"In essays rich with anecdote, Mark Mitchell explores the many domains of the virtuoso, taking on such subjects as music competitions, the phenomenon of the child prodigy, the virtuoso in literature and film, encores, seating habits, and the erotics of musical performance.

The characters who populate his evocative narrative include not only such famous virtuosi as Franz Liszt, Martha Argerich, and Vladimir Horowitz but also Ervin Nyiregyhazi ("the skid row pianist"), the eccentric Vladimir de Pachmann, and Liberace."--BOOK JACKET.