Born in Poland in 1830, Theodor Leschetizky was a pianist, teacher, and composer. Although he toured widely as both a player and conductor, and composed two operas and a number of piano pieces, it was as a teacher that he achieved his greatest renown. A pupil himself of the great Carl Czerny, Leschetizky went on to instruct an entire generation of world-class pianists, including Paderewski, Schnabel, Moiseiwitsch, Brailowsky, and many others.
In this legendary, hard-to-find book, his pupil and assistant Malwine Brée recorded the principles and techniques of the "Leschetizky Method" of piano instruction. Approved by Leschetizky himself, the clear, easy-to-follow text, profusely illustrated with music examples and photographs of hand positions (Leschetizky's own hands), covers every aspect of piano technique: finger exercises, scales, octaves, chords, arpeggios, the glissando, embellishments, dynamics, the pedal, and many other topics. Also included here is a fascinating article, "Practical Hints on Piano Study" by Ignace J. Paderewski, along with other articles on hand and finger exercises, other piano methods, and more. Any student and teacher of piano will want to have this classic instruction manual, difficult to locate in the past, but now available in this attractive, inexpensive edition.