Book Reviews

Playing (less) Hurt: A Musician's Guide to Injury Prevention by Janet Horvath
A good book about musicians' injuries and their causes and prevention. The author is a cellist and the book is geared primarily towards professional orchestral musicians, but there's plenty of valuable advice and information for the rest of us too. Most profitable for me were the sections on easing back into playing after an injury or vacation and about practicing profitably. I'd recommend this for any serious musician, not just ones with "problems".

A Pianist's Landscape by Carol Montparker
Picked this one up at the library book sale in June. A collection of essays written by a pianist/writer, covering everything from performing to teaching to music journalism. An easy read and very enjoyable.

Anatomy of a New York Debut Recital by Carol Montparker
This little book is Carol's diary of the months leading up to her New York debut recital in Carnegie Hall. Fun and hard to put down. It captures many sides of the musician's existence--the privileged feeling of being able to share the music, the days when you just don't want to practice any more, trying to balance music and the rest of your life, the occasional trouble in being self-motivated, the days of wondering why we do this anyway and realizing that it is, after all, self-imposed; the way you feel after a good recital...

Martha Washingon: An American Life by Patricia Brady
I read this one as we drove out to Virginia and Mt. Vernon. An interesting picture of a little-known historical figure. It's hard to learn too much about Mrs. Washington and her marriage in particular because she, a privacy-loving soul, burned her's and General Washington's correspondence after his death. :) Notwithstanding such difficulties, the author did a good job of pulling bits of information together into a portrait of a real women. A few things here and there would make it inappropriate for younger readers, but overall a good book. I enjoyed it.

Walking from East to West: God in the Shadows by Ravi Zacharias
Naturally, this isn't as hard a read as Ravi Zacharias' other works. :) The story of his life and the way God drew him. Another good book.