Where to Place the Grace Note?: Conversations on Classical Piano Music with Yu Chun Yee

Where to Place the Grace Note? offers a glimpse into the world of classical piano music through a series of conversations between Lin Li, an amateur pianist and English Literature scholar, and her piano teacher Yu Chun Yee, who was Professor of Piano at the Royal College of Music for thirty years. Starting from the seemingly straightforward question in the book's title, their conversations meander through a series of general issues pertaining to phrasing, musical interpretation, teaching, technique, injury and performance anxiety. Supplemented with numerous musical examples, snippets from historical sources, and anecdotes that span Yu's teaching and performing career from the 1950s to the present, this book will delight both general music lovers and music professionals.

Readership: This book is primarily aimed at the general classical music enthusiast, but will equally delight music students, teachers and professionals given the depth of the material (in certain chapters) and the renown of Yu.

Lin Li graduated with a PhD in English from Queens' College, Cambridge, in 2017 and is currently Partner of Oxmedica Global Education, a London-based education firm that curates and delivers specialized academic programs to students globally. As a recipient of the Tan Ean Kiam Postgraduate Scholarship and an alumnus of the National University of Singapore, she continues to pursue her academic interests in twentieth-century intermedial studies and will be a visiting fellow at KU Leuven over summer 2019. She writes both creatively and academically and is currently preparing a monograph on Samuel Beckett and Alberto Giacometti.

Yu Chun Yee was Professor of Piano at the Royal College of Music for thirty years before returning to Singapore in 1998. Prior to his retirement, he was Vice-Principal of the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts and founded the School of Young Talents. He has performed extensively in Europe and Asia, including appearing as a soloist with the London Philharmonic Orchestra at the Royal Festival Hall, London. In 1988, he was bestowed the FRCM (Fellows of the Royal College of Music) by Queen Elizabeth II for his contributions to music — the first Asian to receive this honour. He has appeared in five editions of the International Who's Who published by Routledge.