Books by Charles Rosen

The Joy of Playing, the Joy of Thinking brings together two sensitive minds in an exhilarating conversation on the arts. Charles Rosen, concert pianist and pioneering musicologist, and writer Catherine Temerson range widely-from musical aesthetics to tales of the great composers, the development of modernism, and the need to play.

A guide to the piano sonatas of Beethoven. Charles Rosen places the works in context and provides an understanding of the formal principles involved in interpreting and performing this unique repertoire. He also looks at the sonatas individually. There is a free CD of extracts from the sonatas.

What Rosen's The Classical Style did for music of the Classical period, this highly praised volume does for the Romantic era. An exhilarating exploration of musical language, forms, and styles of the period, it captures the spirit that enlivened a generation of composers and musicians, and so conveys the very sense of Romantic music.

In the book, Rosen concentrates on the three major figures of the time - Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven - because 'it is in terms of their achievements that the musical vernacular can best be defined'. In this expanded edition, Rosen follows the development of each composer's best known genres: for Haydn, the symphony and string quartet;

Originally the content of three lectures, this work offers a bold and inspiring study of music, as text, as performance, and as a listening experience.

In this eloquent, intimate exploration of the delights and demands of the piano, world-renowned concert pianist and music writer Charles Rosen draws on a lifetime's wisdom to consider every aspect of the instrument: from what makes a beautiful sound to suffering from stage fright, from the physical challenges of playing to tales of great musicians, including Vladimir Horowitz's recording tricks, Rachmaninov's hands and why Artur Rubenstein applied hairspray to the keys. Gracefully blending anecdote, history, expertise and memoir, Piano Notes will enchant anyone with a passion for music.