From Mozart’s fabulous legato that “flowed like oil” to Beethoven’s oceanlike surge, from Clara Schumann’s touch “sharp as a pencil sketch” to Rubinstein’s volcanic and sensual playing, The Great Pianists brings to life the brilliant, stylish, and sometimes eccentric personalities, methods, and technical peculiarities of history’s greatest pianists. Pulitzer Prize–winning critic and author Harold C. Schonberg presents vivid accounts of the artists’ performances, styles, and even their personal lives and quirky characteristics— such as Mozart’s intense competition with Clementi, Lizst’s magnetic effect on women (when he played, ladies flung their jewels on stage), and Gottschalk’s persistent nailbiting, which left the keys covered with blood. Including profiles of Horowitz and Van Cliburn, among others, and chapters detailing the playing and careers of such modern pianists as de Larrocha, Ashkenazy, Gilels, Gould, Brendel, Bolet, Gutierrez, and Watts, The Great Pianists is a comprehensive and fascinating look at legendary performers past and present.

《伟大指挥家(修订版):＜纽约时报＞音乐评论》大致是一种风格研究，试图呈现伟大指挥家们的音乐态度及技巧的不断演变。
勋伯格是是《纽约时报》的乐评家，本书是他的系列音乐史之一，与他的另外两部著作《伟大作曲家的生活》、《伟大钢琴家》一样，深受古典音乐爱好者推崇。在本书中，作者详尽考察了世界伟大指挥家的生平、个性和事业，带领读者观察每一位指挥，聆听他的诠释，并理解这诠释何以完成，为我们描绘了一幅精彩绝伦的指挥家群像，弗里茨？莱纳、阿图罗？托斯卡尼尼、布鲁诺？瓦尔特、理查？施特劳斯……在这幅绵延的画面中活动起来。作者对音乐优雅的感觉和热爱亦闪现其中。如果你想了解指挥家从十八世纪以来在古典音乐发展中所扮演的角色，就该从本书开始。