Arnold Steinhardt's "Violin Dreams"

Lots of accomplished musicians write autobiographical books of one sort or another; some, but certainly not all, even do it successfully. Arnold Steinhardt, first violinist for the illustrious Guarneri String Quartet, has succeeded with his entry, Violin Dreams, an autobiography thick with the stories of his professional development, the history of the violin and its importance in Jewish culture, and of his many encounters with the famous and/or the brilliant along his own professional musical path. Violin Dreams is a smart book that is about its author, but without talking about him ad nauseum.

Here's an excerpt describing his experience with pianist, scholar and author Arthur Loesser after he playing Bach's D Minor Partita for him:

"'Now, let me show you how to dance the D Minor Partita,' he said. He took off his glasses and let them dangle from a silken cord around his neck; then, smiling sweetly, the elderly Loesser danced the serious Allemande, the lively Courante, the sensuously graceful sarabande, the high-jinks Gigue, and finally the lusty Chaconne around his living room...When he finally came to a stop, he looked at me, eyes glistening, and said, quite out of breath by now, 'This the noble style of French court dancing, and you must make us want to dance while playing your D Minor Partita.'"

For a second opinion (albeit pre-selected by me), read Richard Eder's review of Violin Dreams for The Los Angeles Times.

Arnold Steinhardt will sign copies of Violin Dreams following The Guarneri String Quartet's performance this Sunday at Jordan Hall (3pm).

Addendum: As I read more of Violin Dreams (yes, following the habits of some in the book review business, I posted on it without having finished the book), I realize that I previously omitted one of the important musical themes of Steinhardt's project, that of J.S. Bach's D Minor Partita, a solo violin tour de force and a musical spectre throughout the book. There is a CD lodged in the back of the book, containing two recordings by Steinhardt of the piece, one from 1966, one from this year. Another reason to consider adding Violin Dreams to your library.