story about a man, a piano, an obsession and Paris This book may be less meaningful to you if you are not a piano player. But Thad Carhart includes so much atmosphere and quirky French character in his memoir "The Piano Shop" that if you like memoirs, especially about life in France, you will be as charmed as I was whether you know one note from another or not.Andre Watts, the great American pianist, once remarked that he is unable to walk in a room with a piano without going up to it and touching it. This urge is not unusual with piano lovers--most of us are pulled into any piano shop, compelled by the same love of the in. "Good for History Buffs" according to Annie Reader. I had heard great things about this little book from friends for quite some time. Frankly, I was disappointed. The story line is very thin. However, the saving grace is that it provides a really good history of the piano and piano-building. Anyone interested in such a history will probably like this book more than I did.. R. Torres said a loving portrait of Paris culture and music. I no longer play the piano. Childhood lessons of rote scales and boring piano primer songs were abandoned at an early age. This book makes me wish that I kept with it and makes me feel guilty about the Wurlitzer upright.collecting dust in the family home.I have traded it in for my own obsession, however, and this book gives a great portrait of rediscovering the appreciation for older instruments and machines. I may not be a musician( but that is of little matter. This book isn't about just the piano, but rather for loving things and creativity for your own sake.a really ni
Walking his two young children to school every morning, Thad Carhart passes an unassuming little storefront in his Paris neighborhood. What he tries to capture is not the sight of them, but what they see.”–The New York Times“Thoroughly engaging In part it is a book about that most unpredictable and pleasurable of human experiences, serendipity. Luc, the atelier’s master, proves an indispensable guide to the history and art of the piano. Intrigued by its simple sign—Desforges Pianos—he enters, only to have his way barred by the shop’s imperious owner. The book is also about something more difficult to pin down, friendship and community.”–The Washington Post“Carhart writes with a sensuousness enhanced by patience and grounded by the humble acquisition of new insight into music, his childhood, and his relationship to the city of Paris.”–The New YorkerNAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY THE WASHINGTON POST BOOK WORLD. The Piano Shop on the Left Bank is at once a beguiling portrait of a Paris not found on any map and a tender account of the awakening of a lost childhood passion.Praise for
In his renewed fascination, he reflects on piano teachers, those of his childhood as well as several renowned teachers of today. Carhart conveys his affection for Luc, the atelier and the piano with such enthusiasm that readers might be inspired to return to their own childhood instrument. Because the elderly proprietor refuses to admit strangers to the atelier where he repairs, rebuilds and sells used pianos to select customers, Carhart does not at first get in. Caught up in Luc's zeal, Carhart immerses himself in the history and mechanics of the piano, and he