For those who have heard Moore, they must be more than pleasantly surprised. For those who have seen him play, they will certainly ask what on earth made him an accompanist instead of a soloist, and this is one of the selling points of the book. But it is open to the readers to accept or otherwise the reason given in the book in this regard.

Nevertheless, readers should also take note that Moores views in essence are those of a pianist albeit armed with enormous exposure in accompanying. His views may well differ from those of pianist/conductor like Furtwangler or pianist/composer like Bartok, Rachmaninov, B Britten or even Wilhelm Kempff. But the latters are instead the best accompanists one could expect.

Moreover, the first thing this book struck me was the arguments between Schonberg and Rosen, arguments of whether the composer should be the only authority of his work or the like, which are in the nature of open questions. Likewise, a good deal of the questions raised here in the book are, to most of us, open ones. And yet the author is so absolute that it sounds more like a lecture.

Having said that, the book is quite thorough despite its brevity. Moreover, to bring home a point, examples with relevant part of the scores are often given. The book also touches on some basics of pianism like touches and how to improve the ability to sight reading. They are of no less value than Lhevines book on piano playing. It also covers things that would otherwise never occur to the soloists. Quite an interesting book after all!

I LOVE the books of Gerald Moore--both humorous memoirs and serious music books. Wonderful writing style. Purchased to share with the next generation--my children.