The Thing I've Played with the Most: Professor Anthon E. Darling Discusses His Favourite Instrument

by David E. Walden

David Walden has done it again! Following his hilarious analysis of concert-going, How to Stay Awake During Anybody's Second Movement , and his daring foray of fun into serious music of the 20th century, How to Listen to Modern Music Without Earplugs , comes a loving, laugh-filled paean of praise for his favorite instrument -- the piano. Walden had the privilege to study with a great-great-grand student of Beethoven himself, and like Chinese cooking, lineage counts. As Professor Anthon E. Darling, B.S., Walden delivers up a hilarious feast of colorful (and some off-colorful) anecdotes of the musical/cultural life of Chezlee, Ontario, and its agrarian environs, and yet there are pedagogical pearls hidden in the hilarity that millions would pay millions for. This book is filled with side-splitting laughs, wry twists of humor, the local whiff of a small town's cultural milieu and information about the piano, pianists, and pretty well anything to do with the 88 keys, both historically and hysterically.

176 pages, Paperback

First published October 7, 2000

Reviews

[Ted · Rating 2 out of 5]

The book is classified as both humor and music. I didn’t find any of the humor humorous. I’m willing to admit that may be more my fault than the author’s. Nevertheless, I was not amused. On the other hand, I found quite a bit of the music part interesting. But there are undoubtedly better sources.