Stuart Isacoff
American pianist, composer, and author known for accessible writings on music and music history, including Temperament, A Natural History of the Piano, and When the World Stopped to Listen.
Books
This list of books are ONLY the books that have been ranked on the lists that are aggregated on this site. This is not a comprehensive list of all books by this author.
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1. Temperament
How Music Became a Battleground for the Great Minds of Western Civilization
A lively history of musical tuning that follows the centuries-long struggle between pure intervals and tempered systems, showing how the debate drew in scientists, philosophers, and composers from the Renaissance through the Enlightenment. It reveals how the shift toward well-tempered and ultimately equal temperament transformed keyboard instruments, enabled wide-ranging modulation, and reshaped Western musical expression, while illuminating the intertwined roles of mathematics, acoustics, and culture.