本书不仅讲述了弗兰茨的故事，它还告诉人们什么是声名卓著以及钢琴大师们是如何在公众面前弹奏钢琴的，等等。 本书大部分内容都取自弗兰茨在日常谈话中讲述的故事，每一个故事又能使他产生联想，所以这些故事并未按发生的年代编排。由于弗拉基米尔·霍洛维茨的猝然辞世在弗兰茨内心和感情上引起的撞击，故事便从丰富多彩的霍洛维茨开始。在书中，弗兰茨还将告诉你其他一些钢琴家在后台的故事，并把你带入他自己的童年世界和战时的经历。

从莫扎特“像油在流”的神奇连音，到贝多芬海洋般汹涌澎湃；从克拉拉•舒曼“铅笔素描般清晰”的触键，到鲁宾斯坦火山般浓艳的演奏——《不朽的钢琴家》一书栩栩如生地刻画了有史以来最伟大的钢琴家群像。荣获普利茨奖的评论家兼作家哈罗德•勋伯格生动地介绍了每一位艺术家的表演风格，甚至他们令人捉摸不透的癖好。作者搜遍每一片材料，将其一一罗列，并加以分析阐释。勋伯格充满智慧、幽默风趣的文风令本书超越了音乐的范畴，即使是对音乐一窍不通的人也会忍不住一看到底。

这是唯一的简体版本的古尔德传记，基本上应该算一本编辑之作。

Zhu Xiao-Mei was born to middle-class parents in post-war China, and her musical proficiency became clear at an early age. Taught to play the piano by her mother, she developed quickly into a prodigy, immersing herself in the work of classical masters like Bach and Brahms. She was just ten years old when she began a rigorous course of study at the Beijing Conservatory, laying the groundwork for what was sure to be an extraordinary career. But in 1966, when Xiao-Mei was seventeen, the Cultural Revolution began, and life as she knew it changed forever. One by one, her family members were scattered, sentenced to prison or labor camps. By 1969, the art schools had closed, and Xiao-Mei was on her way to a work camp in Mongolia, where she would spend the next five years. Life in the camp was nearly unbearable, thanks to horrific living conditions and intensive brainwashing campaigns. Yet through it all Xiao-Mei clung to her passion for music and her sense of humor. And when the Revolution ended, it was the piano that helped her to heal. Heartbreaking and heartwarming, The Secret Piano is the incredible true story of one woman’s survival in the face of unbelievable odds—and in pursuit of a powerful dream.

《游艺黑白:世界钢琴家访谈录(套装上下册)》是由生活·读书·新知三联书店出版的。