University North Texas Press


The Essays of Silvio Scionti on Artistic
Piano Playing and Other Topics
Compiled and edited by Jack Guerry

Silvio Scionti (1882–1973), the distinguished Italian-American pianist and teacher, was a prolific writer. This book, about artistry in piano playing, contains heretofore unpublished essays that Scionti wrote over a period of many years. The topics range from "Basic Points in Fine Piano Playing" and "The Art of Pedaling" (both richly illustrated with musical examples) to "Memorizing Piano Music," "Silence—Its Use and Misuse," and "The Metronome—Its Beneficial or Harmful Side."

Silvio Scionti, after establishing himself as a much admired pianist and teacher at The American Conservatory and The Chicago Musical College, moved with his wife Isabel to New York City. The duo performed in all the major music centers in Europe, Mexico, and the United States before World War II interrupted that career. Scionti became Artist in Residence at what was then the North Texas State Teacher's College in 1942. As master teacher, clinician, conductor, arranger of works for two pianos, editor of many works for solo piano, and writer of essays on various aspects of piano playing, he attracted some of the most gifted pianists from all over the country, thereby greatly enhancing the reputation and growth of the School of Music. Throughout Scionti's tenure at North Texas, his students won national and international piano competitions, ranking alongside students at music schools such as Juilliard, Eastman, and Curtis.

JACK GUERRY, Alumni Professor Emeritus of Music at Louisiana State University, is a former Scionti student. He wrote Silvio Scionti: Remembering a Master Pianist and Teacher, and also produced a compact disc, "The Piano Artistry of Silvio and Isabel Scionti." He lives in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

The Essays of Silvio Scionti on Artistic: Piano Playing and Other Topics
ISBN 1-57441-041-5 paper $19.95s

8 1/2x11. 140 pp.
Performing Arts–Music.

Publication Date: May 1998.

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