Air Guitar is renegade art critic and Art Issues editor Dave Hickey's assessment of the beauties and potentialities of American culture, "high" and "low, " presented in a series of reflections on his experiences as the child of a jazz musician, abortive graduate student, amateur art dealer, professional songwriter, music journalist, and resident of Las Vegas.

Giovanni Battista Viotti was unquestionably the most influential violinist of his time, and his style continues to pervade to the present day. The last great representative of the Italian tradition that Corelli began, Viotti is often considered the founder of the modern or 19th-century French school of violin playing. In Amico: The Life of Giovanni Battista Viotti, author Warwick Lister provides the first complete biography in English of this continuously significant violinist. Much of the documentary material Lister cites is previously unknown or not translated. Lister's biography takes the reader on a fascinating journey over the European continent and into the musical culture of the late 18th century. Born one year prior to Mozart and dying three years before Beethoven's death, Viotti rose from the humble origins of a blacksmith's son in a village near Turin, Italy, to international fame. His multifarious career as a concert performer, composer, teacher, opera theater director, and impresario was played out against the backdrop of a dramatically changing world - he served as a court musician for no less a figure than Marie Antoinette before founding an opera house in Paris. Viotti also knew tragedy as well as success: he was forced to flee the French Revolution, he was exiled from England for an extended period based on suspicions of certain Jacobin tendencies, his attempt to establish himself in business met with failure, and he died heavily in debt. Lister concludes Amico by coming to grips with the very things that account for Viotti's greatness and influence: the technical aspects of his violin playing and compositions. With its extensive documentary research and the inclusion of translations of various archival documents, this is the essential English-language biography of Viotti, a significant addition to the libraries of students and scholars of 18th and early 19th century music, as well as violin performers, students, and instructors.

This collection of 16 tunes, complete with CD and guidance on style and interpretation, gives you all the tools you need to begin exploring klezmer music - the repertoire of Jewish folk musicians originating in eastern Europe. Each tune is presented with helpful notes on tonality, phrasing and bowing, and ornamentation, which will immerse you in the style and help you to develop skills that can be applied throughout the book. The CD includes newly recorded (and selected historical) performances of each tune, together with a complete set of backings. Alternatively, accompanying instruments can play along using the chords above the melody line, or use the sekund and bass parts provided in two pull-out booklets. Whether you have some knowledge of the repertoire's distinctive sound and feel or none at all, Klezmer Fiddle is the perfect way to build up a body of fantastic tunes for any occasion.

This is a compact, composite and authoritative survey of the history and development of the cello from its origins to the present day. Its carefully structured series of thirteen essays deals with the history and construction of the cello and bow, discusses the careers of the most distinguished cellists through history, surveys the repertory of the instrument in unprecedented detail and reviews teaching methods, technical developments and issues of performance practice. It is the most comprehensive book ever to be published about the instrument.

(Educational Piano Library). Piano Solos features original performance repertoire from 14 different composers. These inviting compositions provide ample reinforcement of skills and concepts learned in the corresponding level Piano Lessons book. The outstanding variety of musical styles makes every solo and important piece in its own right exciting to both performer and listener. Fully orchestrated accompaniments for every piece are available separately on CD or General MIDI. The CDs include both a practice and performance tempo for each piece. Click on the audio icon to hear a sample of "Viva La Rhumba" by Carol Klose from Piano Solos Book 2 .

Vaughan Williams fist encountered the old English folk song Dives and Lazarus when he was 21, and here presents five variants that are, in his own words, 'not exact replicas of traditional tunes but rather reminiscences of various versions in my own collection and those of others'. The work was premiered in Carnegie Hall as part of the 1939 New York World's Fair, and is a wonderful example of the sumptuous string textures and modal tonalities that have become the composer's trademarks.

Vaughan Williams fist encountered the old English folk song Dives and Lazarus when he was 21, and here presents five variants that are, in his own words, 'not exact replicas of traditional tunes but rather reminiscences of various versions in my own collection and those of others'. The work was premiered in Carnegie Hall as part of the 1939 New York World's Fair, and is a wonderful example of the sumptuous string textures and modal tonalities that have become the composer's trademarks.

Vaughan Williams fist encountered the old English folk song Dives and Lazarus when he was 21, and here presents five variants that are, in his own words, 'not exact replicas of traditional tunes but rather reminiscences of various versions in my own collection and those of others'. The work was premiered in Carnegie Hall as part of the 1939 New York World's Fair, and is a wonderful example of the sumptuous string textures and modal tonalities that have become the composer's trademarks.

This exciting series by the authors of Fiddle Time, Viola Time, and Cello Time provides great ensemble material for all string groups, whatever their size. String Time Joggers is a must-have for all those looking for imaginative and enjoyable ensemble repertoire.

Vaughan Williams fist encountered the old English folk song Dives and Lazarus when he was 21, and here presents five variants that are, in his own words, 'not exact replicas of traditional tunes but rather reminiscences of various versions in my own collection and those of others'. The work was premiered in Carnegie Hall as part of the 1939 New York World's Fair, and is a wonderful example of the sumptuous string textures and modal tonalities that have become the composer's trademarks.

This exciting new series by the authors of Fiddle Time, Viola Time, and Cello Time provides great new ensemble material for all string groups, whatever their size. String Time Joggers is a must-have for all those looking for imaginative and enjoyable ensemble repertoire.

A "hidden" instrument in the classical music world, the mandolin's repertoire of original music remains largely unknown. This book examines the lives and works of the mandolin's great composers and, together with Sparks's earlier The Early Mandolin (Oxford 1989), provides the first comprehensive survey of the instrument's history. The book also explores aspects of technique and looks at present-day orchestras and soloists.

Traditional Fiddle introduces eight regional fiddle styles from England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales, with contributions from world-renowned fiddlers Kevin Burke, John Dipper, Liz Doherty, Nancy Kerr, Sian Phillips, Aidan O'Rourke, Jenna Reid, and Patsy Reid. This is the perfect introduction to traditional fiddling for intermediate players.

Available for violin, viola, and cello, this book includes a CD featuring performances of all the pieces and exercises with piano accompaniments and some additional backing.

(Guitar Method). Book 2 continues the instruction started in Book 1 and covers: Am, Dm, A, E, F and B7 chords; power chords; fingerstyle guitar; syncopations, dotted rhythms, and triplets; Carter style solos; bass runs; pentatonic scales; improvising; tablature; 92 great songs, riffs and examples; notes in first and second position; and more The CD includes 57 full-band tracks for demonstration or play-along.

Beethoven's middle-period quartets, Opp. 59, 74 and 95, are pieces that engage deeply with the aesthetic ideas of their time. In the first full contextual study of these works, Nancy November celebrates their uniqueness, exploring their reception history and early performance. In detailed analyses, she explores ways in which the quartets have both reflected and shaped the very idea of chamber music and offers a new historical understanding of the works' physical, visual, social and ideological aspects. In the process, November provides a fresh critique of three key paradigms in current Beethoven studies: the focus on his late period; the emphasis on 'heroic' style in discussions of the middle period; and the idea of string quartets as 'pure', 'autonomous' artworks, cut off from social moorings. Importantly, this study shows that the quartets encompass a new lyric and theatrical impetus, which is an essential part of their unique, explorative character.