One never knows whether to fear or look forward to ‘customer reviews’ on Amazon. Ever since a couple of high-profile rows involving well-known authors hiding behind false names in order to rubbish their rivals’ work on Amazon, we’ve all been alerted to the possibility that customer reviews may not be what they seem. At the opposite end of the spectrum, of course, are those anticlimactic ‘reviews’ which simply report that the book arrived promptly and in good condition, or merely that it was ‘as expected’. Either way, an Amazon customer review is not always a moment of joy.

Except when it’s like this, of course: the first customer review of my book Speaking the Piano!

‘There are many books on various aspects of piano playing and a vast number on piano teaching but this book makes a unique contribution. The author’s vast experience as a performer at the highest level and as a teacher, including of adult amateur pianists as well as young professional players, is evident throughout. The writing is highly original and displays a degree of psychological insight that would be the envy of Freud. The author is known primarily as a classical pianist and especially as a chamber music player but the book reveals that she could perfectly well have had a career as a jazz pianist and her candid account of her experiences in that field is remarkable. In her discussions about the process of learning, it is very refreshing that the author does not focus on mere method but proposes an approach to music-making and personal development which is sensitive to the needs of the aspiring musician as a whole person. Stunningly good and highly recommended.’

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Speaking-Piano-Reflections-Learning-Teaching/dp/1783273259