Reader recommendation: A Natural History of the Piano

Monitor readers share their favorite book picks.

November 4, 2014

I recommend A Natural History of the Piano: The Instrument, the Music, the Musicians – from Mozart to Modern Jazz and Everything in Between by Stuart Isacoff.  The author is a pianist who traces the history of the piano from its beginnings to the modern day.  He covers the genres from classical to modern music and the people who have played the instrument. Isacoff uses Oscar Peterson as his entry point to this history. The book is well illustrated.