One Hundred Years of Violoncello : A History of Technique and Performance Practice, 1740-1840 (Cambridge Musical Texts and Monographs)

Rating:
Summary: The best scholarly book on the cello published in decades
Review: Valerie Walden's book on the history of cello technique and performance practice in the 18th and early 19th centuries is an important contribution to the the field of cello history and performance practice research. No other really good, scholarly work on this subject has appeared for decades, and none has been written or researched so thoroughly as Walden's book. Based in part on her excellent and comprehensive Ph.D. dissertation comparing the French and Austro-German schools of cello playing, One Hundred Years of Violoncello covers all important aspects related to the evolution of cello playing of 18th and 19th centuries in substantial detail, including cellists, development of the instrument and bow, technique and performance practice issues. Walden's familiarity with all of the important treatises on cello playing of the 18th and early 19th centuries allows her to treat each topic with authority and in appropriate detail. Although biographical sketches of early notable cellists are based primarily on standard, traditional sources of information, the main body of the book consists of chapters on technique and performance practice and are of particular interest, as they contain fresh insights into performance conventions and aesthetics of the time. These include chapters on bowing and fingering, "The art of accompaniment", "Special effects", and "Elements of aesthetics and style". This volume is a "must-have" for anyone interested in performance practice studies of this period, but for cellists in particular.