BOOKS

The Paganini of the Double Bass: Bottesini in Britain Chris West

280PP ISBN 9798747194595 AMAZON INDEPENDENT PUBLISHING £12.99

Looking into the life of Giovanni Bottesini is much like stepping into a Narnia of 19th-century music.

The fickleness of history seems to have somehow overlooked the double bassist, composer and conductor despite him having been a household name in his time.

Chris West’s book highlights Bottesini’s importance to the development of the music scene in the UK, and that of the Romantic period; at one point he was the most famous musician of his era. The book will also appeal to anyone interested in the music of that era, as it opens a door to Bottesini’s myriad personal perspectives and relationships with all the greats of his time, giving us a much more detailed insight to the workings of the industry. It highlights the musician’s vast (but mostly unknown) composition catalogue and his ambitions to be respected as a composer and conductor, not just as a bass virtuoso. Bottesini often found that his compositions, rather than being of lesser quality than those of his contemporaries, were simply victims of circumstance; and the overwhelming demand for him to be heard as a soloist meant his time available to compose was limited.

It is clear the author has written this book based on his deep knowledge and experience of opera (Bottesini’s main output as a composer) within the wider context of UK music history. West manages to connect the network of related people who surrounded Bottesini during his time in Britain, and who influenced his career at various stages. Although it can be a little hard to keep track of all the people that came and went in Bottesini’s life, I am very grateful to have the information together in one accessible place.

Among the most important features of this book are the many new discoveries made by West in his research. He dispels many of the myths that have been repeated previously about Bottesini’s life.

These have mostly been made on assumptions, inaccurate recollections or simply made up, being taken as fact after being repeated ad infinitum over the years and appearing in anything from articles to doctoral theses. The book also presents rediscovered works by Bottesini and previously unpublished information on his marriages and personal life, and expands on West’s research into the origin of the Promenade concerts in London, with Bottesini first appearing in 1851.

Unlike previous volumes on Bottesini, this book is written in English, which opens up the information to readers worldwide. Until now this has always been something of a hurdle for researchers. West also gives a fascinating insight into the virtuoso’s life thanks to the detailed concert listings and updated catalogue of works, making research much easier. I hope this book creates a furore among enthusiasts and music lovers alike, and rekindles a long overdue interest in Bottesini’s life. Its publication complements his 200th birthday celebrations perfectly.

STEPHEN STREET

1 Teaches 2 Learn: Private music teaching and you Eloise Hellyer

EBOOK: ISBN 9791220072052 $49.99 BOOK: ISBN 9781956428001 $59.99 458PP SHAR MUSIC

Eloise Hellyer’s 1 Teaches 2 Learn is a book of two halves. The first section is an extended discourse around the enormous and often thorny subject of what instrumental teaching is really about, how to approach it and how to be good at it. The author doesn’t shy away from potentially uncomfortable home truths; in the opening chapter we read that ‘most musicians go to conservatory… because they want to be musicians.

Suddenly… many find themselves teaching instead – whether they want to or not.’ She also highlights the often unspoken fact that, of the qualities a teacher should ideally have, competence on the instrument is not necessarily at the top of the list, as well as giving her own strategies for working through those days when enthusiasm for teaching is hard to find. She tackles concepts such as emotional involvement, charisma and humility, as well as more prosaic subjects such as building a studio, dealing with parents and working with students who don’t practise.

Throughout these discussions, the author mixes (often hard-hitting) questions with thoughts, opinions and anecdotes from her long teaching career, as well as offering practical suggestions and advice to both new and established teachers. The rest of the book is a collection of interviews with violinists and violin teachers, starting with Viktoria Mullova, continuing with Gil Shaham and taking in Shmuel Ashkenasi, Manny Hurwitz and many more along the way. If you like a good quote, there’s plenty of material to mine here, and countless stories that give fascinating insights into teacher–pupil–parent relationships and the process of practising and learning.

The text of the first part of the book is written in a relaxed style, with a sprinkling of some rather splendid vocabulary – neophyte, picayune, genuflect, behoves, vainglory – to give just a few examples. The easy-on-theeye format of the book and the conversational style of the writing make it tempting to read large chunks of the book in one go, which I found had a similar effect to having an interesting (and occasionally slightly gossipy) chat with a fellow string teacher over coffee. The author makes a point of focusing on teaching as a spiritual activity and I have to confess that some of the deeper philosophical ideas didn’t particularly chime with me: ‘[teaching] is being in a state that is so receptive that a circle of energy forms between you and your student so that you become him and he becomes you’. But the committed way in which the ideas are presented is nothing if not thoughtprovoking and the entire book is full of interesting, useful and discussionsparking topics.

Although the book appears to be aimed at violin teachers – the violin is referenced throughout, interviews at the back are with violinists and there is a large picture of a violin on the front cover – there is a high proportion of general, rather than violin-specific, content in the main body of the book. In that sense it would undoubtedly be of interest and benefit to teachers of any instrument.

CELIA COBB

The Sheku Kanneh-Mason Cello Collection Sheku Kanneh-Mason

72PP ISBN 9780571541973 FABER MUSIC £14.99

With young British cellist Sheku Kanneh-Mason’s fame riding high, the time was certainly ripe for Faber to bring out this collection. It contains his own works and arrangements as well as music he loves to perform, including all three pieces he played at the Royal Wedding in 2018.

Sheku says in his introduction that after his concerts, people often ask for sheet music for arrangements he has played, such as his version of No Woman No Cry, now one of his signature pieces. So here they are, with each of the 14 works prefaced by Sheku’s comments and hints on playing them: ‘Try different fingering patterns for the rising 6ths and 7ths to see how it affects the sound,’ he says for the von Paradis Sicilienne.

He emphasises with characteristic modesty that the printed bowings and fingerings are just suggestions that work for his hands and coincide with his musical ideas – something that other editions should perhaps do more often. However, there seems to be little rhyme or reason behind works with no fingering at all, such as Blow the Wind Southerly, and others like Après un rêve which have lots. There are also a few misprinted fingerings, such as those on the spread chords in his improvisation, Melody.

The characteristically modest Sheku Kanneh-Mason

Faber pitches the playing level required at ‘intermediate and beyond’, but the intermediate pieces are certainly in the minority, while pieces Sheku has written for himself such as his Theme and Variations on ‘David of the White Rock’ , or his suggested cadenzas for Haydn’s C major Cello Concerto are naturally aimed at a cellist of his own stature. However, students working on the pieces have the advantage that they can watch almost all of them played by Sheku on YouTube.

This is a very attractive volume, the music well spaced and easy to read with a number of studio shots of Sheku on left-hand pages. It is of course a totally personal selection by one cellist, but if it encourages young cellists to keep playing then it’s definitely a worthwhile project.

JANET BANKS