The Art of Quartet Playing: The Guarneri Quartet

Rating:
Summary: An amazing quartet with lots to say!
Review: My first encounter with the Guarneri String Quartet was in reading Arnold Steinhardt's book, *Indivisible by Four*. There, I gained an understanding and fascination for the relationships within the quartet and the overall amazing professional and musical workings of a well-established chamber group. This fascination led my to seek out *The Art of Quartet Playing*. In this book, David Blum and the Guarneri quartet explore various technical aspects of quartet playing and string playing in general. Many of the ideas for rehearsal and performance techniques presented by the quartet (on topics including the decisions as to which players should give cues and when) provide useful advice for quartets of all levels. While mere descriptions of quartet techniques could tend to get old fast, the quartet members' witty and satirical comments, often coming out of nowhere, keep the reading entertaining as well as informative. This book ends with a journey through the score of Beethoven's Opus 131 quartet, guided by the explanations of the people who know it best, the musicians who play it. I recommend this book to anyone who loves string quartets, playing them or listening to them. While it may not take hold of the imagination as fully as *Indivisible by Four*, there is much to be learned and enjoyed in these conversations between David Blum and the Guarneri String Quartet.

Rating:
Summary: An amazing quartet with lots to say!
Review: My first encounter with the Guarneri String Quartet was in reading Arnold Steinhardt's book, *Indivisible by Four*. There, I gained an understanding and fascination for the relationships within the quartet and the overall amazing professional and musical workings of a well-established chamber group. This fascination led my to seek out *The Art of Quartet Playing*. In this book, David Blum and the Guarneri quartet explore various technical aspects of quartet playing and string playing in general. Many of the ideas for rehearsal and performance techniques presented by the quartet (on topics including the decisions as to which players should give cues and when) provide useful advice for quartets of all levels. While mere descriptions of quartet techniques could tend to get old fast, the quartet members' witty and satirical comments, often coming out of nowhere, keep the reading entertaining as well as informative. This book ends with a journey through the score of Beethoven's Opus 131 quartet, guided by the explanations of the people who know it best, the musicians who play it. I recommend this book to anyone who loves string quartets, playing them or listening to them. While it may not take hold of the imagination as fully as *Indivisible by Four*, there is much to be learned and enjoyed in these conversations between David Blum and the Guarneri String Quartet.