"A literary work of real elan, vibrancy, and grace." - Cynthia Ozick "Vigorous, opinionated, and always entertaining ... a personal essayist of great charm and sincerity." - Edmund White "Other subjects that Mr. Mitchell explores include the traditional linking of musical and sexual virtuosity, the ethical implications of the 'original instruments' movement, the near deification of Mozart in Anglo-Saxon culture, and, in a particularly witty section, the relationship of the virtuoso to his stool. Throughout, Mr. Mitchell's prose is humorous, intimate, and unapologeticaly polemical." - Cynthia Ozick "This excitingly partisan book takes up such subjects as child prodigies, the homosexual aesthetic, the pre-eminence of Schumann, the continuing development of the piano as mechanism, the significance of player piano rolls, and the presentation of virtuoso music in film and literature. Mitchell's erudition - his collection of odd and illuminating bits of knowledge - is always a delight and adds a sauce piquante to the whole dish!" - Edmund White
