Notes of a Pianist
"Exactly what it took to become a musical superstar in the mid-19th century is vividly documented inNotes of a Pianist, Gottschalk's charming and fascinating diaries, which are now back in print for the first time in decades. . . .Notes of a Pianistis informative, above all, as a document of our cultural adolescence, a time when Americans knew the were supposed to want good music, but weren't quite sure how to enjoy it."--Adam Kirsch,New York Sun"First published in 1881, this work is an invaluable first-hand look at the music and culture of the 19th century."--H.J. Kirchhoff,Toronto Globe and Mail"As well as a pianist and composer, Gottschalk was a superb writer of prose. . . .Notes of a Pianistis a work of the highest importance, the first book of permanent interest by an American artist who was not a fulltime author and matchlessly vivid document of American musical life during the Civil War."--Terry Teachout,Commentary"Louis Moreau Gottschalk had something resembling rock-star status in 19th-century America, but the pianist-composer's most important contribution might not be musical; rather, it might be his tumultuous, trenchant, Zelig-like diary. . . . His perspective is singularly significant."--David Patrick Stearns,Philadelphia Inquirer