Piano Lessons by Anna Goldsworthy

Piano Lessons by Anna Goldsworthy

In this remarkable memoir, Anna Goldsworthy recalls her first steps towards a life in music, from childhood piano lessons with a local jazz muso to international success as a concert pianist. As she discovers passion and ambition, and confronts doubt and disappointment, she learns about much more than tone and technique. This is a story of the getting of wisdom, tender and bittersweet.

With wit and affection, Goldsworthy captures the hopes and uncertainties of youth, the fear and exhilaration of performing, and the complex bonds between teacher and student. An unforgettable cast of characters joins her: her family; her friends and rivals; and her teacher, Mrs. Sivan, who inspires and challenges her in equal measure, and who transforms what seems an impossible dream into something real and sustaining.

Piano Lessons, Welcome to Your New Life, and the Quarterly Essay Unfinished Business: Sex, Freedom, and Misogyny are among Anna Goldsworthy's works. The Monthly, the Age, the Australian, the Adelaide Review, and The Best Australian Essays have all published her work. She is also a concert pianist who has released numerous albums.