The collection includes exclusive, one-on-one interviews conducted over the past six years with 27 of today's best-known violinists (plus one conductor/composer): Hilary Hahn, Joshua Bell, Sarah Chang, David Garrett, Anne Akiko Meyers, Ruggiero Ricci, Maxim Vengerov, Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg, Gil Shaham and Adele Anthony, Rachel Barton Pine, Nicola Benedetti, Anne-Sophie Mutter, Zachary DePue, James Ehnes, Simon Fischer, Augustin Hadelich, Janine Jansen, Leila Josefowicz and Esa-Pekka Salonen, Philippe Quint, Tasmin Little, Elmar Oliveira, Stanley Ritchie, Lara St. John, Philip Setzer, Clara-Jumi Kang and Judy Kang. It's a celebration of one of the world's most enduring instruments, and the people who are helping carry forth the violin's legacy into a new generation. "The Violinist.com Interviews: Volume 1" includes a foreword by Grammy Award-winning violinist Hilary Hahn, who writes, "Laurie addresses topics that are comfortable but all-consuming, such as current projects, and delves into the delicate nuances of creativity. She captures specific moments in time. I love that. In this collection, you can observe her at work, but you will also travel along with her interview subjects."

In his book on left-hand violin technique, Maestro Ruggiero Ricci addresses common problems in shifting by advocating the study of the glissando technique. He asserts that re-incorporating this technique will not only aid violinists in developing a better-trained ear, but also provide them with "shortcuts" to playing some of Paganini's most difficult passages. Ricci introduces and compares old and new systems of playing to provide a context for the glissando system. He outlines a series of glissando scales that provides the student with a blueprint for developing additional glissando scales in other keys. He offers exercises designed to increase flexibility, ear training, coordination, and crawling technique and has included a DVD in which he demonstrates various bowing techniques.

The guitar is more than a musical instrument. It is an archetype. In homage, Light Strings brings together two masters of their craft: photographer Ralph Gibson and former guitarist for the Police, Andy Summers. Gibson's enigmatic and sensuously elegant photographs are the visual counterpart to Summers' lyrical history and thoughtful exploration of the instrument's features. Together they create a unique poetic meditation on the guitar. Both artists pay attention to the form of the guitar and its relationship to the body; its curves echo the human figure, not only requiring it to be cradled to play it, but inviting a study of its own sumptuous anatomy. With over one hundred alluring images that capture the graceful details of the instrument, Light Strings is the book for every guitar player.

Reproduction of the original: Nicolo Paganini: His Life and Work by Stephen Samuel Stratton