Der russische Maler Wassily Kandinsky (1866-1944) gilt als einer der Ersten; die sich auf das Feld der abstrakten Kunst gewagt haben. Trotz negativer Reaktionen einiger Kollegen bestand er darauf; sein Innenleben mithilfe der Abstraktion darzustellen. Dazu entfernte er sich immer mehr von einer Malerei; die als gegenstauml;ndlich bezeichnet werden kann; was in seinem einzigartigen Gebrauch von Form und Farbe resultierte. Obwohl seine Werke zunauml;chst heftiger Kritik ausgesetzt waren; wuuml;rden sie sich schlieszlig;lich als wegweisend erweisen.
#2777339 in eBooks 2011-12-22 2011-12-22File Name: B00CR6D65G
Review
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Fascinating readBy telsynthMiles Chapin does his best to bridge the divide between novice and knowledgable reader. I found this book fascinating and loved the illustrations. There are fair criticisms: it should have been at least twice the length; with many more illustrations; or even photos. At times; Chapin assumes you know certain tenets of piano construction or acoustics. The part of the book explaining the manufacturing of a piano plate was fascinating; but I had to read it 3 times to understand what he was saying. Chapin shows remarkable knowledge; especially for a non-pianist and a non-technician; but he could be more articulate in explaining in simple concise ways (like Robert Krulwich; who can explain difficult things in the simplest of ways).Chapin starts with an explanation of the family history; and exemplifies how instrumental the Steinway family was in the evolution of the piano. The book then moves into how Steinways are manufactured. Steinway has developed many features unique to their pianos; and its remarkable how quickly they did it (most of it between 1855 and 1885). This book attempts to do what few books do; and with some effort; it could be much better. I hope Chapin will expand this book some day--he has gift that few people could contribute.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Good SellerBy Rebecca L.Perfect condition.54 of 57 people found the following review helpful. Oversized Pamphlet; inadequate detail and diagramsBy Yogi Trout BearThis is fundamentally an oversized pamphlet. It is double-spaced with wide margins and still only has about 130 pages including many illustrations. Steinway has a CD-rom; which one can obtain quite easily; which covers many Steinway construction topics with better illustrations (including video) than this pamphlet. Anyone with any knowledge at all of piano construction (viewers of the Steinway CD- rom video; and a couple of manufacturers brochures) will be disappointed in this book.The book contains no photographs. Hard to believe; eh? The illustrations are excellent; but do not seem to be integrated with the text and very few are diagrammatic showing how things work; just show how they are; if you are lucky.Many topics are described without detailed reference and explanation with an illustration or diagram.E.g.. Pg. 15 clavichord mechanism is described verbally; without diagrams. Pg 64: English style ... "the hammer heads are placed at the far end of the mechanisms and move forward when the keys are struck." I am clueless as to what this would look like. " a glimpse at any contemporary grand piano keyboard will..." How about a picture? Pg 48-49 Re: matched veneers: " a careful look at the case of any natural wood-finished Steinway will show you how good they are." No photographs or illustrations.Pg 52 re Scales. "these characteristic dimensions differentiate pianos from different makers more than any other technical element." Perhaps I do not understand the statement; but a Steinway salesperson will point out three distinct differentiations between Steinway and its competitors; which are technically related in my mind.I was abhorred to look down at the page number; 62; half way through the book; and realized I had only learned a few things of interest and had not learned anything of several topics which I had assumed would be covered. While I did not keep track of the time; I felt I had only been reading a short while.On several occasions the author begins on what appears an interesting topic; but he either aborts early or has no illustrative diagrams and I cannot follow; despite very good grades in science classes from a prestigious private etc.Pg. 56. He starts talking about harmonics; but has no diagrams; and again; if one does not know harmonics will probably just be confused.He talks about sound board gluing; but again no illustrative diagrams or dimensions on final cut. How thick is a soundboard?Bridge: verbally describes making one; but no diagrams or detailed illustrations.I will stop with the last. One thing I would certainly expect from a book on making a piano is a detailed explanation with diagrams of how the action works. Pg. 71 (this paragraph is unbelievable): "A model of a pianos action is a fascinating thing to behold. I used to play with one for hours on end ..." "The answer is that the pianos action has evolved over years of experimentation." Thats it! No explanation of how the mechanism of the action actually works. One very nice still illustration; but no explanation or additional diagrams.If this book does not sell on ; it will not sell anywhere; because I would never have bought this oversized pamphlet at a bookstore.Sorry.