Description
Book SynopsisJ.S. Bach's sonatas and partitas for solo violin have been central to the violin repertoire since the mid-18th century. This introduction to these works explores their place within Bach's music, focusing on their structural and stylistic features as they have been perceived since their creation.
Trade Review"The volume thus has a quadruple purpose, providing an analytical study and historical guide to Bach's solo-violin works, an introduction to Bach's style and its evolution and a forum for authoritative discussion of selected performance issues....will certainly assist violinists, students, scholars and other listeners to develop new perspectives on this music...and encourage the cultivation of more informed and more vivid performances." --The Strad
"Serious violinists and theorists will applaud the thoroughness of Lester's work."--Choice
"Joel Lester is one of America's leading theorists and analysts of music, as well as a professional violinist. He is therefore uniquely qualified to write a serious analytical and interpretive study of J. S. Bach's violin music. . . . It's quite incredible that, despite the stature and importance of this music, there has never been a serious full-length study of its repertoire. That is, until now. . . . This book is richly informative and insightful, abundantly displaying Lester's learning and analytical talents. It is also engagingly written."--Robert L. Marshall, Brandeis University
"Performers will find this book's discussion of recordings invaluable, its performance-oriented analyses helpful in understanding the logic behind interpretation, and its historical excursuses informative. . . . Lester has the reputation of being an excellent performer, is a recognized scholar in the history of theory, and has written a harmony textbook. Who better to bring all of these talents and accomplishments to a book of this sort?"--Lee A. Rothfarb, University of California at Santa Barbara
Table of Contents1. The History of Bach's Solo-Violin Works ; 2. The G-minor Adagio ; 3. The G-minor Fuga ; 4. The Siciliana of the G-minor Sonata ; 5. The G-minor Presto ; 6. The Partitas ; 7. Closing Thoughts
