by Noah Adams. NPR correspondent Adam's
monthly commentary on his buying a piano
and learning to play at age 52.
The Late Starters Orchestra by Ari L. Goldman.
If you think you can play,you can is the motto of this orchestra of latecomers, newcomers, and returnees to music, young and old. Former New York Times reporter Goldman returns to his cello after twenty-five years to play in the LSO.
Impossible by Alan Rusbridger. Rusbridger, amateur pianist and editor of
London's Guardian newspaper, chronicles his attempt to master Chopin's Ballade No. 1 in G minor, one of the hardest pieces in the piano repertory. In diary form with a separate section that includes the piano score and commentary, Rusbridger chronicles his progress against the backdrop of his very dramatic year at the Guardian, the year of WikiLeaks, phone hacking, and more.
Imperfect Harmony: Finding Happiness Singing with Others by Stacy Horn. As a 30-year member of the Choral Society of Grace Church in New York, Horn relates its importance to her as well as giving history and background to great choral pieces, conductors, and composers. She also looks into the history of choral singing and the science and health benefits of singing.
A Devil to Play: One Man's Year-Long Quest to Master the Orchestra's Most Difficult Instrument by Jasper Rees. British journalist Rees played the french horn from age 10 through 17, and then put it away to go to school. As his 40th birthday approaches, he picks it up again to play the Hallelujah Chorus as one of the annual British Horn Society's 70-horn choir. That experience rekindles his desire to play again as an accomplished amateur, and he sets a goal for himself to return to the festival one year later to play a Mozart concerto, solo, and to a large paying audience. The book tells of his preparation for and realization of his goal as well as colorful history and stories of the horn and its players.
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