GOOD MORNING AMERICA BOOK CLUB PICK! • Ray McMillian is a Black classical musician on the rise—undeterred by the pressure and prejudice of the classical music world—when a shocking theft sends him on a desperate quest to recover his great-great-grandfather’s heirloom violin on the eve of the most prestigious musical competition in the world. “I loved The Violin Conspiracy for exactly the same reasons I loved The Queen’s Gambit: a surprising, beautifully rendered underdog hero I cared about deeply and a fascinating, cutthroat world I knew nothing about—in this case, classical music.” —Chris Bohjalian, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Flight Attendant and Hour of the Witch Growing up Black in rural North Carolina, Ray McMillian’s life is already mapped out. But Ray has a gift and a dream—he’s determined to become a world-class professional violinist, and nothing will stand in his way. Not his mother, who wants him to stop making such a racket; not the fact that he can’t afford a violin suitable to his talents; not even the racism inherent in the world of classical music. When he discovers that his beat-up, family fiddle is actually a priceless Stradivarius, all his dreams suddenly seem within reach, and together, Ray and his violin take the world by storm. But on the eve of the renowned and cutthroat Tchaikovsky Competition—the Olympics of classical music—the violin is stolen, a ransom note for five million dollars left in its place. Without it, Ray feels like he's lost a piece of himself. As the competition approaches, Ray must not only reclaim his precious violin, but prove to himself—and the world—that no matter the outcome, there has always been a truly great musician within him.

"Violinist.com Interviews, Volume 2" features exclusive, one-on-one interviews conducted over the last six years with 26 of today's best-known violinists: Midori Goto, Gil Shaham, Hilary Hahn, James Ehnes, Rachel Barton Pine, Augustin Hadelich, Ray Chen, Tai Murray, Anne Akiko Meyers, Julian Rachlin, Aaron Rosand, Daniel Heifetz, Jennifer Koh, Philippe Quint, Daniel Hope, Lindsey Stirling, Alexander Markov, Frank Almond, Nathan Cole, Deborah Borda, Daishin Kashimoto, Rachel Podger, Jinjoo Cho, Terry Borman, Ning Feng, Mayu Kishima and Vera Tsu Weiling. Laurie Niles' in-depth interviews paint a wide-ranging picture of the various lives of a diverse group of violinists from four continents, including soloists, orchestra leaders, a baroque specialist, an orchestra CEO, a pop culture phenomenon and even a seasoned violin-maker. "Laurie has done an astonishing job of capturing each person's voice and personality," writes the award-winning violin soloist and recording artist Rachel Barton Pine in her foreword. "The story of the violin is still being written. Laurie Niles, with this volume of interviews, makes a remarkable contribution to our shared history."

Solos for Young Violists is a five-volume series of music books featuring 34 works for viola and piano. Many of the pieces in this collection have long been recognized as stepping stones to the major viola repertoire, while others are newly discovered, arranged, and published for this series. Compiled, edited and recorded by violist Barbara Barber, Solos for Young Violists is a graded series of works ranging from elementary to advanced levels and represents an exciting variety of styles and techniques for violists. The collection has become a valuable resource for teachers and students of all ages.

Revised edition: Adolf Busch (1891-1952) was an all-round musician and a moral beacon in troubled times. As first violin of the Busch String Quartet, founded in 1912, he was the greatest quartet-player of the last century and he led a famous conductorless orchestra, the Busch Chamber Players. He was also the busiest solo violinist of the inter-War years, regularly performing major concertos with such conductors as Nikisch, Toscanini, Weingartner, Walter, Furtwängler, Boult, Wood, Barbirolli and his elder brother Fritz. He was, moreover, an outstanding composer whose works enjoyed performances in Germany and further afield. Frequently he appeared as soloist and composer in the same concert. His courageous decision to boycott his native country from April 1933 - despite Hitler's efforts to persuade 'our German violinist' to return - drastically reduced his income and damaged his career as soloist and composer. In 1938, because of Mussolini's race laws, he imposed a similar boycott on Italy, where he was wildly popular. The following year he emigrated with his quartet colleagues to the United States, where he was not fully appreciated, although he had many successes with a new chamber orchestra and founded the Marlboro summer school. This biography, based on more than thirty years' research, examines Busch's exemplary behaviour in the context of a tumultuous era. Volume One traces his progress from childhood in Westphalia, through friendships with Fritz Steinbach, Donald Tovey and Max Reger, early triumphs in Berlin, London and Vienna, years of maturity and fulfilment, rejection of Hitler's Germany and close bonds with British musicians and concert-goers in the 1930s. It ends just before his move into American exile. Volume Two follows Busch through the Second World War, his return to give concerts in Europe in the late 1940s and his founding of the Marlboro summer school in Vermont shortly before his untimely death. A series of appendices consider Busch as violinist, violist and teacher, his taste and repertoire, his interpretations, his colleagues, his celebrated recordings and his compositions.

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Offering comprehensive coverage of classical music, this guide surveys more than eleven thousand albums and presents biographies of five hundred composers and eight hundred performers, as well as twenty-three essays on forms, eras, and genres of classical music. Original.