The New Grove Musical Instruments Series, a companion to the much acclaimed New Grove Composer Biography Series, presents in book form many of the lengthy and informative articles published in The New Grove Dictionary of Musical Instruments.

Suitable for performers, instrument makers, students, historians, and amateurs alike, each book is an invaluable guide to all facets of an instrument—history, construction, playing technique, and manufacturers—written by leading authorities. All material has been expanded and updated and is supplemented by a full glossary of terms, an index of instrument makers, and a comprehensive bibliography. The series is liberally illustrated with diagrams and photographs.

The New Grove Piano traces the history of the instrument from the earliest pianos of Cristofori in 1698 to the modern concert grands of today and even the 'prepared' piano of John Cage. also featured is a chapter on piano playing—including a section on jazz piano—and a survey of pianists, with separate sections (Slavonic, German, French) and on the styles and influence of living pianists. The book concludes with a chronological account of the instrument's repertory—from the Classical sonatas of Haydn, Mozart, and Beethoven, through the Romantic miniatures of Schumann and Brahms and the virtuoso showpieces of Liszt and Ravel, to the complex contemporary works of Boulez and Stockhausen.