Practicing Perfection: Memory and Piano Performance (Expertise: Research and Applications Series)
Of all the interdisciplinary collaborations of late between psychologists and performers, surely the most fruitful...has been that of the American-Romanian concert pianist Gabriela Imreh with cognitive psychologist Roger Chaffin and his wife the social psychologist Mary Crawford. I would go so far as to say that the report of their research should be required reading for every pianist, piano student and teacher in the land.—Piano JournalThis study of how a concert pianist prepares a new piece for performance is a collaboration between the pianist (Imreh), a cognitive psychologist (Chaffin), and a social psychologist with an interest in post-positivist methodology (Crawford). Centering on a description and analysis of how pianist Gabriela Imreh learned the third movement of J.S. Bach's Italian Concerto, the authors relate the pianist's account of how she learns to the psychologists' interpretation of the process.—Music Educators JournalIt contains interesting quotes from the writings of historically significant pianists and teachers, Imreh's own comments about the process during the learning period, and insights as the concert pianist prepares for the final goal, the recording. Recommended for all inclusive music libraries and for undergraduate and graduate libraries in institutions emphasizing performance, this book will also be useful to psychology students who study memory and memorization.—CHOICE--This text refers to theHardcoveredition.