Piano Player

What’s the life of a concert pianist really like? With wit, gentle humor, and abundant optimism Paul Bisaccia writes about his life making music and the friends he’s made along the way. From growing up in Hartford, Connecticut, to his home on Cape Cod, to travels all over the world, Paul writes about creating art, filming his television shows for PBS, making hundreds of recordings, and his deep love for Gershwin, Chopin and Liszt. The book recounts the start of his unlikely career path, beginning with the disastrous collapse of the Hartford Civic Center roof. Paul also chronicles his search, as a young man, for that all important holy grail – a great piano teacher, whom he found in the guise of a Brazilian genius from Rio – Luiz de Moura Castro. Part memoir and part master class, Piano Player will empower and entertain aspiring musicians, music lovers, or anyone who wants to be more open to the creative process. Based on Bisaccia’s entertaining stories, first published in the Hartford Courant’s Northeast Magazine. Paul Bisaccia made his European debut at age 17 and has performed concerts on four continents. He graduated summa cum laude and first in his class from the Hartt School. His vast repertoire includes the great piano classics and he was the first artist to record the complete solo piano music of Gershwin. His PBS television show "Gershwin by Bisaccia" has been seen by millions and was dubbed into Mandarin Chinese for broadcast in Asia. Michael Feinstein calls "Paul Bisaccia and the Great American Piano", his second television show for PBS, "imaginative, fun, well played and totally satisfying." His third television show, Chopin by Bisaccia has been included in his newest DVD release Bisaccia on Television. The Hartt School honored Paul with the Alumnus of the Year Award and the Governor of Connecticut proclaimed Paul Bisaccia Day in the State of Connecticut. PBS celebrated the day with a rebroadcast of his television shows. Bisaccia was also honored to perform Rhapsody in Blue in inauguration ceremonies for the new theater on the site of Aeolian Hall in New York, where Gershwin himself first performed his legendary masterpiece. A prolific and versatile recording artist, Paul has recorded over 300 individual compositions covering a wide range of composers, including huge segments of the music of Chopin and Liszt.