In 1720, Antonio Stradivari crafted an exquisite work of art-a cello known as the Piatti. Over the next three centuries of its life, the Piatti cello left its birthplace of Cremona, Italy, and resided in Spain, Ireland, England, Italy, Germany, and the United States. In 1978, the Piatti became the musical soul mate of world-renowned cellist Carlos Prieto, with whom it has given concerts around the world. In this delightful book, Mr. Prieto recounts the adventurous life of his beloved "Cello Prieto," tracing its history through each of its previous owners from Stradivari in 1720 to himself. He then describes his noteworthy experiences of playing the Piatti cello, with which he has premiered some eighty compositions. In this part of their mutual story, Prieto gives a concise summary of his own remarkable career and his relationships with many illustrious personalities, including Igor Stravinsky, Dmitry Shostakovich, Pablo Casals, Mstislav Rostropovich, Yo-Yo Ma, and Gabriel Garcia Marquez. A new epilogue, in which he describes recent concert tours in Moscow, Siberia, and China and briefer visits to South Korea, Taiwan, and Venezuela, as well as recent recitals with Yo-Yo Ma, brings the story up to 2009. To make the story of his cello complete, Mr. Prieto also provides a brief history of violin making and a succinct review of cello music from Stradivari to the present. He highlights the work of composers from Latin America, Spain, and Portugal, for whose music he has long been an advocate and principal performer. The print edition of this book includes a CD of fourteen recordings by Carlos Prieto, including works by J. S. Bach, Dmitry Shostakovich, Astor Piazzolla, and Eugenio Toussaint.

(Music Sales America). An excellent set of bowing exercises that will help all violinists to develop their bowing styles, speed, control and rhythms.

(Amadeus). In Michael Rabin: America's Virtuoso Violinist, Anthony Feinstein tells the poignant story of the life and career of one of history's greatest violinists. As a child prodigy, Rabin had the classical music world at his feet. Notable successes included a coveted EMI contract, recording the soundtrack for an Elizabeth Taylor movie, and guest appearances on the Milton Berle Show and the Bell Telephone Hour . Yet no sooner had Rabin taken his place alongside such illustrious colleagues as Heifetz, Milstein, and Stern than he abruptly and inexplicably disappeared from the concert stage. For three years, the public saw and heard little of him. In the mid-1960s, Rabin resurfaced and painstakingly began rebuilding a once-great career. Then one morning, the music world awoke to news of his sudden, mysterious death at age 35. For the first edition of this biography, Feinstein had unprecedented access to Rabin's private papers and medical history. Now he draws on additional material obtained from recent interviews with Rabin's colleagues, girlfriends, and management. The result is an added appreciation of Rabin's remarkable family, his cloistered upbringing, and a micromanaged career that ensured not only great success but also periods of deep despair. Michael Rabin: America's Virtuoso Violinist is more than a story of a great violinist. It is also the moving account of a man of rare talent who never stopped battling to find personal happiness on that fragile journey from wunderkind to adulthood.

(Guitar Recorded Versions). 30 tunes: Evil * Got My Mojo Working * Honey Bee * I'm Your Hoochie Coochie Man * more.