In this TCU Press gem, Steve Roberson ’75 (MM), associate dean of the Jordan College of Fine Arts at Butler University, paints a candid, detailed account of acclaimed pianist Lili Kraus.

A student of the virtuoso from 1972-75, Roberson admits early on to being infatuated with his former teacher’s talent and poise, but still manages an objective account. For those interested in Kraus as performer as well as teacher, this is a book not to be missed.

“There is a superstition that the less pedal used in Mozart, the better,” Kraus said in 1972, Roberson records. “This is nonsense; it fits in with the distorted picture of Mozart as a pretty Rococo composer in silk breeches and powdered wig. I prefer Mozart in riding pants and boots!”