Book Reviews

by Mary Nemet

Unconditional Teaching

Paul

Harris

FABER MUSIC www.fabermusic.com

Paul Harris is one of the UK‘s most respected pedagogues. With over 600 publications to his credit including the highly acclaimed Improve Your Sight-Reading! and Improve Your Scales! He is also in great demand as a workshop and seminar leader worldwide.

Perhaps the best books on teaching challenge the teacher to reflect on what they are doing. Paul Harris does just this, asking and answering questions on psychology, methods of learning, group teaching, expectations, and shows how we can change our mindsets, avoid complacency and think outside the square.

Although advocating unconditional teaching, a few rules are worth following, such as, “I’ll teach you on the condition that you are learning, and want to learn”.

What matters is the quality of the interaction, the ability to be flexible, to stay enthusiastic, and to truly enjoy the process of engaging with another person. In his slim volume, Paul Harris has much to offer us with his words of wit and wisdom. His inspirational new approach encourages us to explore and transform how we teach.

Mary Nemet

by Susan Pierotti

Cloudy with a Chance of Murder

Gerald Elias

LEVEL BEST BOOKS www.LevelBestBooks.us

Probably the bane of every performing musician is the outdoor concert! Elias draws on his personal experiences of running outdoor music festivals to good effect when providing the setting of his seventh book in the Daniel Jacobus series. An open air concert takes place on an island in Utah just before a massive storm destroys the stage and the tent under which the audience is seated. In the chaos, the artistic director is found dead – of natural causes or murder? The audience, musicians and staff are now confined to the island with no police or contact with the outside world. Elias skilfully constructs a claustrophobic atmosphere where everyone is tense, frightened and a suspect. Fortunately, grouchy Daniel Jacobus was attending the concert and, after another suspect is murdered, is able to isolate the culprit. For enthusiasts of the Daniel Jacobus series, this particular volume does not disappoint.

Rethinking Bach ed. Bettina Varwig

OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS

Who is Bach? Is he a universal theological mathematician or a parochial town employee with a full share of 18th century prejudices? Does his music speak to the modern secular liberalist and if so, why? This book of scholarly essays attempts to debunk some of the myths surrounding Bach’s music; for instance, Mendelssohn was not the first person in the 1800s to resurrect Bach. Though the musical examples given are almost exclusively from keyboard and choral works, the topics covered range widely from muscle memory in performance to theology, humour, musical editions and how Bach taught harmony. One scholar compares Bach’s mathematical genius to such diverse characters as Sherlock Holmes and Hannibal Lecter! However, another essayist sums up our fascination with Bach’s music as the ‘symbol of the desire to strive beyond our own limitations towards a sublime and immutable “truth”’.

Susan Pierotti

by Robert Ekselman

The Bach Cello Suites: A Companion

Steven Isserlis

FABER & FABER

ISBN 978-0-571-36624-8

So, who was he? Music oracle, or a humble and devoutly religious church composer who happened to create the greatest fugues the music world has ever known? More than a companion, this is a reverential celebration of all that makes J.S. Bach’s Cello Suites awe inspiring and unique. Our intrepid tour guide, Steven Isserlis, reconfirms his own multifaceted talents as author, educator and cellist. And, I might add, sleuth. While we may not learn anything startlingly new here about The Suites’ origins per se, this is a welcome addition to what is already out there. Mr. Isserlis’ approach is engaging, original and makes for a fun educational read. The book encompasses a fascinating and detailed analysis of the Suites from every angle; always infused with personal gems of insight as well as the witty asides and commentary of one who is himself a proud exponent. Bar and track numbers for his own recordings are conveniently provided. Mr. Isserlis is not one to miss an opportunity. This section is the highlight of the book, and the point at which the academic ideas blossom. Having a score on hand is highly recommended.

A helpful glossary of musical terms ends this short title. But don’t be fooled! It is not just a cursory glance. There is also a breakdown of the history of the dance movement forms –perhaps the weakest link of the book – a delightfully candid Q & A chapter, a brief history of the Cello Suites’ frustratingly mystifying origins, a dive into the implied yet palpable religious subtext of the music, and a biography of JSB. All is undertaken with a wry smile and sense of inviting the reader to partake as the privileged copilots of a page-turner detective novel.

Robert Ekselman

by Andrew Lorenz

The Sound Of Memory

Themes from a Violinist’s Life

Rebecca Fischer

Mad Creek Books, Ohio University Press www.ohiostatepress.org

Rebecca Fischer - amazing writer, amazing musician, violinist and an amazing human being! This is not your usual autobiography but a series of essays looking at life through the prism of a concert artist. The work is not chronological or linear but a sequence of essays in the form of mental streaming. Through her experiences with the violin, Fischer discusses with great sincerity and honesty her intimate thoughts and experiences. These include leading ensembles and orchestras, teaching, motherhood inclusive of career, rural versus city (New York) living whilst pursuing an international career, creative neuroses, dealing with the very judgmental approach of the profession, Covid 19 and many other perceptions which sometimes relate to our dysfunctional society. She writes openly of sensitivities, stresses and fragilities of her artistic career. She led the Chiara String Quartet for 18 years, played the Bartók cycle of string quartets from memory at the Ravinia Festival in Chicago, also playing several cycles of the Beethoven string quartets. After studying at Columbia University and Juilliard, Fischer now teaches violin and chamber music at the Mannes School of Music. The ruminations and style of the book are very much in keeping with the literature and poetry of the 21st century and would enthral students, teachers, professional musicians and laymen alike.

MASTERCLASS Violin Concertos, Vol. 1

The Strad in association with G. Henle Verlag

Masterclass editor Pauline Harding writes, “Masterclass articles have played an important role in The Strad since the 1990s

. . . . In January 2016 The Strad team decided to give its Masterclass pages a makeover. Why use words and excerpts alone to communicate musicians’ ideas, when we could engage with each work phrase by phrase, using whole pages of music?”

Thanks to The Strad’s collaboration with Henle we now have a treasure trove of musical ideas in Masterclass – Violin Concertos, Volume 1, from violin greats such as Tai Murray (Beethoven Triple, 1st mvt.), Augustin Hadelich (Beethoven and Tchaikovsky 1st mvts.), Julia Fischer (Beethoven 3rd mvt.), Ray Chen (Mozart K.216, 1st mvt.), Francesca Dego (Mozart K.218, 3rd mvt.), Rachel Barton Pine (Mendelssohn Op.64, 1st mvt.) Esther Yoo (Mendelssohn Op.64, 3rd mvt.) Jack Liebeck (Bruch Op.26, 1st mvt.), Joshua Bell (Bruch Op.26, 3rd mvt.), Antje Weithaas (Brahms 1st mvt.), Baiba Skride (Berg, 1st mvt.) and Leila Josefowicz (Berg, 2nd mvt.). This is mind- blowing material.

Each musician writes with such authority and humility. Not only fingerings, bowings, practice tips, score markings and performance advice are discussed, but also these artists’ thoughts about interpretation and working out how to communicate the spirit of the various phrases under analysis. Let us give thanks to these brilliant talents, The Strad and Henle for this magnificent publication.

NIKOLAY MYASKOVSKY A Composer and His Times

Patrick Zuk

The Boydell Press

The crazy machinations and madness of Soviet ‘artistic’ committees; the sensitivities of a self-deprecating, introverted, apolitical composer of great integrity who was a military engineer before finding his true calling; two world wars, the collapse of Czarist Russia, revolution and civil war – it’s all here. Nikolay Myaskovsky (1881-1950) and his milieu are masterfully portrayed by the erudite and scholarly Patrick Zuk in this monograph which took nearly seven years to complete. It is comprehensively researched and would be enjoyed by professional musicians, students and laymen alike. The composer studied with Taneyev and Glière at the St Petersburg Conservatoire. One of his classmates was Prokofiev whom he befriended and considered a musical genius. He was also inspired by Debussy and Bartók and taught at the Moscow Conservatoire. Influenced by Tchaikovsky and German Romanticism, the traditionalist Myaskovsky composed 27 symphonies and was described by conductor Yevgeny Svetlanov as “the founder of Soviet symphonism, the creator of the Soviet school of composition “ He was awarded the Stalin Prize on five occasions but this did not protect him when, in 1948 alongside Shostakovich, Prokofiev and other leading composers, he was attacked and denounced by the Soviets for writing formalist music which they considered subjective, individualistic and intellectual music heavily influenced by the West and not in keeping with Soviet ideology. However, he survived. Represented by Universal Edition in Austria, his music was played all over the world. Nikolai Malko, who was to become the Music Director of the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, was a great supporter of Myaskovsky, conducting many of his works. Stokowski, Koussevitsky, Ormandy, Downes, Stock and many others also conducted his works. Svetlanov has recorded all of the symphonies and other orchestral works for Melodiya.

Myaskovsky also composed 13 string quartets which are well worth investigating, nine piano sonatas and numerous songs. His two cello sonatas and cello concerto championed by Rostropovich are most attractive and Oistrakh recorded his violin sonata and concerto. Thankfully, many of his works can be heard on YouTube.

Andrew Lorenz

by Helen Tuckey

The Creative Worlds Of Joseph Joachim

Ed. Valerie Woodring Goertzen & Robert Whitehouse Eshbach THE BOYDELL PRESS 2021

Joseph Joachim (1831-1907) was a legendary violinist and composer, with significant relationships with many great musicians, and was one of the first violinists to be recorded, giving listeners some insight into the sounds of the 1800s. In subsequent years, due to the rise of antisemitism, his legacy was obscured, downplayed or dismissed. This book is a comprehensive work of scholarship and a fascinating insight into the rich German cultural life of the time.

Like Schumann and Beethoven, Joachim was a musical intellectual who saw music as part of a holistic cultural life and artistic creativity as an outpouring of self. Identity, influence and historic context are here explored in individual essays from a number of contemporary scholarly perspectives. Joachim’s sources of influence include many other composers such as Mendelssohn (who was in turn influenced by Bach) and Brahms. Hungarian and German nationalism, the insecurity of being a European Jew trying to establish a musical career in a surrounding Christian culture, the significant instruments he played on, his compositions, and his performing career together with his wife Amalie, an established professional singer of Lieder recitals, are all explored by different expert authors.

Both Joachim and Amalie had significant careers touring in many countries, and made lasting musical connections with leading musicians such as the British scholar Donald Tovey (1875-1940). These relationships give further insight into the violinist, as do Joachim’s letters, essays, musical examples and programs which are discussed by various authors. Their perspectives shed light on both Joachim, who had wideranging impact on the culture and music of his time, and the influence on subsequent generations of musicians to this day. A wonderful resource for scholars, this well-edited and attractive book is a fascinating read and highly recommended for all who appreciate the Romantic period in its full glory, and the influence well beyond.

Helen Tuckey