Piano_Lessons_(book)

<i>Piano Lessons</i> (book)

Piano Lessons (book)

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Piano Lessons is a 2009 award-winning non-fiction book by Australian classical pianist Anna Goldsworthy.

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In Piano Lessons, Goldsworthy documents her piano study from a young age under the Russian emigre Eleonora Sivan.

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 U.S. 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."[citation needed]

The book was received positively by Australian critics.[5]

James Kenny, writing in the Australian Literary Review, called Piano Lessons a "wonderful story, elegantly told".[6]

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."[7]

Awards

Piano Lessons was shortlisted for a number of awards, including best non-fiction at the New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards[8][9] and the 2010 Australian Book Industry Awards,[10] and Goldsworthy won Newcomer of the Year at these awards.[11][12][13]

Adaptations

The film rights to the book were sold to director Ana Kokkinos in 2010.[14]


References

  1. Hyles, Claudia (November 2009). "Mestra". Australian Book Review. Retrieved 9 November 2023.
  2. "Piano Lessons (2009), by Anna Goldsworthy". ANZ LitLovers LitBlog. 17 October 2009. Retrieved 9 November 2023.
  3. "Anna Goldsworthy Interview". readings.com.au. Retrieved 14 August 2010.
  4. "Macmillan: Piano Lessons". macmillan.com. Archived from the original on 3 September 2010. Retrieved 14 August 2010.
  5. "Reviews". annagoldsworthy.com. Archived from the original on 24 July 2010. Retrieved 14 August 2010.
  6. Kenny, James (October 2009). "Anna Goldsworthy's Piano Lessons". Australian Literary Review. 82 (3): 81–82.
  7. Case, Jo (6 November 2009). "Piano Lessons". The Age: 49.
  8. "2010 New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards" (PDF). NSW Government. 7 April 2010.
  9. "Book awards: Australian Book Industry Awards". LibraryThing.com. Retrieved 14 November 2023.
  10. "Piano Lessons by Anna Goldsworthy". Black Inc. 6 March 2023. Retrieved 6 November 2023.
  11. Middlemiss, Perry (20 July 2010). "2010 Australian Book Industry Award Winners". Perry Middlemiss's Home Page. Retrieved 14 November 2023.
  12. "Development approvals". Screen Australia. 16 March 2018. Retrieved 14 November 2023.

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