Performer and scholar Abram Loft wants every chamber musician to be a strong, collaborative ensemble voice. Here's his hard-headed advice on choosing colleagues, rehearsing and performing effectively together, building repertoire, programming, touring and other facets of the art and business of a chamber music career. Ranging from hilarious to sobering, this is essential reading for music lovers, amateur players, students, teachers and today's many emerging professional ensembles. Recent events in the field, including some strident litigation, highlight the usefulness of this veteran's realistic counsel.
Book Description
Editorial Reviews
From Library Journal
Loft, second violin in the Fine Arts Quartet from 1954 to 1979 and former chair of the string department at the Eastman School of Music, intends to offer both aesthetic and business advice for amateurs and professional chamber musicians. However, to illustrate his points, he cites numerous examples from his own career, thus turning much of the book into a set of personal reminiscences, many of which are entertaining but not necessarily instructive. (What is the purpose, for example, of the appended list of repertory performed by the Fine Arts Quartet during his tenure?) On the practical side, Loft does offer advice about tax returns, management, and rehearsal techniques, although the level of instruction-both musical and business-is mostly elementary, and some of it is quite dated. In reality, this is a fairly entertaining collection of its distinguished author's career memories, with some practical information thrown in. A marginal purchase.
Timothy J. McGee, Hastings, Ont.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Timothy J. McGee, Hastings, Ont.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Review
". . . essential reading for ensembles starting out, for the emerging professional quartet and even for the seasoned player." -- AUSTA Stringendo, Vol. 25/1, 2003
". . . information on the practical side of chamber music rarely gets into print . . . the book fills a special niche . . ." -- Choice, May 2003
"An intriguing study . . . most especially recommended for aspiring musicians seriously considering pursuing a career in ensemble music. " -- The Bookwatch, December 2003
"Loft . . . writes a personable, quite charming, but also genuinely informative account of his musical life." -- Reference & Research Book News, February 2004
"Loft comes across as a sensitive, witty, warm soul, and good company for the reader . . ." -- Notes, September 2003
This book offers exceptionally valuable advice. . . . Many chamber ensembles will benefit greatly from the information in this book. -- Elaine Fine, The Instrumentalist
". . . information on the practical side of chamber music rarely gets into print . . . the book fills a special niche . . ." -- Choice, May 2003
"An intriguing study . . . most especially recommended for aspiring musicians seriously considering pursuing a career in ensemble music. " -- The Bookwatch, December 2003
"Loft . . . writes a personable, quite charming, but also genuinely informative account of his musical life." -- Reference & Research Book News, February 2004
"Loft comes across as a sensitive, witty, warm soul, and good company for the reader . . ." -- Notes, September 2003
This book offers exceptionally valuable advice. . . . Many chamber ensembles will benefit greatly from the information in this book. -- Elaine Fine, The Instrumentalist
Product Details
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
More About the Author
Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.
Customer Reviews
|
Share your thoughts with other customers:
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
An intriguing study,
By Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: How to Succeed in an Ensemble: Reflections on a Life in Chamber Music (Hardcover)
How To Succeed In An Ensemble: Reflections On A Life In Chamber Music by Abram Loft (Distinguished Professor Emeritus, Eastman School of Music, University of Rochester), is a combination personal memoir and practical advice sourcebook written by an impressively accomplished musician and educator who spent a quarter century in ensemble life with the Fine Arts. Individual chapters wonderfully illustrate such issues as overcoming hurdles to join quartets or ensembles; dealing with reviews; rehearsal difficulties; settling in to a new life of teaching chamber music; and a great deal more. An intriguing study, How To Succeed In An Ensemble is most especially recommended for aspiring musicians seriously considering pursuing a career in ensemble music.
Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
|
|
Inside This Book
(learn more)
First Sentence:
In the late 1950s the Fine Arts Quartet was giving an assembly discussion-concert at the Downer Seminary, a private school for girls in Milwaukee. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
viola quintet, chamber music workshop, ensemble life, horn quintet, woodwind quintet, quartet members, ensemble members, piano quintet, chamber ensemble, first violin Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
New York, Fine Arts Quartet, George Sopkin, Leonard Sorkin, North Shore, New Zealand, Beethoven's Quartet, Abe Loft, Chicago Symphony, Irving Ilmer, Eastman School, Irv Ilmer, Suggested Readings, Town Hall, Carol Sopkin, Northwestern University, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Bernard Zaslav, Jerry Stanick, Paul Lang, David Glazer, Francis Tursi, Frank Glazer, Gerald Stanick, Josef Gingold New!
Books on Related Topics | Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
In the late 1950s the Fine Arts Quartet was giving an assembly discussion-concert at the Downer Seminary, a private school for girls in Milwaukee. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
viola quintet, chamber music workshop, ensemble life, horn quintet, woodwind quintet, quartet members, ensemble members, piano quintet, chamber ensemble, first violin Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
New York, Fine Arts Quartet, George Sopkin, Leonard Sorkin, North Shore, New Zealand, Beethoven's Quartet, Abe Loft, Chicago Symphony, Irving Ilmer, Eastman School, Irv Ilmer, Suggested Readings, Town Hall, Carol Sopkin, Northwestern University, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Bernard Zaslav, Jerry Stanick, Paul Lang, David Glazer, Francis Tursi, Frank Glazer, Gerald Stanick, Josef Gingold New!
Books on Related Topics | Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Citations (learn more)
This book cites 6
books:
See all 6 books this book cites
- Music in Western Civilization by Paul Henry Lang on page 16
- The Art of String Quartet Playing by M. D. Herter Norton in Back Matter
- Violin Concerto in D Major: Op. 35 (Dover Miniature Scores) by Peter Ilyitch Tchaikovsky in Back Matter
- Playing String Quartets by Athol Page in Back Matter
- The Art of Quartet Playing: The Guarneri Quartet in Conversation with David Blum (Cornell Paperbacks) by David Blum in Back Matter
See all 6 books this book cites
Books on Related Topics
(learn more)
|
|
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Suggested Tags from Similar Products(What's this?)Be the first one to add a relevant tag (keyword that's strongly related to this product).
|
Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store
If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store.
Learn more
