It is always a pleasure to encounter a book written by a genuine enthusiast for the subject they have chosen, no matter how specialist it may first appear, and that is most certainly the case here. The concept of investigating the sonata principle confined solely to the medium of the piano trio may seem a somewhat daunting prospect, but such is the author’s knowledge and enthusiasm that one is soon caught up in the subject and its varied ramifications.
Aimed at those ‘who say they love music “but don’t understand how it works”, as well as for performers and music students of all ages’ – as the publisher’s accompanying text states, Gillian Perrin’s professional knowledge, individual enthusiasm and broadly cast scope of her subject reveals a stratum of classical music that is too often unjustly overlooked
The piano trio is a medium that can offer difficult challenges to any composer, and did – from Haydn to the present-day – challenges which many music-lovers are not always disposed to meet and overcome, but Ms Perrin’s quite enthralling book is the perfect answer to those to whom the concept of the instrumental trio and the structural subtleties of the masterpieces which enhance this particular repertoire have often presented self-imposed difficulties. Cleverly aimed at a wide audience, with technical terms clearly and succinctly explained, allied to audio clips via simple website references, in terms of locale, historical authenticity, structure and the inspiration of genius across the centuries, no more suitable guide can be sought than in the pages of this well-produced book, and the informative text of its gifted author.
Robert Matthew-Walker, editor, Musical Opinion Quarterly
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