《肖斯塔科维奇 (Op.34)研究》分为上下两篇。上篇为“绪论”，主要介绍肖斯塔科维奇的生平、代表作品，从前奏曲本体的角度和视野研究前奏曲这一特殊创作体裁的起源、发展历程、特点。下篇为“总论”，主要对肖斯塔科维奇这部前奏曲集中每首乐曲的创作背景、音乐情绪、曲式结构、调性布局、和声发展手法、音乐主题材料发展手法、演奏技法等方面分成二十四个章节进行全面、系统的研究，充分揭示每首前奏曲的思想内容和艺术特色。并对这二十四首分曲进行横向和纵向比较，以期窥探这部伟大、不朽的曲集中每首作品之间在曲式结构、主题动机的发展、技术类型、调性布局等方面的内在联系。

Among the world's instruments, the piano stands out as the most versatile, powerful, and misunderstood -- even by those who have spent much of their lives learning to play. In Piano Notes, a finalist for a 2003 National Book Critics Circle Award, Charles Rosen, one of the world's most talented pianists, distills a lifetime of wisdom and lore into an unforgettable tour of the hidden world of piano playing. You'll read about how a note is produced, why a chord can move us, why the piano -- "hero and villain" of tonality -- has shaped the course of Western music, and why it is growing obsolete. Rosen explains what it means that Beethoven composed in his head whereas Mozart would never dream of doing so, why there are no fortissimos in the works of Ravel, and why a piano player's acrobatics have an important dramatic effect but nothing more. Ending on a contemplative note, Piano Notes offers an elegant argument that piano music "is not just sound or even significant sound" but a mechanical, physical, and fetishistic experience that faces new challenges in an era of recorded music. Rosen ponders whether piano playing will ever again be the same, and his insights astonish.