On "Grand Obsession" and Inspiration

   I love books and music, and can't really tell which of them I love with a fiercer passion. It is a joy for me to read books on Music. In fact, one of the things that got me "hooked" to singing was reading this novel back in high school... Anne Rice's rather controversial "Cry To Heaven." 

   Perri Knize's "Grand Obsession" was a lucky find. I was just browsing in Fully Booked when I chanced upon it, the last copy on the shelf. I'm so glad I followed my impulse to buy it (despite its rather considerable price), it was worth every centavo! The book has been described as a tribute to the piano, but I say it is so much more. It is a tribute to Music-making, to Art, to the pursuit of one's passions regardless of one's age.

   Let me share some quotable quotes from the book:

   "The only difference between a virtuoso and the rest of us are vast and innumerable hours and years of practice, more practice than most of us will ever devote ourselves to, if we wish to have a life besides. It's not enough to love the music. You have to learn to love the process. It's hard work, even for the gifted."

   "Music teaches spirituality by showing a person a portion of himself that he would not discover otherwise. It's hard to avoid yourself in the process of learning how to play the piano. You find out about your expectations, your patience, your optimism or lack of it. It's character-building."

   "...When one is able to realize with clarity the breathtaking achievements of some great master, to the point that one is almost not conscious of playing as being played by transcendent forces/beings, one is not trying for some ideal, one has achieved a state of being that exists in few other human experiences... that to me seems the point behind all this fuss about pianos: the MUSIC they make and we, with our own two hands, can become at least for a few moments, immortal. For you see, all the shouting over political/religious issues will never accomplish what a single, simple piece of exquisite piano music will accomplish. Music can melt the coldest heart, can cause grown men to cry openly, can move women to fainting, can stop wars! It can, it still can."

   The book offers practical knowledge, too! I now know the ideal temperature for pianos (68 degrees fahrenheit) and their ideal humidity (42 percent), as well as how to go about shopping for my dream piano.

   (Incidentally, it's an American myth that the Steinway grand is the best piano around. The word is out! It's GROTRIAN!!!)

   Reading this book has affected me drastically... no, not to the point that I would seriously consider taking up piano as a second degree (though my piano teacher has brought up the option), but it has definitely inspired me to seriously practice my piano playing skills, even if I have to sleep a bit later at night to do so. :) 

   I would greatly appreciate recommendations of some nice intermediate piano pieces (around the same level of difficulty as Chopin's Nocturne in C# minor, posthumous)! :)

   Who says 22 is too old to start taking piano seriously? :) Ignaz Paderewski was my age when he started out... Harold Bauer was 20. Sviatoslav Richter was 27. I'd say I'm in good company. :)