BRATTLEBORO — Robert Merfeld will share a lifetime of insights into the world of music making and teaching on Friday, Sept. 1, at 6 p.m., at Everyone's Books on Elliot Street.
Merfield has toured the world as a concert pianist and has taught for many years at Harvard, Boston University, and the Longy School of Music. Reflections on his career and his passion for music are revealed in his newly released book, Is it so if you think it's so? Thoughts on Teaching and Performing Chamber Music. An Anti-Manual.
Merfeld is known internationally for his years of presenting unique interpretations of countless works for solo piano as well as chamber music. He will read from his book and offer a glimpse into the world of creating chamber music at the Sept. 1 event. Signed copies will be available for sale.
A number of world-class musicians have praised Merfeld's book for its passion and innovation.
Richard Goode, a longtime participant and director of the Marlboro Music Festival and a world-renowned concert pianist, described the book as “a refreshing, wide-ranging and imaginative book. Robbie Merfeld teaches chamber music as a humane art, one of personal interaction as well as musical discovery. I was delighted by the inventive and always pertinent analogies of nature, sports, and Hitchcock movies, among other things, and equally impressed by the soundness and subtlety of the musical thinking. This book is for all musicians, teachers, and music lovers to learn from and enjoy.”
Arnold Steinhardt, former first violinist of the Guarneri Quartet, enjoyed Merfeld's perspective on chamber music because, as he said, the book is “peppered with gems of thoughtfulness, originality, and wisdom.”