Boydell & Brewer

The book is fascinating for its insights into politics as much as into musical matters including the Russians' influence on Britten and he on the Russians — American Record Guide More…

Offers a stimulating reading with insights into the act of creation, the compositional process, and the vantage point of the modern creative artist in the twenty-first century — Music and Letters More…

[W]ritten in a very engaging style with little tidbits about seemingly everyone. . . .This is, obviously, an important book if you are interested in conducting and 19th Century performance, but... — American Record Guide More…

This book reveals [Tomes'] talents as a writer, too, one with a capacity for imaginative enquiry and a gift for the telling phrase... as natural and compelling a communicator in words as she... — BBC Music Magazine More…

Rewarding ... Enlightening ... An exciting new addition to the musical and historical literature — British Music Society More…

[Susan Tomes's] penetrating intelligence is refreshing in a discourse often reduced to cliche and lazy generalisation ... One has only to think of Tomes's exceptional playing to understand why... — BBC Music Magazine More…

Packed full of fascinating material reflecting upon the difficult and sometimes intangible issues that face a busy professional pianist...what emerges from these pages is Tomes's strong sense... — BBC Music Magazine More…

Now we can all appreciate these works afresh, with the useful and pertinent insights afforded by this welcome volume — International Piano More…

As a sourcebook on cultural background and on such figures as patrons, publishers and performers who flit through the background of the lives of the great Vienna-based composers, this study is... — BBC Music Magazine More…

Generously filled with black and white photographs, reproductions of programmes and musical illustrations, this handsome volume is an invaluable - and essential - contribution towards a fuller... — International Piano More…