A Coveted Possession

The Rise and Fall of the Piano in Australia

Nonfiction, Entertainment, Music, Instruments & Instruction, Piano & Keyboard, Theory & Criticism, History & Criticism, General Instruments
Cover of the book A Coveted Possession by Michael Atherton, Schwartz Publishing Pty. Ltd
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Author: Michael Atherton ISBN: 9781743820520
Publisher: Schwartz Publishing Pty. Ltd Publication: July 2, 2018
Imprint: La Trobe University Press Language: English
Author: Michael Atherton
ISBN: 9781743820520
Publisher: Schwartz Publishing Pty. Ltd
Publication: July 2, 2018
Imprint: La Trobe University Press
Language: English

The intriguing cultural history of the piano in Australia

From the instruments that floated ashore at Sydney Cove in the late eighteenth century to the resurrection of derelict heirlooms in the streets of twenty-first-century Melbourne, A Coveted Possession tells the curious story of Australia’s intimate and intrepid relationship with the piano. It charts the piano’s fascinating adventures across Australia – on the goldfields, at the frontlines of war, in the manufacturing hubs of the Federation era, and in the hands of the makers, entrepreneurs, teachers and virtuosos of the twentieth history – to illuminate the many worlds in which the ivories were tinkled.

Before electricity brought us the gramophone, the radio and eventually the TV, the piano was central to family and community life. With its iron frame, polished surfaces and ivory keys, an upright piano in the home was a modern industrial machine, a musical instrument and a treasured member of the household, conveying powerful messages about class, education, leisure, national identity and intergenerational history.

‘Michael Atherton cleverly weaves visual, sensual and sonic elements into the piano’s sociocultural history, adding a rich layer to our knowledge of the piano in Australia.’ —Professor Julia Horne, historian

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

The intriguing cultural history of the piano in Australia

From the instruments that floated ashore at Sydney Cove in the late eighteenth century to the resurrection of derelict heirlooms in the streets of twenty-first-century Melbourne, A Coveted Possession tells the curious story of Australia’s intimate and intrepid relationship with the piano. It charts the piano’s fascinating adventures across Australia – on the goldfields, at the frontlines of war, in the manufacturing hubs of the Federation era, and in the hands of the makers, entrepreneurs, teachers and virtuosos of the twentieth history – to illuminate the many worlds in which the ivories were tinkled.

Before electricity brought us the gramophone, the radio and eventually the TV, the piano was central to family and community life. With its iron frame, polished surfaces and ivory keys, an upright piano in the home was a modern industrial machine, a musical instrument and a treasured member of the household, conveying powerful messages about class, education, leisure, national identity and intergenerational history.

‘Michael Atherton cleverly weaves visual, sensual and sonic elements into the piano’s sociocultural history, adding a rich layer to our knowledge of the piano in Australia.’ —Professor Julia Horne, historian

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