• mail
  • facebook
  • instagram
  • pinterest
  • twitter
  • wikipedia
  • Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • About
    • Privacy
    • Disclosure
    • Contact
  • Life
    • Wellness
    • Lifestyle
    • Beauty
    • travel
    • Books
  • Home
    • Interiors
    • Decor
    • Food
    • Entertaining
  • style
    • Finds
  • Shop
    • Shop My House For Christmas
    • Holiday Clothes, Gifts, Toys, Books and More
    • Mad for Plaid Finds
    • The Holiday Shop 2022
  • Blog Friends

Pinecones and Acorns

  • About
    • Privacy
    • Disclosure
    • Contact
  • Life
    • Wellness
    • Lifestyle
    • Beauty
    • travel
    • Books
  • Home
    • Interiors
    • Decor
    • Recipes
    • Entertaining
  • style
    • Finds
  • Shop
    • Shop My House For Christmas
    • Holiday Clothes, Gifts, Toys, Books and More
    • Mad for Plaid Finds
    • The Holiday Shop 2022
  • Blog Friends

10 Books About Music

March 27, 2019 By Elizabeth@ Pine Cones and Acorns 2 Comments

Good morning! I hope that you had a great weekend. Mine was fabulous, the weather was beautiful, warm, sunny and a little breezy. I sat outside for hours this weekend reading and soaking up the sun. We took long walks with the pups, my husband grilled and we relaxed and rejuvenated. 

This week I thought I would share some of my favorite books about music. 

The Violin Maker

How does a simple piece of wood become the king of instruments?

The violin does something remarkable, magical, and evocative. It is capable of bringing to life the mathematical marvels of Bach, the moan of a Gypsy melody, the wounded dignity of Beethoven’s Concerto in D Major. No other instrument is steeped in such a rich brew of myth and lore—and yet the making of a violin starts with a simple block of wood. The Violin Maker takes the reader on a journey as that block of wood, in the hands of a master craftsman, becomes an instrument to rival one made by the greatest master of all time.

The Piano Teacher

In the sweeping tradition of The English Patient, Janice Y.K. Lee’s debut novel is a tale of love and betrayal set in war-torn Hong Kong. In 1942, Englishman Will Truesdale falls headlong into a passionate relationship with Trudy Liang, a beautiful Eurasian socialite. But their affair is soon threatened by the invasion of the Japanese as World War II overwhelms their part of the world. Ten years later, Claire Pendleton comes to Hong Kong to work as a piano teacher and also begins a fateful affair. As the threads of this spellbinding novel intertwine, impossible choices emerge-between love and safety, courage and survival, the present, and above all, the past.

The Pianist

On September 23, 1939, Wladyslaw Szpilman played Chopin’s Nocturne in C-sharp minor live on the radio as shells exploded outside—so loudly that he couldn’t hear his piano. It was the last live music broadcast from Warsaw: That day, a German bomb hit the station, and Polish Radio went off the air.

Though he lost his entire family, Szpilman survived in hiding. In the end, his life was saved by a German officer who heard him play the same Chopin Nocturne on a piano found among the rubble. Written immediately after the war and suppressed for decades, The Pianist is a stunning testament to human endurance and the redemptive power of fellow feeling.

The Piano Shop on the Left Bank


Thad Carhart never realized there was a gap in his life until he happened upon Desforges Pianos, a demure little shopfront in his Pairs neighborhood that seemed to want to hide rather than advertise its wares. Like Alice in Wonderland, he found his attempts to gain entry rebuffed at every turn. An accidental introduction finally opened the door to the quartier’s oddest hangout, where locals—from university professors to pipefitters—gather on Friday evenings to discuss music, love, and life over a glass of wine.


Luc, the atelier’s master, proves an excellent guide to the history of this most gloriously impractical of instruments. A bewildering variety passes through his restorer’s hands: delicate ancient pianofortes, one perhaps the onetime possession of Beethoven. Great hulking beasts of thunderous voice. And the modest piano “with the heart of a lion” that was to become Thad’s own.

This is Your Brain on Music

Taking on prominent thinkers who argue that music is nothing more than an evolutionary accident, Levitin poses that music is fundamental to our species, perhaps even more so than language. Drawing on the latest research and on musical examples ranging from Mozart to Duke Ellington to Van Halen, he reveals:


• How composers produce some of the most pleasurable effects of listening to music by exploiting the way our brains make sense of the world

• Why we are so emotionally attached to the music we listened to as teenagers, whether it was Fleetwood Mac, U2, or Dr. Dre

• That practice, rather than talent, is the driving force behind musical expertise

• How those insidious little jingles (called earworms) get stuck in our head


A Los Angeles Times Book Award finalist, This Is Your Brain on Music will attract readers of Oliver Sacks and David Byrne, as it is an unprecedented, eye-opening investigation into an obsession at the heart of human nature.

Debussy


Claude Debussy (1862-1918) was that rare creature, a composer who reinvented the language of music without alienating the majority of music lovers. The creator of such classics as La Mer and Clair de Lune, of Pelléas et Mélisande and his magnificent, delicate piano works, he is the modernist everybody loves, the man who drove French music into entirely new regions of beauty and excitement at a time when old traditions–and the overbearing influence of Wagner–threatened to stifle it. As a central figure at the birth of modernism, Debussy’s influence on French culture was profound. Yet at the same time his own life was complicated and often troubled by struggles over money, women, and ill-health. Walsh’s engagingly original approach is to enrich a lively account of this life with brilliant analyses of Debussy’s music: from his first daring breaks with the rules as a Conservatoire student to his mature achievements as the greatest French composer of his time. The Washington Post called Stephen Walsh’s Stravinsky “one of the best books ever written about a composer.” Debussy is a worthy successor.

Bach: Music in the Castle of Heaven

John Eliot Gardiner grew up passing one of the only two authentic portraits of Bach every morning and evening on the stairs of his parents’ house, where it hung for safety during World War II. He has been studying and performing Bach ever since, and is now regarded as one of the composer’s greatest living interpreters. The fruits of this lifetime’s immersion are distilled in this remarkable book, grounded in the most recent Bach scholarship but moving far beyond it, and explaining in wonderful detail the ideas on which Bach drew, how he worked, how his music is constructed, how it achieves its effects—and what it can tell us about Bach the man.


Gardiner’s background as a historian has encouraged him to search for ways in which scholarship and performance can cooperate and fruitfully coalesce. This has entailed piecing together the few biographical shards, scrutinizing the music, and watching for those instances when Bach’s personality seems to penetrate the fabric of his notation. Gardiner’s aim is “to give the reader a sense of inhabiting the same experiences and sensations that Bach might have had in the act of music-making. This, I try to show, can help us arrive at a more human likeness discernible in the closely related processes of composing and performing his music.”


It is very rare that such an accomplished performer of music should also be a considerable writer and thinker about it. John Eliot Gardiner takes us as deeply into Bach’s works and mind as perhaps words can. The result is a unique book about one of the greatest of all creative artists. 

A Devil to Play

In the days before his fortieth birthday, London-based journalist Jasper Rees traded his pen for a French horn that had been gathering dust in the attic for more than twenty-two years and, on a lark, played it at the annual festival of the British Horn Society. Despite an embarrassingly poor performance, the experience inspired Rees to embark on a daunting, bizarre, and ultimately winning journey: to return to the festival in one year’s time and play a Mozart concerto—solo—to a large paying audience.

A Devil to Play is the true story of an unlikely midlife crisis spent conquering eighteen feet of wrapped brass tubing widely regarded as the most difficult instrument in the world to master—an endearing, inspiring tale of perseverance and achievement, relayed masterfully, one side-splittingly off-key note at a time.

The Bear Comes Home

The hero of this sensational first novel is an alto-sax virtuoso trying to evolve a personal style out of Coltrane and Rollins. He also happens to be a walking, talking, Blake- and Shakespeare-quoting bear whose musical, spiritual, and romantic adventures add up to perhaps the best novel, ursine or human, ever written about jazz. “Poignant and touching moments combine with hilarious descriptions of the bear’s struggle in a story that anyone — whether familiar with jazz or not — will find compelling and entertaining.”—David Amram, Los Angeles Times Book Review “Zabor’s knack for detail makes the absurd premise believable . . . and neatly turns the weighty subject — the painful and ungainly growth of an artist — into a comic gem.”—The New Yorker  “In fluent, witty prose Zabor conveys with remarkable vividness the texture of group improvisation. . . . It swings.”—A. O. Scott, New York Newsday“Sometimes you get the bear and sometimes the bear gets you. Get the Bear.”—David Nicholson, Washington Post  “Zabor . . . conveys the mingled joy and terror of musical improvisation. He also displays a mean wit.”—New York Times Book Review One of the Los Angeles Times Book Review‘s 100 best books of 1997 Winner of the PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction

Goodbye Paris

Grace once had the beginnings of a promising musical career, but she hasn’t been able to play her cello publicly since a traumatic event at music college years ago. Since then, she’s built a quiet life for herself in her small English village, repairing instruments and nurturing her long- distance affair with David, the man who has helped her rebuild her life even as she puts her dreams of a family on hold until his children are old enough for him to leave his loveless marriage.

But when David saves the life of a woman in the Paris Metro, his resulting fame shines a light onto the real state of the relationship(s) in his life. Shattered, Grace hits rock bottom and abandons everything that has been important to her, including her dream of entering and winning the world’s most important violin-making competition. Her closest friends—a charming elderly violinist with a secret love affair of his own, and her store clerk, a gifted but angst-ridden teenage girl—step in to help, but will their friendship be enough to help her pick up the pieces?

Filled with lovable, quirky characters, this poignant novel explores the realities of relationships and heartbreak and shows that when it comes to love, there’s more than one way to find happiness.

I hope that you have a great day! Please share your favorite music books, music, composers, etc.

NOTE: This post contains affiliate links. 



Related Posts:

  • Friday Favorites from Creme de la Crumb, Cooking on the Ranch, No Biggie and More
    Friday Favorites from Creme de la Crumb, Cooking on the…
  • 15 Great Books to Give for Christmas 2019
    15 Great Books to Give for Christmas 2019
  • Happy Diamond Jubilee Queen Elizabeth!
    Happy Diamond Jubilee Queen Elizabeth!

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: Books, Music

You might also love

  • A flatlay photograph of a book opened to a page that says winter gatherings, with a cup of tea and scattered nuts and pinecones and evergreens.Friday Favorites No. 517 from Creme de la Crumb, Simply Delicious, Easy Cheesy Vegetarian and More
  • Flatlay photo with a book, tea, pine and nuts.Friday Favorites No. 516 from Foodie Crush, Minimalist Baker, Feel Good Foodie, and More
  • 5 Ways to Make Your House Cozy this Winter and more on Weekend Meanderings
  • Friday Favorites Heather Christo, My Connecticut Country Home, Not Without Salt, and More
Silent Sunday 3-24-2019 »
« Life Lately…Spring Cleaning

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Taste of France says

    March 26, 2019 at 9:09 am

    Another one is "Strings Attached" by Joanne Lipman about a music teacher who influenced his students' lives.
    Funny timing…today is piano lesson day.

    Reply
  2. William Kendall says

    March 26, 2019 at 3:55 pm

    Thanks for pointing these out.

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

meet elizabeth

meet elizabeth

Hi, I'm Elizabeth. I'm "mad for plaid", a good book, a cup of hot chocolate and my pups. Join me as I find the beauty in life and elevate the everyday.

  • mail
  • facebook
  • instagram
  • pinterest
  • twitter
  • wikipedia

Subscribe

If you are mad for plaid, love a good book, baking and finding the beauty in life, sign up to receive my latest post in your inbox.

Some posts contain affiliate links at no additional cost to you. As an Amazon associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. Full disclosure here. Thank you for supporting the blog!

Search

ARCHIVES

CATEGORIES

Latest Posts

DIY Dollar tree Valentine’s Day Candy Favors

Cup of tea in heart cup and a cupcake with a red heart laying on the side.

Monday Musings No. 57

He fills my life with good things so that I may stay young and strong like an eagle. Psalm 103:5 on a black feather background.

Silent Sunday No. 507

flatlay with hot chocolate and book

Carrier & Company, Our Food Stories, Valentine’s Day Gifts for Her and More on Weekend Meanderings.

Footer

  • mail
  • facebook
  • instagram
  • pinterest
  • twitter
  • wikipedia
Looking for a Valentine’s Day gift for yourself? Looking for a Valentine’s Day gift for yourself? Here are a few of my favorite things! https://liketk.it/40LwK #valentines #gift #valentinesdaygiftsforher #pineconesandacornsblog
Did you know there are 115 species of pinecones? M Did you know there are 115 species of pinecones? Me neither. This is just one that I noticed on my walk today. #pinecones #pinecone #nature #naturewalk #pineconesandacornsblog
Look up, look around. There is beauty everywhere. Look up, look around. There is beauty everywhere. #winter #wintershadows #longleafpine #pinetrees #nature #pineconesandacornsblog
Self-care is more than a bubble bath(I love those) Self-care is more than a bubble bath(I love those) it’s also little rituals and small things you do for yourself every single day. For me, it’s a cup of steaming hot chocolate. I use real chocolate, not cocoa, a dash of cinnamon and a dash or two of cayenne, whisk until frothy the add a little foam and steamed almond milk. Then I pick my “favorite” mug or cup of the day and I sit with a book or a magazine and enjoy it. 10 minutes all to myself, we all have 5 or 10 minutes in a day to nurture ourselves. What is your favorite form of “ self/care”? #chocolate #chocolatchaud #drinkingchocolate #europeanhotchocolate #hotchocolate #morningrituals #selfcareday #pineconesandacornsblog
What? You didn’t read my moms post this weekend? What? You didn’t read my moms post this weekend? Don’t you know that on Saturday’s she joins @makemineaspritzer and @northerncalstyle to share all of the things that piqued their interest this week? Mom talked about @carrierandcompany @the_foragers_cottage @ourfoodstories  @elizabethfloydart  and lots more. Come on over to the blog and then go check out Kim and Juliet’s posts as well. #daschund #dachshundsofinstagram #pineconesandacornsblog #weekendmeanderings
The cold winter days are perfect for planning a wi The cold winter days are perfect for planning a winter gathering of family and friends. @jamestfarmer has so many wonderful ideas in his most recent book. Have you read Celebrating Home? If not add it to your next book order! #celebratinghome #jamestfarmer #jamestfarmerbooks #home #decor #books ##tea #teatime #flatlay #wintertime #pineconesandacornsblog #pinecones #wintergreens
Happy Friday friends! Did you check out the new Fr Happy Friday friends! Did you check out the new Friday Favorites blog post today? I’m sharing book recommendations, scrumptious recipes, finds and so much more. Come on over and while you are there tell me about the latest boo you’ve read! #flatlay #fridayfavorites #pineconesandacornsblog #jamestfarmer #books #teatimemagazine #teatime #plaid #collectedstyle
Happy Friday friends! Don’t forget to stop by th Happy Friday friends! Don’t forget to stop by the blog to see all of my Friday finds, book suggestions, game day recipes and more! #friday #fridayfavorites #pineconesandacornsblog #flatlay #hygge #hyggehome #chairishseller #tea #teatime
It’s a cosy winter, January day. The sun is shin It’s a cosy winter, January day. The sun is shining and the shadows and patterns are all around. 
On the blog today I’m sharing my Friday Favorites, books to add to your stack, delicious recipes for weeks days and game days. Lots of links and finds too! Come on over and while you are there tell me, have you had any snow yet this winter? So far nothing here, not one snowflake. I’ve got my fingers crossed that we will see something this year. #fridayfavorites #pineconesandacornsblog #flatlay #flatlaystyle #winter #teatime ##rosemaryverey #acountrywomansnotes
It’s soup season friends and I’ve got a delici It’s soup season friends and I’ve got a delicious and easy recipe that you are going to want to try, creamy chicken cauliflower and leek soup! The recipe is on the blog! #chickensoup #creamychickensoup #cauliflower #leeks #pineconesandacornsblog #soup #soupseason #foodie #foodporn #homemadesoup
Follow on Instagram

Copyright © 2023 · Pinecones and Acorns · Blog Design by Little Blue Deer
Privacy Policy
Disclosure: We utilize affiliate widgets including Amazon, Rewardstyle and Shopstyle and may receive a small commission at no additional cost to you.