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BarkellWH -> The Violin: A Social History of the World's Most Versatile Instrument (Dec. 18 2012 15:07:45)
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While enjoying my mini-vacation in Tempe, Arizona (My Brazilian wife Marta is spending five weeks over the holidays visiting her family in Brazil.), I came across a review of a just-published book entitled, "The Violin: A Social History of the World's Most Versatile Instrument," written by historian David Schoenbaum. Schoenbaum has written several works of history, including, "Hitler's Social Revolution." So why is he writing about the violin? The reviewer writes, "Amateur musicians are often among the most sensitive and trustworthy chroniclers of the art." Schoenbaum is a lifelong amateur violinist who clearly loves the instrument.
The reviewer continues:
"Nothing associated with the violin seems beyond the author's interest. His topics include the development of the modern bow; differing schools of instruction; the creation (and too often ruination) of prodigies. He takes us through poems, plays, and novels in which the violin has a central role. Schoenbaum deftly melds history, criticism, legend, and occasional snatches of good gossip into a book that will be necessary reading for anybody who plays (or tries to play) the violin, and it ought to appeal to anybody simply in search of some engossing and exhaustive nonfiction."
Sounds like an interesting read.
In case anyone is wondering why I did not go to Brazil with my wife for the holidays; much as I love her family, five weeks with family is a bit much for me. When we travel to Brazil together, I like to spend the time on our own between Rio and Salvador de Bahia in the Northeast. Although the world knows Brazilian music as it is filtered through Rio, in my opinion the finest "root" Brazilian music is created in the Northeast state of Bahia, with its rich cultural mix of Portuguese and African incluences.
Cheers,
Bill
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