Book cover of In the Key of Genius: The Extraordinary Life of Derek Paravicini

Book description

Derek Paravicini is blind, can't tell his right hand from his left and needs round-the-clock care. But he has an extremely rare gift - he is a musical prodigy with perfect pitch whose piano-playing has thrilled audiences at venues from Ronnie Scott's to Las Vegas, the Barbican to Buckingham Palace.

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Why read it?

1 author picked In the Key of Genius as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

This is a wonderfully inspiring and motivating book, for anyone involved in developing as a musician. It’s the story of Derek Paravicini who was born blind, with severe learning difficulties and autism. At a very young age, his parents found him picking out melodic fragments on an old keyboard; now Derek is a world-famous pianist specialising in Jazz but able to play anything you like. The story is told beautifully by his teacher, Adam Ockelford, who has been his mentor from the very beginning. Again, it highlights the power and importance of music as a means of maintaining humanity. 

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