The definitive musical autobiography from internationally acclaimed Australian pianist Roger Woodward. 'I suppose I would have been two when I first heard music played somewhere beyond the chicken run and dilapidated palings at the top of the back garden. I entered our neighbour's house through the back door and followed the sound to its source. An elegant old lady was playing the black and white keys of a big wooden box ...' From a very early age, growing up in post-war Sydney, Roger Woodward dreamed of a life of music. A gifted pianist, like many of his generation his talent led him overseas, first to study in Poland and then to England and the US. For the first time in a career spanning more than 50 years, Roger Woodward shares his remarkable story in a memoir that is deeply personal, honest, passionate and layered. Classical music fans will delight in the insights into recent and traditional musical masterpieces, as well as Woodward's perceptive recollections of his collaborations with composers such as Cage, Takemitsu, Radulescu, Xenakis, Barraque, Boulez and Stockhausen. Praise for Roger Woodward 'a pianistic genius' The Guardian 'fingers and nerves of steel' The New Yorker 'one of the most consistently exciting and convincing interpreters of virtuoso avant-garde music' Financial Times 'unrivalled in this country' Sydney Morning Herald 'Awesome'The Times