| The Ivory Trade: Music and the Business of Music at the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition | Hardcoverby Joseph Horowitz (Author)
| List Price: | $21.95 | |
| | Binding: | Hardcover | | Publisher: | Summit Books | | Edition: | First Editionth Edition | | Page Count: | 289 Pages | | Publication Date: | September 01, 1990 | | Sales Rank: | 1,452,630st |
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CUSTOMER REVIEWS (Average Customer Rating: 5.0 based on 1 review)
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The Inner Workings of the Van Cliburn Competition by Anthony J. Lomenzo (Fort Ann, New York)  5 Stars
April 03, 2007
An excellent read as well as a Van Cliburn competition retrospective with focus on the 1989 competition [note the book copyright of 1990, hence the 8th was the 'latest' competition]. This is an excellent souce book on the Van Cliburn competition and while I myself enjoy playing classical piano although hardly on the Van Cliburn competition level nor even the latest Van Cliburn 'Outstanding Amateurs' [tm] competitions [these 'amateurs' are truly outstanding!] , like many classical piano enthusiasts, I'm drawn to the competitions and, of course, the mixed bag competitors themselves.
This book by Mr. Joseph Horowitz is an on the spot 'I was there in 1989' kind of narrative with ample doses of reality ... versus hype. Or any sugar coating for that matter! Mr. Horowitz rarely backs away from speaking his mind and so the 'down-side' of classical piano competitions and its criticisms in general receives his reflections and general ponderings.
I would also highly recommend to the reader the 8th Van Cliburn competition DVD which is the perfect adjunct to the book and its focus on the 8th and its personalities. As is known, the winner of the 8th Van Cliburn piano competition in 1989, Alexei Sultanov, was only 19 when he won the competition to the rather puzzling chagrin of Gyorgy Sandor who considered Sultanov's win as a "tremendous scandal" [sic], the why of which totally escapes me as I felt Sultanov well "earned" his win with his age being secondary to his outstanding multiple performances in all phases of the competition yet there is Mr. Sandor looking like he was literally biting on lemons when the name 'Alexei Sultanov' was announced as the gold medal winner. Unfortunately, a brilliant career was cut short by the tragic death of Alexei Sultanov at age 35 [in 2005 and the same year of Mr. Sandor's passing who was in his 90's]. Between the book and the separately available competition DVD, the inner workings of the Van Cliburn piano competition and its 'players', behind the keys or behind the scenes, as it were, becomes most revealing. In print media via Mr. Joseph Horowitz and his nitty-gritty perceptions and in the filmed DVD rendition via Peter Rosen Productions.
In passing, if classical piano and hence classical piano international competitions are your thing, you may also like the book by Wendy Thompson with Dame Fanny Waterman about the UK's answer to the USA Van Cliburn, the equally highly respected Leeds international piano competition. That book is also available at Amazon or various Amazon vendors entitled "Piano Competition: The Story of the Leeds."
Doc Tony
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