false 117332 <![CDATA[Stradivari's Genius: Five Violins, One Cello, and Three Centuries of Enduring Perfection]]> http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171735995m/117332.jpg http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171735995s/117332.jpg 117332 5 112985 2004 Stradivari's Genius: Five Violins, One Cello, and Three Centuries of Enduring Perfection total:75|5:10|4:35|3:25|2:3|1:2| 75 273 131 19 68073 3.67 111 33 58530115 769225 750749 0375508481 9780375508486 4 <![CDATA[Stradivari's Genius: Five Violins, One Cello, and Three Centuries of Enduring Perfection]]> http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1178030474m/750749.jpg http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1178030474s/750749.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/750749.Stradivari_s_Genius_Five_Violins_One_Cello_and_Three_Centuries_of_Enduring_Perfection 3.56 9 “’Tis God gives skill, but not without men’s hands: He could not make Antonio Stradivari’s violins without Antonio.”
–George Eliot

Antonio Stradivari (1644—1737) was a perfectionist whose single-minded pursuit of excellence changed the world of music. In the course of his long career in the northern Italian city of Cremona, he created more than a thousand stringed instruments; approximately six hundred survive. In this fascinating book, Toby Faber traces the rich, multilayered stories of six of these peerless instruments–five violins and a cello–and the one towering artist who brought them into being.

Blending history, biography, meticulous detective work, and an abiding passion for music, Faber embarks on an absorbing journey as he follows some of the most prized instruments of all time. Mysteries and unanswered questions proliferate from the outset–starting with the enigma of Antonio Stradivari himself. What made this apparently unsophisticated craftsman so special? Why were his techniques not maintained by his successors? How is it that even two and a half centuries after his death, no one has succeeded in matching the purity, depth, and delicacy of a Stradivarius?

In Faber’s illuminating narrative, each of the six fabled instruments becomes a character in its own right–a living entity cherished by artists, bought and sold by princes and plutocrats, coveted, collected, hidden, lost, copied, and occasionally played by a musician whose skill matches its maker’s.

Here is the fabulous Viotti, named for the virtuoso who enchanted all Paris in the 1780s, only to fall foul of the French Revolution. Paganini supposedly made a pact with the devil to transform the art of the violin–and by the end of his life he owned eleven Strads. Then there’s the Davidov cello, fashioned in 1712 and lovingly handed down through a succession of celebrated artists until, in the 1980s, it passed into the capable hands of Yo-Yo Ma.

From the salons of Vienna to the concert halls of New York, from the breakthroughs of Beethoven’s last quartets to the first phonographic recordings, Faber unfolds a narrative magnificent in its range and brilliant in its detail. “A great violin is alive,” said Yehudi Menuhin of his own Stradivarius. In the pages of this book, Faber invites us to share the life, the passion, the intrigue, and the incomparable beauty of the world’s most marvelous stringed instruments.]]> 2004 3 0 false Wed May 27 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Fri Jun 05 07:49:07 -0700 2009 Fri Jun 05 08:03:33 -0700 2009 more...]]> 40794600 1825522 117332 0375760857 9780375760853 14 <![CDATA[Stradivari's Genius: Five Violins, One Cello, and Three Centuries of Enduring Perfection]]> http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171735995m/117332.jpg http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171735995s/117332.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/117332.Stradivari_s_Genius_Five_Violins_One_Cello_and_Three_Centuries_of_Enduring_Perfection 3.61 62 2004 1 0 false Mon Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2007 Tue Dec 23 17:53:17 -0800 2008 Tue Dec 23 17:57:52 -0800 2008 It doesn't have a plot or a purpose, and it doesn't make sense.
And most of the information given out is available better elsewhere.
I thought it was strange that for most of these "fabulous" violins,...more...]]> 21598456 914604 117332 0375760857 9780375760853 14 <![CDATA[Stradivari's Genius: Five Violins, One Cello, and Three Centuries of Enduring Perfection]]> http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171735995m/117332.jpg http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171735995s/117332.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/117332.Stradivari_s_Genius_Five_Violins_One_Cello_and_Three_Centuries_of_Enduring_Perfection 3.64 75 2004 4 0 false Sun May 04 18:32:50 -0700 2008 Sun May 04 18:52:33 -0700 2008 more...]]> 42071410 1296032 117332 0375760857 9780375760853 14 <![CDATA[Stradivari's Genius: Five Violins, One Cello, and Three Centuries of Enduring Perfection]]> http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171735995m/117332.jpg http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171735995s/117332.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/117332.Stradivari_s_Genius_Five_Violins_One_Cello_and_Three_Centuries_of_Enduring_Perfection 3.64 75 2004 0 0 false Mon Dec 01 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Tue Jan 06 04:27:48 -0800 2009 Tue Jan 06 04:27:48 -0800 2009 22970893 297848 117332 0375760857 9780375760853 14 <![CDATA[Stradivari's Genius: Five Violins, One Cello, and Three Centuries of Enduring Perfection]]> http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171735995m/117332.jpg http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171735995s/117332.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/117332.Stradivari_s_Genius_Five_Violins_One_Cello_and_Three_Centuries_of_Enduring_Perfection 3.64 75 2004 4 0 false Mon May 26 07:22:41 -0700 2008 Mon May 26 07:36:23 -0700 2008
Tony Faber examines the artistry of Antonio Stradivari as told by the stories of his own instruments, as they were made, as they traded hands and as they were played. Faber's...more...]]> 51200930 1886848 117332 0375760857 9780375760853 14 <![CDATA[Stradivari's Genius: Five Violins, One Cello, and Three Centuries of Enduring Perfection]]> http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171735995m/117332.jpg http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171735995s/117332.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/117332.Stradivari_s_Genius_Five_Violins_One_Cello_and_Three_Centuries_of_Enduring_Perfection 3.64 75 2004 2 0 false Wed Apr 01 17:37:13 -0700 2009 Wed Apr 01 17:38:02 -0700 2009 44882291 1041468 117332 0375760857 9780375760853 14 <![CDATA[Stradivari's Genius: Five Violins, One Cello, and Three Centuries of Enduring Perfection]]> http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171735995m/117332.jpg http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171735995s/117332.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/117332.Stradivari_s_Genius_Five_Violins_One_Cello_and_Three_Centuries_of_Enduring_Perfection 3.64 75 2004 4 0 false Sun Jun 07 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Fri Jan 30 13:31:26 -0800 2009 Sun Jun 07 15:13:07 -0700 2009 more...]]> 19966649 937119 117332 0375760857 9780375760853 14 <![CDATA[Stradivari's Genius: Five Violins, One Cello, and Three Centuries of Enduring Perfection]]> http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171735995m/117332.jpg http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171735995s/117332.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/117332.Stradivari_s_Genius_Five_Violins_One_Cello_and_Three_Centuries_of_Enduring_Perfection 3.64 75 2004 5 0 false Sun Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2006 Fri Apr 11 15:55:09 -0700 2008 Sun Nov 02 19:17:40 -0800 2008 more...]]> 28097120 1040878 1132161 0333989767 9780333989760 1 <![CDATA[Stradivarius: Five Violins, One Cello and a Genius]]> http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1181247928m/1132161.jpg http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1181247928s/1132161.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1132161.Stradivarius_Five_Violins_One_Cello_and_a_Genius 4.00 2 2004 3 0 false Wed Jul 23 15:01:12 -0700 2008 Fri Dec 26 03:00:58 -0800 2008 more...]]> 3710605 232312 117332 0375760857 9780375760853 14 <![CDATA[Stradivari's Genius: Five Violins, One Cello, and Three Centuries of Enduring Perfection]]> http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171735995m/117332.jpg http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171735995s/117332.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/117332.Stradivari_s_Genius_Five_Violins_One_Cello_and_Three_Centuries_of_Enduring_Perfection 3.64 75 2004 3 0 false Sun Jul 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Sat Jul 28 12:23:01 -0700 2007 Thu Dec 17 02:36:10 -0800 2009 more...]]> 21636404 1076085 117332 0375760857 9780375760853 14 <![CDATA[Stradivari's Genius: Five Violins, One Cello, and Three Centuries of Enduring Perfection]]> http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171735995m/117332.jpg http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171735995s/117332.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/117332.Stradivari_s_Genius_Five_Violins_One_Cello_and_Three_Centuries_of_Enduring_Perfection 3.64 75 2004 5 0 false Tue Apr 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Mon May 05 09:38:08 -0700 2008 Mon May 05 09:39:50 -0700 2008 22081073 649656 750749 0375508481 9780375508486 4 <![CDATA[Stradivari's Genius: Five Violins, One Cello, and Three Centuries of Enduring Perfection]]> http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1178030474m/750749.jpg http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1178030474s/750749.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/750749.Stradivari_s_Genius_Five_Violins_One_Cello_and_Three_Centuries_of_Enduring_Perfection 3.64 75 “’Tis God gives skill, but not without men’s hands: He could not make Antonio Stradivari’s violins without Antonio.”
–George Eliot

Antonio Stradivari (1644—1737) was a perfectionist whose single-minded pursuit of excellence changed the world of music. In the course of his long career in the northern Italian city of Cremona, he created more than a thousand stringed instruments; approximately six hundred survive. In this fascinating book, Toby Faber traces the rich, multilayered stories of six of these peerless instruments–five violins and a cello–and the one towering artist who brought them into being.

Blending history, biography, meticulous detective work, and an abiding passion for music, Faber embarks on an absorbing journey as he follows some of the most prized instruments of all time. Mysteries and unanswered questions proliferate from the outset–starting with the enigma of Antonio Stradivari himself. What made this apparently unsophisticated craftsman so special? Why were his techniques not maintained by his successors? How is it that even two and a half centuries after his death, no one has succeeded in matching the purity, depth, and delicacy of a Stradivarius?

In Faber’s illuminating narrative, each of the six fabled instruments becomes a character in its own right–a living entity cherished by artists, bought and sold by princes and plutocrats, coveted, collected, hidden, lost, copied, and occasionally played by a musician whose skill matches its maker’s.

Here is the fabulous Viotti, named for the virtuoso who enchanted all Paris in the 1780s, only to fall foul of the French Revolution. Paganini supposedly made a pact with the devil to transform the art of the violin–and by the end of his life he owned eleven Strads. Then there’s the Davidov cello, fashioned in 1712 and lovingly handed down through a succession of celebrated artists until, in the 1980s, it passed into the capable hands of Yo-Yo Ma.

From the salons of Vienna to the concert halls of New York, from the breakthroughs of Beethoven’s last quartets to the first phonographic recordings, Faber unfolds a narrative magnificent in its range and brilliant in its detail. “A great violin is alive,” said Yehudi Menuhin of his own Stradivarius. In the pages of this book, Faber invites us to share the life, the passion, the intrigue, and the incomparable beauty of the world’s most marvelous stringed instruments.]]> 2004 4 0 false Mon May 12 11:54:14 -0700 2008 Thu May 15 14:55:17 -0700 2008 36229271 569517 750749 0375508481 9780375508486 4 <![CDATA[Stradivari's Genius: Five Violins, One Cello, and Three Centuries of Enduring Perfection]]> http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1178030474m/750749.jpg http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1178030474s/750749.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/750749.Stradivari_s_Genius_Five_Violins_One_Cello_and_Three_Centuries_of_Enduring_Perfection 3.64 75 “’Tis God gives skill, but not without men’s hands: He could not make Antonio Stradivari’s violins without Antonio.”
–George Eliot

Antonio Stradivari (1644—1737) was a perfectionist whose single-minded pursuit of excellence changed the world of music. In the course of his long career in the northern Italian city of Cremona, he created more than a thousand stringed instruments; approximately six hundred survive. In this fascinating book, Toby Faber traces the rich, multilayered stories of six of these peerless instruments–five violins and a cello–and the one towering artist who brought them into being.

Blending history, biography, meticulous detective work, and an abiding passion for music, Faber embarks on an absorbing journey as he follows some of the most prized instruments of all time. Mysteries and unanswered questions proliferate from the outset–starting with the enigma of Antonio Stradivari himself. What made this apparently unsophisticated craftsman so special? Why were his techniques not maintained by his successors? How is it that even two and a half centuries after his death, no one has succeeded in matching the purity, depth, and delicacy of a Stradivarius?

In Faber’s illuminating narrative, each of the six fabled instruments becomes a character in its own right–a living entity cherished by artists, bought and sold by princes and plutocrats, coveted, collected, hidden, lost, copied, and occasionally played by a musician whose skill matches its maker’s.

Here is the fabulous Viotti, named for the virtuoso who enchanted all Paris in the 1780s, only to fall foul of the French Revolution. Paganini supposedly made a pact with the devil to transform the art of the violin–and by the end of his life he owned eleven Strads. Then there’s the Davidov cello, fashioned in 1712 and lovingly handed down through a succession of celebrated artists until, in the 1980s, it passed into the capable hands of Yo-Yo Ma.

From the salons of Vienna to the concert halls of New York, from the breakthroughs of Beethoven’s last quartets to the first phonographic recordings, Faber unfolds a narrative magnificent in its range and brilliant in its detail. “A great violin is alive,” said Yehudi Menuhin of his own Stradivarius. In the pages of this book, Faber invites us to share the life, the passion, the intrigue, and the incomparable beauty of the world’s most marvelous stringed instruments.]]> 2004 3 0 false Tue Nov 11 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Sun Oct 26 08:47:13 -0700 2008 Tue Nov 11 13:49:12 -0800 2008
I found this book to be a difficult read despite the interest that I have in the subject of violins.]]> 66119458 2588430 117332 0375760857 9780375760853 14 <![CDATA[Stradivari's Genius: Five Violins, One Cello, and Three Centuries of Enduring Perfection]]> http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171735995m/117332.jpg http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171735995s/117332.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/117332.Stradivari_s_Genius_Five_Violins_One_Cello_and_Three_Centuries_of_Enduring_Perfection 3.64 75 2004 4 0 false Wed Apr 01 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Tue Aug 04 05:17:49 -0700 2009 Tue Oct 06 07:17:12 -0700 2009 22755403 242495 117332 0375760857 9780375760853 14 <![CDATA[Stradivari's Genius: Five Violins, One Cello, and Three Centuries of Enduring Perfection]]> http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171735995m/117332.jpg http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171735995s/117332.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/117332.Stradivari_s_Genius_Five_Violins_One_Cello_and_Three_Centuries_of_Enduring_Perfection 3.64 75 2004 4 0 false Mon Dec 01 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Thu May 22 10:24:49 -0700 2008 Tue Jul 21 10:19:26 -0700 2009 I love the perspective of history as told through the instrument.]]> 1159607 82713 750749 0375508481 9780375508486 4 <![CDATA[Stradivari's Genius: Five Violins, One Cello, and Three Centuries of Enduring Perfection]]> http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1178030474m/750749.jpg http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1178030474s/750749.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/750749.Stradivari_s_Genius_Five_Violins_One_Cello_and_Three_Centuries_of_Enduring_Perfection 3.64 75 “’Tis God gives skill, but not without men’s hands: He could not make Antonio Stradivari’s violins without Antonio.”
–George Eliot

Antonio Stradivari (1644—1737) was a perfectionist whose single-minded pursuit of excellence changed the world of music. In the course of his long career in the northern Italian city of Cremona, he created more than a thousand stringed instruments; approximately six hundred survive. In this fascinating book, Toby Faber traces the rich, multilayered stories of six of these peerless instruments–five violins and a cello–and the one towering artist who brought them into being.

Blending history, biography, meticulous detective work, and an abiding passion for music, Faber embarks on an absorbing journey as he follows some of the most prized instruments of all time. Mysteries and unanswered questions proliferate from the outset–starting with the enigma of Antonio Stradivari himself. What made this apparently unsophisticated craftsman so special? Why were his techniques not maintained by his successors? How is it that even two and a half centuries after his death, no one has succeeded in matching the purity, depth, and delicacy of a Stradivarius?

In Faber’s illuminating narrative, each of the six fabled instruments becomes a character in its own right–a living entity cherished by artists, bought and sold by princes and plutocrats, coveted, collected, hidden, lost, copied, and occasionally played by a musician whose skill matches its maker’s.

Here is the fabulous Viotti, named for the virtuoso who enchanted all Paris in the 1780s, only to fall foul of the French Revolution. Paganini supposedly made a pact with the devil to transform the art of the violin–and by the end of his life he owned eleven Strads. Then there’s the Davidov cello, fashioned in 1712 and lovingly handed down through a succession of celebrated artists until, in the 1980s, it passed into the capable hands of Yo-Yo Ma.

From the salons of Vienna to the concert halls of New York, from the breakthroughs of Beethoven’s last quartets to the first phonographic recordings, Faber unfolds a narrative magnificent in its range and brilliant in its detail. “A great violin is alive,” said Yehudi Menuhin of his own Stradivarius. In the pages of this book, Faber invites us to share the life, the passion, the intrigue, and the incomparable beauty of the world’s most marvelous stringed instruments.]]> 2004 4 0 false Thu Mar 01 00:00:00 -0800 2007 Fri May 11 06:51:07 -0700 2007 Wed Dec 16 19:16:59 -0800 2009 17209114 962317 117332 0375760857 9780375760853 14 <![CDATA[Stradivari's Genius: Five Violins, One Cello, and Three Centuries of Enduring Perfection]]> http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171735995m/117332.jpg http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171735995s/117332.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/117332.Stradivari_s_Genius_Five_Violins_One_Cello_and_Three_Centuries_of_Enduring_Perfection 3.64 75 2004 2 0 false Thu Apr 10 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Thu Mar 06 20:18:58 -0800 2008 Fri Apr 11 13:04:25 -0700 2008 45070688 2451885 117332 0375760857 9780375760853 14 <![CDATA[Stradivari's Genius: Five Violins, One Cello, and Three Centuries of Enduring Perfection]]> http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171735995m/117332.jpg http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171735995s/117332.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/117332.Stradivari_s_Genius_Five_Violins_One_Cello_and_Three_Centuries_of_Enduring_Perfection 3.64 75 2004 5 0 false Sun Feb 01 14:56:36 -0800 2009 Sun Feb 01 14:57:08 -0800 2009 18451848 1016069 117332 0375760857 9780375760853 14 <![CDATA[Stradivari's Genius: Five Violins, One Cello, and Three Centuries of Enduring Perfection]]> http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171735995m/117332.jpg http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171735995s/117332.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/117332.Stradivari_s_Genius_Five_Violins_One_Cello_and_Three_Centuries_of_Enduring_Perfection 3.64 75 2004 5 0 false Sun Mar 23 13:51:14 -0700 2008 Sun Mar 23 13:51:40 -0700 2008 81266677 2163219 117332 0375760857 9780375760853 14 <![CDATA[Stradivari's Genius: Five Violins, One Cello, and Three Centuries of Enduring Perfection]]> http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171735995m/117332.jpg http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171735995s/117332.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/117332.Stradivari_s_Genius_Five_Violins_One_Cello_and_Three_Centuries_of_Enduring_Perfection 3.64 75 2004 0 0 false Wed Dec 16 22:40:38 -0800 2009 Wed Dec 16 22:40:38 -0800 2009 8 http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=117332