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Piano Lessons (book)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Piano Lessons is a 2009 award-winning non-fiction book by Australian classical pianist Anna Goldsworthy.
In Piano Lessons, Goldsworthy documents her piano study from a young age under the Russian emigre Eleonora Sivan.
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Synopsis
Goldsworthy was nine years old when she met Eleonora Sivan, a charismatic Russian émigré and world-class pianist who became her piano teacher. Piano Lessons documents what Sivan brought to Goldsworthy's lessons: a love of music, a respect for life, a generous spirit and the courage to embrace a musical life.[1][2][3]
Publication
Originally published in Australia in October 2009 by Black Inc, the US rights were sold to American publisher St. Martin's Press.[4]
Critical reception
The United States Poet Laureate, Philip Levine, said of Piano Lessons, "I have never read a better depiction of a great mentor and of how true learning takes place. Every teacher of anything should read this book. Twice."[5]
The book was received positively by Australian critics.[6]
James Kenny, writing in the Australian Literary Review, called Piano Lessons a "wonderful story, elegantly told".[7]
Jo Case, writing in The Age, said that it was "multi-layered, rich with meditations on identity, creativity, ambition and achievement; deeply felt without a hint of sentimentality. This impressive debut will surely mark Anna Goldsworthy's arrival as an Australian writer to be reckoned with."[8]
Awards
Piano Lessons was shortlisted for a number of awards, including best non-fiction at the New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards[9][10] and the 2010 Australian Book Industry Awards,[11] and Goldsworthy won Newcomer of the Year at these awards.[12][13][14]
Adaptations
The film rights to the book were sold to director Ana Kokkinos in 2010.[15]
References
External links
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