Imagine you are a piano student playing a Haydn sonata for your professor. In the slow movement your teacher conjures up a Classical opera aria as an illustrative example, complete with specific characters, and even ventures to invent an imaginary reconstruction of the opening: "Dio, che guar - da [rest] tut - ti gli~a - man - ti [rest] ..." Chances are that you are among the lucky chosen ones in the class of famous Russian-American pianist Boris Berman.
Your level of playing (and your budget) do not allow you to study with a professor of international stature at Yale University? There is no need for despair. Professor Berman has crystallized his most nourishing ideas in an astonishingly eloquent and lucid manner. "Notes from the Pianist's Bench" is his highly informative, rational book of advice geared to the undergraduate and graduate piano student. Unlike those dry and overblown piano methods of early German theorists (Deppe, Breithaupt, Tetzel, Martienssen) Berman's prose is striking a perfect balance between the philosophical and the practical, between the erudite and the anecdotal, the comprehensive and the concise, imagination and realism, elementary and advanced; and it can definitely be comprehended by the educated layman, last not least thanks to the many highly appropriate musical examples.
Unlike Heinrich Neuhaus, the legendary Russian teacher of Richter and Gilels, who opens his "The Art of Piano Playing" with a deliberation on the artistic image (idea, vision), Berman's musical notes do not drop too far off the pianistic bench in the first part of this book. In fact he starts there where most diligent students hopefully find themselves presently: in the pratice room. But what a practice room this is! While yours (and mine) consists of four naked white walls with a big black piano in it, Professor Berman's practice room is a laboratory of experimentation and consideration. His enormous experience in performance practice, spanning all styles from harpsichord to Cage, allows him to approach a topic from several angles at the same time. Berman is especially afraid of exaggeration and dogmatic advice and believes our faults to be the extension of our virtues: "My biggest hesitation about writing this book has been a fear that my advice will be misinterpreted or carried ad absurdum. Guided by the teacher, a young musician must learn to use common sense, both in making interpretive decisions and in deciding on appropriate physical actions to realize them."
Naturally this approach should be recommended to the modern passive student craving for simplistic recipes and instant solutions. Berman: "Being a good student is not as simple a task as one might think. The objective of one's studies should be to become an artist, not to perpetuate one's status as a student. With some students I have the feeling that they fall in my lap as a piece of clay: 'Here I am, mold me.' In some cases such an attitude is a reflection of the individual's general passivity, and in others it comes from being accustomed to spoon-feeding by their previous teacher."
It is quite obvious that Berman himself is familiar with the specific cultural background of ethnically diverse students. Consider his lesson to a student from Beijing who lacked an understanding of polyphonic texture: "[...] I made the analogy with perspective in painting, but this concept was completely unfamiliar to her, probably because she did not have much experience with Western-style painting. To make my point, I showed her two pictures of birds, one a Chinese drawing and the other a Western landscape. I asked if she could tell me which birds in the first picture were closest to the viewer. That she was unable to do so was not surprising, because perspective was not a component of the artistic system of the picture. The student had no problem in answering the same question in relation to the second picture. Then I tried to explain how the Western artist created the impression of certain objects being farther away than others by making them smaller in size and-very important-more blurred than those in the foreground. In music, I said, we also present the background smaller (that is, softer) and more blurred (that is, less articulated)."
To the advanced reader the unusual degree of common sense in Berman's carefully calibrated advice may sometimes appear "over-informative." Too much neutrality can obscure a powerful vision. There are moments, I feel, where too much common sense can be an obstacle to the creative initiative of a sensitive student. Neuhaus observed that young pianists of genius go through phases of exaggeration because they have to experience the range and the limitations of their power. But these shortcomings are more than made up for by the second part of the book ("Shaping up a Performance"). Some of the real gems of the book are hidden in these chapters, especially Berman's adaptation of Stanislavsky's psycho-technique and "unbroken line" to musical performance.
I strongly recommend this book to the amateur. If you are a professional it is a must read.
In case you haven't read them, I'd like to draw your attention to two other books in this field: Russell Sherman's "Piano Pieces" (aphoristic reflections 'laden with culture and atmosphere') and Seymour Bernstein's more methodical "With Your Own Two Hands" (emphasis on practicing and discipline).

Rolf-Peter Wille

Very often when musicians, especially performers, attempt to write about music they lapse into a pseudo-poetic and philosophical tone that, although seemingly charming to the uninitiated, remains unworthy of the serious scholarly and academic environment to which the musical community, particularly in North America, aspires. To offer one example I shall quote one of Mr. Berman's illustrious predecessors - Heinrich Neuhaus:

"polyphony expresses in musical language the highest union of the personal and the general, of the individual and the masses, of Man and the Universe, and it expresses in sound everything philosophical, ethical and aesthetic that is contained in this union. It fortifies the heart and the mind." - The Art of Piano Playing

This is a lovely sentiment, to be sure, but what does it actually mean? Mr. Berman, to his credit, avoids such purple prose in his book. He provides us with an objective and highly informed guide to dealing with the issues that arise in attempting to teach or play the piano and the wealth of great music written for it, as seen through the eyes of one of his generation's most respected pianists and teachers. Of course my purpose here is not to criticize past books on the subject, or even to compare them in any detail. As Mr. Berman himself illustrated in a memorable seminar at Yale University, changes in pianists' approaches to a given body of music cannot be seen as developmental in a scientific sense. It is not that one generation of pianists has more insight into a given piece than did the preceding generation, but simply that each generation has a slightly different set of musical priorities which govern the kind of information they seek out about a piece and the way in which they choose to apply it. Books like Neuhaus' "The Art of Piano Playing" and the two or three others which, together with Berman's "Notes from the Pianist's Bench", make up the highest achievements in this field of study, serve to represent the musical preoccupations of a particular era, just as the finest pianists of a given era do the same through their performances and recordings. Perhaps in another twenty or thirty years a new generation of pianists will once again need their own book on piano playing and teaching which addresses their unique preoccupations. Until then I am certain that "Notes from the Pianist's Bench" will serve as an invaluable guide to students, teachers and even professional pianists of this era who are interested in better understanding the best examples of performance practice in our time and the timeless art of piano-playing.

Vadim Serebryany, pianist

During the six years that I was very fortunate to have been a student of Mr. Berman's, I found the countless lessons and the experiences of hearing his concerts to be constant sources of ideas and inspiration. Personally, "Notes from the Pianist's Bench" not only crystallized and revived a lot of the ideas for me, it also offered me much needed inspiration since I began working independently. The chapters included in the part titled "In the Practice room" ought to be very helpful for any practicing pianists; Mr. Berman's insight into the piano technique, whether it concerns sound and touch, or articulation and phrasing, is always incisive and realistic. I personally find the advice offered in the second part of the book titled : "Shaping Up a Performance" to be particularly indispensable. Chapters such as "Technique of the Soul" and "The Art of Teaching and the Art of Learning" are genuine, thoughtful gifts from an artist. Mr. Berman has shared with us in his book a refreshing and intriguing landscape of music-making. "Notes from the Pianist's Bench" is recommended without reservation.

I picked it up and started reading it in a cab. 5 minutes later the driver asked me to get out. I was in fits of uncontrolled laughter!

What a tragedy this book is out of print. The publisher should be ashamed of itself. This collection of bizarre and comical letters to actual businesses and organizations and the replies Wade received are priceless. The letters about the mountaineering team endeavouring to climb Singapore's highest peak (150 metres tall) and the delegation of pygmies wishing to save money on a hotel room by fitting four to a bed (width-wise) are hysterical. Please offer us a reprint!

You would not believe how funny this book is. No one would ever buy it based on its title, or due to its unknown author. But goodness gracious, it was absolutely hysterical. The Bob Yeti series alone should win an award! And the one about the Lufthansa flight - I was laughing so hard I coughed up a little bile. The Grampers letter was cute but not original (like the Heimlich squad material). Nevertheless, A+ to Wade!!

This is a book that everyone ages 9-99 will enjoy. Its exploration of what happens when a couple of kids get ahold of a TV that plays tommorow's news is hillarious. Its a book that can be read over and over again and not lose its appeal. This is deffinitely a book that will stay on your shelf for the whole family to read. A winner!

I agree w/ the review below--this book is better than Freaky Friday. I've never forgotten how I wanted my own TV set that broadcast tomorrow's news today. This story has such charm, magic, and realism in it. Every child should read this book.

This is the sequel to "Freaky Friday" and I liked it just as much, if not more. Annabel is one of the best young-adult heroines I've read about--smart, funny and very human. I suggest this book to everyone!

The three volumes of Mouravieff's GNOSIS sort of slipped quietly into English translation starting in the early to mid 1990's and now have seemed to slip out of print. If you can find them they treat of the same ideas you'll encounter in the books of Ouspensky but just with a slight change in nomenclature and a slightly big change in 'angle of approach'. Without going into all that if you use Ouspensky as your source for these ideas then Mouravieff's 3-vol. work can be like a side-dish and provide somewhat exotic insights or just a little 'validation' for your own insights here and there... Mouravieff is definitely off-the-reservation (not in a GOOD way) in some areas in my opinion, but, separating the wheat from the chaff there's alot of wheat in these books, and they're definitely worth the effort of a search...

G.I. Gurdjieff often stated that the basis of his teaching was esoteric Christianity. In GNOSIS, Boris Mouravieff reveals that this Tradition is found in its complete form in Greece and Russia, transmitted by the "Great Esoteric Brotherhood." The author informs us that this ancient Tradition in which is found all of the Fourth Way's ideas, diagrams, cosmologies, and exercises, comes from the heart of Eastern Christianity. Anyone long-studied in these ideas will recognize that this book expresses the very essence of the teaching. Mouravieff, who knew both Gurdjieff and Ouspensky before their appearance in western Europe, presents an astonishing display of brilliant and profound wisdom. There is no denying the authoritative atmosphere which radiates from every page. These volumes will require all who seek awakening to reconsider in a new light the great legacy left us by Gurdjieff.

I know of no equivalent discussion of philosophicaland or metaphysical matters. This first book aloneis worthy of several years of study and practice. This book is like a finger pointing at the moon - I remember trying to show a cat where something was by pointing. The cat just sniffed my finger.

A story that confronts us with most of human vices, and the vicious way we deal with other people and with our own fears. Amazing, as I think all Boris Vian's books are, with that little sparkle of fantasy that take us to a parallel world.

The characters lack human traits like compassion and love, and try to fill this gap in their personality, each in their own curel and detached way. The language by which Boris Vian describes this search is affectionate and intense. His parabels and stile of writing are at the same time stumbleingly awkward and grotesquely funny. No book has ever touched and disgusted me more than this one.

This book has been printed in the English translation (by John Sturrock) as "Heartsnatcher", by Quartet Books.

Boris Vian presents us one of his very best books, which relates a surreal portrait of feelings such as care, love, disappointment and nostalgia.

Yes, it's a love story, but it's also much more. L'ecume des jours stays with you forever. I read it while attending French high-school and still keep a vivid memory of different scenes - such as the walls in the appartment growing and getting more narrow, depending on the general mood and atmosphere, or the pianocktail, a piano that spits out drinks that match the tunes... just one advice: take your time while reading it. Each page is worth exploring.

Boris Vian was born in Ville d'Avery in 1920 and spent much of his brief life haunting the jazz clubs of Paris. As a surrealist, he was closely associated with writers such as Queneau and Bataille, but he also knew Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir. As the translator of Van Vogt, he played a major part in rekindling French interest in science-fiction. He achieved instant notoriety with the publication of "J'Irai Cracher Sur Vos Tombes" in 1947, a book which was confiscated by the police and which formed the basis of the much-maligned film "I Spit on your Graves".

Published in the same year, "L'Ecume des Jours" -- or as published in English, "Froth on the Daydream" -- marked the beginning of a radical departure in Vian's career. Superficially a love story exploring the hopes and foibles of untroubled youth, it manages to combine the fantastic, the grotesque and the poignant in a matchless blend. The result is a book which has survived the test of time so well that it seems even more appropriate now than when it was written.

The opening scene shows Colin in his bathroom, carefully trimming his eyelids with a pair of nail-clippers. He lives in an ideal world where mechanical gadgets perform the mundane tasks and where all the best cooks swear by Freud (Clement rather than Sigmund). This utopian paradise is described with an endearing naivety, rendered all the more charming by the improbable characters who float through it, sometimes literally.

Colin's friends, Chick and Lisa, are disciples of the philosopher Jean Pulse Heartre, whose lectures they attend with passionate zeal. When Colin meets a girl named Chloe and decides to marry her, he is so ecstatic that he gives away a quarter of his fortune to Chick and Lisa so that they may also get married. Chick, however, fritters away the doublezoons on copies of Jean Pulse Heartre's works, including "A Bouquet of Belches" bound in coarse-grained morocco and "Choice Before Eructation" printed on an unperforated toilet-roll.

After Colin and Chloe's wedding, the dream begins to turn sour. Colin's favourite cook, Nicolas, grows surly and indolent. Chloe falls ill on her honeymoon and discovers a mutant water-lily expanding in her right lung. Chick spends the remainder of Colin's money on a pair of Jean Pulse Heartre's trousers and a pipe bearing the marks of his teeth. In anger and frustration, Colin slices off the head of an ice-rink attendant and kicks it into a ventilation shaft, suffocating most of the other skaters. The colours of the city start to fade and the landscapes become monotonous and bleak.

When Chloe's illness becomes more serious, Colin is finally forced to seek employment to pay her medical bills. He finds a job in an armaments factory, growing rifle-barrels out of his vital organs while being buried in a mound of soft earth. Unfortunately, he is ill-qualified for the task and can only produce blunderbusses. As Colin and Chick sink deeper into poverty, Lisa runs amok with a heart-snatcher and kills the bookseller who provides Chick with Heartre's books and even the great philosopher himself (his heart is shaped like a tetrahedron). Chick dies at the hands of the police and Chloe ends up in a pauper's grave.

Throughout "Froth on the Daydream", Vian maintains an air of ingenuous implausibility, but the whimsy conceals a darker vein that leaves a slightly bitter aftertaste. His particular skill lies in rendering the totally absurd not merely acceptable but also somehow logical. This novel remains the best possible introduction to literary surrealism as well as one of the very best examples of the art.

One of the best book I ever read. So deeply moving. So deeply romantic. A passion. Two people. One love. One life. The first time I read it I just fell in love with it. The way it's writen is absolutely brilliant. Boris Vian wrote as usual: funny words, funny sentences about such true and real subjects! Love Work War Death

One of the most heart-breaking love story ever...

When I was on my graduate study of mathematics this book was very important when I was learning for the exams in mathematical analysis. The book contains thousands of problems in all fealds of elementary mathematical analysis, and I solve all of them.

The only drawback of the book is that the problems in it are rather simple and easy to solve. So, I had to use some other problem books with harder problems. But, if you are not on the study of math, but engeneering study, this will be surely very usefull book to you.

This book used to be referred to as the one by "Demoniovich" and not casually, when I was in college taking Calculus, some 15 years ago. It's plain and simply a classic to master Calculus. Not an introductory book by any means, but definitely a book to go into once you've had your first take on other more basic books. If you can work out the problems in this book, any Calculus test you encounter will feel like a breeze: I am serious about this.

If you want to learn analysis with this book, forget it, but if you have a good text book, this is one of the best tools you'll need to master problem solving in calculus. Well explained and well organized problem solving tips and technics, step by step from the very beginning until more advanced topics, together with a large numbers of exercises, everyone with the proper result in the end of the book, make it a must have in the library of anyone who seriously needs calculus problem solving skills.

Because Mr. Kohl will blow you away!!!! This is a fine book. The research is impeccable. The photos are sublime. Kudos to the author!!! I saw Mr. Kohl give the commencement address at the University of Chicago and the crowd was mesmerized. Most likely, because he hadn't been invited by the school to give it.

Leonard Kohl's first book is a fine effort, a splendid purchase for any fan of the big three horror icons who made serials. It is loaded with interesting facts. Where else could you discover that silent comedy star Harry Langdon almost co-starred with Lugosi in THE WHISPERING SHADOW. The book is chock full of rare photos, and they are a genuine treat. Fans of Charle Chan would be happy to find rare photos of Warner Oland from silent serials. This volume is a recommended purchase. As an author myself, I can see the hard work and dedication that went ito this volume.

Kudos to Kohl, who has done a fine job in presenting an informative, and always fair-handed, look at a fascinating period in movie-making. This is clearly the product of pains-taking research, resulting in a heaping-helping of historical data, elucidating testimonials, with a rich array of pictures to boot. No true fan of "the screamsome threesome"--Karloff, Lugosi, and Chaney--and the too-often overlooked serials gentre, should miss this.

The final story in the ATLAN SAGA has many differences from the rset - Cija's daughter, not Cija, narrates it. This time around we have a five-year-old narrator, who manages to be more cynical and insightful than her rather innocent mother, and this offers a whole new angle on the Atlan Saga. The old characters return but they learn their lessons, some in rather memorable ways. The destruction of Atlan is moving and beautiful as is Cija's "rebirth". However, while the first three books in the series were pretty shocking, this one breaks the mold. There are some rather unsavoury moments. While the characters are excellent, there are some flaws- no mention is made of Cija's foster family, by all logic, Judz the Atlantean should have died with his country and again Cija forgets friends from previous installments somewhat, including the father of her third child. But all in all, this book puts a fresh twist on an artistically brilliant series. You are not a serious collector of fantasy titles if you don't have these books!

In this, the last of the books of the Atlan Saga, the reader gains a clearer perspective on Cija's wild adventures. Through the eyes of Cija's mute daughter Seka, we follow Cija through yet more and wilder blunders and triumphs. Brilliant and clearsighted Seka's tale is poignant and believable, and always gripping. Loaded with the same shocking detail as all the books in the Saga, this one manages somehow to be even better.

An interval of roughly 10 years between "the City" and this book - with a real cliffhanger ending to "the City" - presents a challenge to the author and the reader. I'm a real Cija fan from way back and "SSL" doesn't disappoint. Plenty of action, adventure - and sex. As told through the eyes of Cija's mute and most-observant daughter Seka. The Atlan Saga stands alone in fantasy. No other heroine fascinates like Cija, and Gaskell's style is peerless.