What Music! The Fifty-Year Friendship Between Beethoven and Nannette Streicher, Who Built His Pianos

Lawlor broadly reconstructs the friendship between composer Ludwig van Beethoven and barrier-breaking businesswoman Nannette Streicher (1769–1833), whose innovative piano design produced instruments capable of withstanding the most tempestuous playing. After meeting as children in her father’s piano shop, Streicher and Beethoven developed a connection despite being “as opposite as fast and slow, loud and soft, high and low.” That connection endured, with Beethoven describing Streicher as “ ‘Beloved Friend,’ the one person who inspired ‘an uncommonly good influence.’ ” Using metaphorical prose (both dreamed that the piano might become “capable of making music as perfect as a palmful of wild raspberries”), Lawlor focuses on the duo’s bond and the context around their professional achievements. Delicate details in Stadtlander’s gouache and colored pencil artwork invite close scrutiny of intricate historical scenes, while vibrant nature imagery conveys the excitement of the pair’s work. Background characters read as white. Thorough back matter includes an author’s note and bibliography. Ages 6–9. (Oct.)