Indivisible by Four : A String Quartet in Pursuit Of Harmony - Hardcover

Steinhardt, Arnold

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0374236704 ISBN 13: 9780374236700

Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1998

Synopsis

The Guarneri Quartet is fabled for its unique longevity and high-spirited virtuosity. Here is its story from the inside--a story filled with drama, humor, danger, compassion, and, of course, glorious music.

A player who studies and performs the exalted string-quartet repertoire has opted for a very special life. Arnold Steinhardt, tracing his own development as a student, orchestra player, and budding young soloist, gives a touching account of how he and his intrepid colleagues were converted to chamber music despite the daunting odds against success. And he reveals, as no one has before, the intensely difficult process by which--on the battlefield of daily three-hour rehearsals--four individualists master and then overcome the confining demands of ensemble playing.

About this title

About the Author

Arnold Steinhardt is the first violinist and a founding member of the Guarneri Quartet. He lives in New York City with his wife and two children.

Reviews

There are few good books written from inside a notable string quartet, and Steinhardt's effort is a charming one. Having been together for 35 years, the Guarneri quartet, with John Dalley, Michael Tree, David Soyer and Steinhardt as first violin, is the oldest American group to have preserved the same membership. With self-effacing modesty (he is the first to insist that the first violin is not necessarily the leader of the group, though he may play a prominent role), Steinhardt describes both his own career and that of the group. He could have been a soloist or a successful orchestral musician, like most chamber players, but chose otherwise. The reasons he givesAthe unwillingness to be regimented, the need for companionship on the road, the closeness to the musicAare cogent ones, but a chamber group with permanent membership is an extraordinary organism all the same. Steinhardt skillfully describes the tensions, the long-running jokes, the arguments, the determinedly separate vacationsAand the ecstasy when all the skills and long hours of practice come together in performances that strike to the heart of some of the most intimate music ever composed. The Guarneri, while not perhaps the most glamorous of American quartets, has well deserved its sturdy longevity, and Steinhardt's book gives an excellent sense of the dynamics that have kept it going. A discography of this much-recorded group would have been a welcome addition.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Since his days at the Curtis Institute of Music, Steinhardt yearned for a career in between that of the orchestral musician and that of the soloist. He found it, after service as assistant concertmaster of the Cleveland Orchestra under George Szell, at the Marlboro Festival when he, John Dalley, Michael Tree, and David Soyer played through a Mozart quartet late one afternoon. All were hooked. One of the most democratic quartets, the Guarneri members discuss interpretation at rehearsals, watch one another to keep together, and change as new ideas occur to them. Many humorous stories figure in Steinhardt's breezy account, in which he reveals what happens during rehearsals for a concert, while traveling around the world giving 100 concerts every year, and during the members' summer vacations away from the others. The engaging look into the inner workings of a string quartet that the Guarneri first violinist provides will enlighten as well as entertain both musicians and serious listeners. Alan Hirsch

The Guarneri String Quartet, formed 35 years ago by Steinhardt, John Dalley, Michael Tree, and David Soyer, may owe its legendary longevity to any number of elements Steinhardt describes in this cheerful, informative chronicle. That they continue to "have fun" playing great music together may be fundamental to their continuance, but Steinhardt's readers will conclude that the aesthetic and intellectual growth such a long, vivacious, trusting association has afforded them is equally important. This is Steinhardt's musical autobiography, but in addition to commentary on the other quartet members and their interaction, it also contains Steinhardt's engaging musings on four-part music in general, amateur string players, and particular pieces of the repertoire. Recordings, a film, articles, and other books document the group's history, but this inside view from its first violinist, filled with new stories told with great happiness, will be welcomed by all who know and love their work. Recommended.?Bonnie Jo Dopp, Univ. of Maryland Lib., College Park
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Edition details

• Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
• Publication date: 1998
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0374236704
• ISBN 13: 9780374236700
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 308