Chapters XXVIII and XXIX Summary and Analysis

Chapters XXVIII and XXIX describes the trend of modern pianism that began late in the nineteenth and early twentieth century.

Chapter XXVIII Perfection Plus describes modernist pianism that began with Busoni, followed by Sergei Rachmaninoff and Josef Hofmann. The significant difference from romantic pianists was that Hofmann, Rachmaninoff and other modernists were guided by the printed note rather than virtuoso improvisation and embellishment. This historical change clearly defined the composer as more important than the virtuoso. The split was clear between Anton Rubinstein and his greatest pupil Hofmann who replied "no" to his teacher's "permission" to add or change parts to a piece played otherwise just as written. Hofmann's principle was that understanding the composer's meaning depended upon the exact textual reading and scrupulous playing of the piece as written. Hofmann made his American debut...