Spotlighting the four women of the Lafayette Quartet, a leading Canadian ensemble, Rounds offers both a comprehensive history of the beloved instrumental form and an inside view of the complex world of professional quartet players, revealing the exultation and heatache that are the performing artists' daily fare. A treat for every music lover, whether player, listener or composer.
The author tells of his own development as a student, "of how he and his intrepid colleagues were converted to chamber music ... [and of how] four individualists master and then overcome the confining demands of ensemble playing."--Jacket.
"Reading The Beethoven Quartet Companion made me want to listen to the quartets again from a new sociological as well as musical perspective. It is an invaluable guide not only for professional and amateur musicians but also for anyone who is curious about culture and wants to find out more."--Yo-Yo Ma "These essays are the most readable, useful, and well-informed commentary available today on these masterworks. Michael Steinberg's 'program notes' to each quartet, directed at once to the musical beginner and to the expert, are as eloquent and persuasive as popular writing about music can get. . . . His essays are followed by equally expert and accessible contributions by other masters on The Master, providing literate music lovers with the context and equipment for a richer enjoyment and clearer understanding of these sixteen unique conversations among two violins, a viola, and a cello."--David Littlejohn, author of The Ultimate Art: Essays Around and About Opera "A fine collection of essays to assist the music lover in the seemingly endless quest to illuminate the Beethoven string quartets."--Arnold Steinhardt, The Guarneri String Quartet "This book delivers on the implied promise of its title--it provides a lively, readable, and wide-ranging introduction to the quartets. Readers at many levels of experience will find it profitable."--Lewis Lockwood, author of Beethoven: Studies in the Creative Process
The collection includes exclusive, one-on-one interviews conducted over the past six years with 27 of today's best-known violinists (plus one conductor/composer): Hilary Hahn, Joshua Bell, Sarah Chang, David Garrett, Anne Akiko Meyers, Ruggiero Ricci, Maxim Vengerov, Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg, Gil Shaham and Adele Anthony, Rachel Barton Pine, Nicola Benedetti, Anne-Sophie Mutter, Zachary DePue, James Ehnes, Simon Fischer, Augustin Hadelich, Janine Jansen, Leila Josefowicz and Esa-Pekka Salonen, Philippe Quint, Tasmin Little, Elmar Oliveira, Stanley Ritchie, Lara St. John, Philip Setzer, Clara-Jumi Kang and Judy Kang. It's a celebration of one of the world's most enduring instruments, and the people who are helping carry forth the violin's legacy into a new generation. "The Violinist.com Interviews: Volume 1" includes a foreword by Grammy Award-winning violinist Hilary Hahn, who writes, "Laurie addresses topics that are comfortable but all-consuming, such as current projects, and delves into the delicate nuances of creativity. She captures specific moments in time. I love that. In this collection, you can observe her at work, but you will also travel along with her interview subjects."
Double stops provide excellent learning material for the young and advancing cellist in this Rick Mooney book. More than 60 familiar folk songs—many in the Suzuki repertoire—help the student learn skills such as hearing intonation, shaping the hand correctly, shifting, extensions, and preparing for future repertoire.
Witty and practical, this book is for amateur string instrument players who want to play quartets and other forms of chamber music. It covers everything. The long chapter discussing the "literature" is exceptionally valuable.
Bernard takes the reader on an evocative and fascinating journey from his early life, detailing his ancestral influences on his chosen career of cellist, until the present day. A charming book full of pathos and humour, which tells the true story of the forming of the world famous Lindsay String Quartet, their adventures, during 40 years of world travel and their achievement of the highest accolades making them one of the most revered quarters of the 20th century. Bernard continues, in his third section, to talk of his introduction to the Alpujarras in the Sierra Mountains of Southern Spain, the area he has chosen to live with his wife Theresa. This book is both engaging and humorous whilst also giving a uniquely personal perspective into the life of one of the world's greatest quartet cellists. A must read for any fan of chamber music and in particular of the famed 'Lindsay String Quartet'.
Collection of essays in a single volume for nonspecialists with information about each of Mozart's compositions, where, when, and why it was written, what it is like, and what special significance it may have within the composer's oeuvre.
"A rapturous, witty, and passionate memoir ... Violin Dreams is not only the story of a man becoming an artist, it’s a history of twentieth-century music.” -- John Guare, Tony Award-winning playwright Arnold Steinhardt, for more than forty years an international soloist and the first violinist of the Guarneri String Quartet, brings warmth, wit, and fascinating insider details to the story of his lifelong obsession with the violin, that most seductive and stunningly beautiful instrument. His story is rich with vivid scenes: the terror inflicted by his early violin teachers, the sensual pleasure involved in the pursuit of the perfect violin, the charged atmosphere of high-level competitions. Steinhardt describes Bach’s Chaconne as the holy grail for the solo violin, and he illuminates, from the perspective of an ardent owner of a great Storioni violin, the history and mysteries of the renowned Italian violinmakers. Violin Dreams includes a remarkable CD recording of Steinhardt performing Bach’s Partita in D Minor as a young violinist forty years ago and playing the same piece especially for this book. A conversation between the author and Alan Alda on the differences between the two performances is included in the liner notes.