In this widely acclaimed volume, Domus and Florestan Trio pianist Susan Tomes describes her experiences of twenty years of recording, touring and performing.

Susan Tomes, a rare example of a leading musician who writes about the craft of performance, describes her experience of twenty years of rehearsal, concerts and recording. Her performing life has been centered on chamber music: she was a founder member and the pianist of both Domus and the Florestan Trio, award-winning groups at the top of their field. Part One is a series of diaries describing their travels and performances: Domus in the 1980s with its own portable concert hall, struggling to create the conditions for informal but intense concert performances, and the Florestan Trio, currently one of the world's finest piano trios. Part Two is a collection of thought-provoking essays about making records, rehearsing, audiences, earning a living, and the particular challenges of being a concert pianist. Beyond the Notes gives an unusually candid view of the complexities of a life in music.

“Susan Tomes's book gives you an intensely illuminating picture of the life of a pianist...she is a brilliant writer...Just as she magnetises with her playing, so too with her words.” - Edward Greenfield, Guardian

SUSAN TOMES, alongside her packed concert schedule, is a frequent contributor, on music and other subjects, to the Guardian, Financial Times and other publications.

ISBN 1843831600
23cm x 15cm. 216 pages
8 b&w illustrations
Binding: Paperback.
Publication Date: 21 July 2005.
Price: £14.99 / $27.95