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Praise for "When the World Stopped to Listen"

"A great book about a great American musician who, in the tensions of Cold War, helped move our world from war to peace."
— Sergei Khrushchev


"Exciting, thorough, and deeply moving... a most satisfying experience."
— Emanuel Ax


"...Marvelously researched and written. I couldn't put the book down."
— Yefim Bronfman


"Beautifully written, this is an insider's report of the onstage and offstage drama around the 1958 triumph of Van Cliburn and the incredible musical events that led to a Cold War 'thaw'..."
— André Watts


"A spellbinding, even a startling, adventure story, starring the legendary American pianist: a life of triumph and tragedy."
— David Dubal


"[Cliburn's] triumph and subsequent career can be understood only in the context of Cold War political, social, and musical tensions, a heady mix that Stuart Isacoff examines with unusual skill."
— Garrick Ohlsson

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Cremona

NEWS 2017

Stuart Isacoff Awarded 2017 Communication Prize from the Artistic Committee of Cremona Musica

The Artistic Committee of Cremona Musica, the Italian music fair that takes place September 29 through October 1, 2017, has awarded Stuart Isacoff their 2017 prize for "Communication," based on his three books ("Temperament," "A Natural History of the Piano," and "When the World Stopped to Listen"). Previous recipients have been documentary filmmaker Bruno Monsaingeon, and New York Times critic Corinna da Fonseca Wolheim.

Reports Stuart Isacoff, "Cremona is a happy place for me. Last time I was there, two years ago, the piano prize was being given to Alfred Brendel, and when I greeted him, he thanked me for 'A Natural History of the Piano,' and invited me to join him for lunch. That was a thrill that has now unexpectedly been topped!"

 

© Stuart Isacoff