This lively and highly informative contribution to the Menuhin Music Guides covers all aspects of percussion - the instruments, the percussion section within the orchestra and the use of percussion in chamber music and as a solo instrument. James Holland is not afraid to attack composers, conductors and music publishers as he puts the percussionist's point of view. Among his comments on how to interpret a percussion score and lay out and play a vast array of complex instruments are detailed analyses of Walton's 'Facade' and works by Gerhard and Stockhausen.

Features the life and work of Dinu Lipatti. This book deals with Lipatti as pianist, composer and teacher. It includes many quotations from letters written by him, many musical examples, a list of works and two cadenzas for the Mozart Piano Concerto in C (K467). This publication is a valuable foundation from which to understand the complete devotion and musicianship of one of the most gifted pianists/composers the world has ever heard. Much of this book is devoted to understanding Dinu Lipatti's music, his teaching, composing and those important in his musical development.

Louis Kentner covers all aspects of the piano in this comprehensive and fascinating dissertation. As well as practical material there are pages of instruction on technique including a chapter on the use of the pedal, some hints on singing tone and legato, advice on practising, and a do-it-yourself guide to basic tuning. Kentner provides a penetrating analysis of much of Chopin's and Liszt's piano music and contributes a unique and detailed study of Beethoven's thirty-two piano sonatas. The book includes some selected further reading and a discography.

The A Z of String Players surveys the lives, careers and recordings of over 300 string players from the past and present. Many great string players who have made recordings are included, from Accardo to Zukerman. The text covers artists from the earliest recording processes to contemporary, cutting-edge technology. In this clear and straight-forward publication, the artists are listed alphabetically, with a summary of their career, notable recordings, biography and critical appraisal of their recorded legacy. In addition, four compact discs present a selection of recordings from 69 artists. This package will appeal to enthusiast and scholar alike as a readable, informed and fascinating work of reference.

"Music, be it Beethoven, Bartok or the Beatles," writes Yehudi Menuhin, "brings us together in a sharing of sound and feeling" which transcends boundaries. Thus, through the stories, poems and accounts in this anthology, we may join African slaves in 19th-century New Orleans as they create their spontaneous, vital, rhythmic music; and may walk with the exiled Bartok as he remembers the joyful honesty, and the vigorous tenderness, of the songs of Hungary. Exemplified in these stories is the deep attachment of composer and musicians to the land of their roots - "the lands that gave them their ears, their voices, the particular musical language they use." Here are stories illustrating the music of men and women living 'in tune' with the earth: Aborigine and Inuit, Bushman and American Indian; a woman singing to the Hebridean seals, whose voices answer hers; a Celtic prince entranced by 'the music of the world'. Here are composers and conductors, makers and lovers of music from other times and other countries, other cultures and other landscapes. The lilt of Gypsy music and the haunting chants of the Balkans; girls dancing in Rhodes, and children dancing in a Japanese grove; the songs of a Somerset soldier and of the peasants in Russia; the discipline and complex beauty of Indian music and the deep sense of melody in Hasidic tales: all these illuminate the infinite range of music, within which we may, each retaining perfect individuality, share a universe "in which music and life are one and the same thing".

Yehudi Menuhin shares with the reader his unique store of understanding about the violin, about how to exercise and practise, about the techniques of performance. His reflections on the nature and scope of his instrument are profoundly illuminating and his theories on interpretation particularly valuable. A section on the violinist as teacher/student contains a fascinating transcript of a lesson with Yehudi Menuhin, who also writes separately about the violinist as orchestral player, leader, chamber music player, recitalist and soloist. William Primrose writes the distinguished monograph on the viola and describes the instrument as 'a violin with a college education'. He was an acknowledged technical master of the viola who, along with Lionel Tertis, was one of the finest exponents of this beautiful instrument of the 20th century. Denis Stevens, the British musicologist and specialist in early music, provides and interesting chapter on the history of the violin and looks in detail at the monumental challenge that is Bach's Six Solos for Violin without Bass Accompaniment better known as the Sonatas and Partitas for Violin.

In this classic yoga best-seller a world-renowned yoga master shares the techniques of breathing together with a comprehensive background of yoga philosophy. B. K. S. Iyengar is a legend who has practiced yoga in a unique way, and today "Iyengar Yoga" is taught around the world by certified instructors.

Renowned yoga guru B. K. S. Inyegar brings his considerable experience and knowledge to bear on the topic of pranayama, the yogic technique of breathing. The book lays out a 200-week plan that requires only 15 to 30 minutes daily. Nearly 200 photographs demonstrate how each exercise should be performed, and a glossary of terms of more than 30 pages is an invaluable reference for those new to the practice and unfamiliar with the language. Of particular appeal to yoga enthusiasts and individuals interested in meditation, "Light on Pranayama" is a guide that illuminates the path to better physical and mental well-being. "El renombrado guru de yoga B. K. S. Inyegar aplica su considerable experiencia y conocimiento al pranayama, la tecnica yoguica de respiracion. El libro presenta un programa de 200 semanas que requiere solo 15 a 30 minutos al diario. Casi 200 fotografias demuestran como se deben realizar los ejercicios, y un glosario de mas de 30 paginas es una referencia valiosa para los principiantes de la practica que no esten familiarizados con la jerga. De interes particular para los entusiastas del yoga y los individuos interesados en la meditacion, "Luz sobre el pranayama" es una guia que ilumina el sendero hacia una mejor salud fisica y mental. "