This is the first book-length study in any language dedicated specifically to lute, guitar, and vihuela performance. Written by specialists of this music, it is intended for players, teachers, and scholars who are interested both in the history of performance, and in the specific interpretation of lute, guitar and vihuela music from the end of the fifteenth century to approximately 1850. It brings to light various new ideas about performance and technique for a wide range of instruments, including the fifteenth-, sixteenth- and seventeenth-century Italian lute, archlute, theorbo, French Baroque lute, vihuela, and Baroque and classical guitar, as well as for lute-accompanied English and Italian song. The articles in this book decode the unwritten traditions of these instruments, and examine various performance issues, taking a fresh, innovative look at traditional problems.

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.

This book contains nine pieces from ABRSM's Grade 2 Violin syllabus for 2020-2023, three pieces chosen from each of Lists A, B and C. The pieces have been carefully selected to offer an attractive and varied range of styles, creating a collection that provides an excellent source of repertoire to suit every performer. The book also contains helpful footnotes and, for those preparing for exams, useful syllabus information. Inspiring recordings of the nine pieces featured in this book, plus piano accompaniment tracks, are available. These can be purchased as part of the Violin Exam Pieces with CD package or as audio downloads (see https://shop.abrsm.org/audiodownloads for more details).

One evening, journalist Eric Siblin attended a recital of Johann Sebastian Bach's "Cello Suites" and began an epic quest that would unravel three centuries of intrigue, politics, and passion. Winner of the Mavis Gallant Prize for Nonfiction and the McAuslan First Book Prize, "The Cello Suites" weaves together three dramatic narratives: the disappearance of Bach's manuscript in the eighteenth century; Pablo Casals's discovery and popularization of the music in Spain in the late-nineteenth century; and Siblin's infatuation with the suites in the present day. The search led Siblin to Barcelona, where Casals, just thirteen and in possession of his first cello, roamed the backstreets with his father in search of sheet music and found Bach's lost suites tucked in a dark corner of a store. Casals played them every day for twelve years before finally performing them in public. Siblin pursues the mysteries that continue to haunt this music more than 250 years after its composer's death: Why did Bach compose the suites for the cello, then considered a lowly instrument? What happened to the original manuscript? A seamless blend of biography and music history, "The Cello Suites" is a true-life journey of discovery, fueled by the power of these musical masterpieces.

(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.

(Instrumental Folio). 12 Coldplay favorites arranged for instrumentalists to enjoy. The CD includes accompaniment tracks so you can sound like a pro while playing Songs include: Clocks * Every Teardrop Is a Waterfall * Fix You * In My Place * Lost * Paradise * The Scientist * Speed of Sound * Trouble * Violet Hill * Viva La Vida * Yellow.