

The Chopin Playoffs
Israel Horovitz
What readers are saying
Readers appreciate the inspiring journey presented in the book, detailing the author's experience of learning a challenging piano piece while managing a demanding job. Many find the blend of personal narrative and classical music exploration both engaging and motivational, encouraging them to embrace their musical endeavors. The writing style and depth of insight into the world of amateur pianism receive particular praise.
In 2010, Alan Rusbridger, the editor of the Guardian
, set himself an almost impossible task: to learn, in the space of a year, Chopin’s Ballade No. 1 – a piece that inspires dread in many professional pianists.
His timing could have been better.
The next twelve months were to witness the Arab Spring, the Japanese tsunami, the English riots, and the Guardian
’s breaking of both WikiLeaks and the News of the World hacking scandal.
In the midst of this he carved out twenty minutes’ practice a day – even if that meant practising in a Libyan hotel in the middle of a revolution as well as gaining insights and advice from an array of legendary pianists, theorists, historians and neuroscientists, and even occasionally from secretaries of state.
But was he able to play the piece in time?
Play It Again is a American comedy play written by Woody Allen and published by Samuel French (2014).
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