Description:  In a chapter on how to feel about practicing the piano, Lucy Lillie encourages the reader to think of the keys of the keyboard and the notes written on the page as characters, each with their own part to play, waiting to be brought to life. Through anecdotal stories of great composers such as Bach and Beethoven and brief histories of things such as the pianoforte and orchestra, this is precisely what Lillie attempts to do in this book - to bring music to life by telling the stories of the characters and objects that are a part of its history. For anyone leaning to play the piano or some other instrument, this fascinating book is sure to be enriching and inspirational. 

Additional information:

1. Keyboard Instruments 
2. Development of Musical Standards and Notation 
3. The Family of Notes and the First Rules of Harmony 
4. John Sebastian Bach and Passion Music 
5. Rhythm, Time, and Keys 
6. George Frederick Handel, Musical Genius 
7. The Development of the Opera 
8. Francis Joseph Haydn, Founder of the Symphony 
9. The Development of the Sonata 
10. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Child Prodigy 

11. Ecclesiastical Music 
12. The Life and Music of Ludwig von Beethoven 
13. The Concerto 
14. Carl Maria von Weber—Operas and Overtures 
15. The Development of the Orchestra 
16. Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy, Genius Composer 
17. Chopin, Schubert, and Schumann—A Trio 
18. Musical Culture 
19. The Study of Music