David Schoenbaum

This is a massive and daunting book about the violin. Schoenbaum reviews the makers of the violin, starting in Cremona, Italy where Stradivarius and Guaneri created some of the later most prized violins. He then, in a interesting section entitled "Selling It" explains how some violins became extraordinarily valuable, collected and lent out, faked, and stolen. The violin virtuosos and teachers are introduced with histories of the famous, and interesting anecdotes, and finally the violin in literature and popular culture is explored. I had expected more on the origins of the violin, and on its construction, less on the pop culture references, but the prose is fluid and the many stories are well told.… (more)