Violin Dreams

Arnold Steinhardt, for over forty years an international soloist and the
first violinist of the Guarneri String Quartet, brings warmth, wit, and
fascinating insider details to the story of his lifelong obsession with the
violin, that most seductive and stunningly beautiful instrument. His story
is rich with vivid scenes: the terror inflicted by his early violin teachers,
the frankly sensual pleasure involved in the pursuit of the perfect violin,
the zanily charged atmosphere of high-level competitions. Steinhardt
describes Bach's Chaconne as the holy grail for the solo violin, and he illuminates, from the perspective of an ardent owner of a great Storioni violin,
the history and mysteries of the renowned Italian violinmakers.

The paperback includes a CD recording of Steinhardt performing Bach's Partita in D Minor forty years ago and playing the same piece especially for this book. A conversation between the author and Alan Alda on the differences between the two performances is included in liner notes.