DAVID BLUM
Musician and Dreamer
Paul Tortelier (Introduction), Antony Hopkins (Foreword)
"Blum has elegantly combined precise music terminology with meticulous music examples to present lucid and revealing details of interpretation that can be quickly and easily grasped. Only superlatives apply to this book, and all serious musicians would find immense pleasure and musical profit from reading this work. Highly recommended at all levels." —Choice
Paul Tortelier: A Self-Portrait, in Conversation with David Blum With his friend and colleague David Blum, Tortelier has given us a unique and intimate self-portrait which will delight readers as his music thrills audiences. (from the book jacket.) Buchet/Chastel, France, 1984 Reprinted by William Heinemann, U.K.
| From the obituary in The Times of London, 1998 |
Photo by Ardan Michael Blum, Geneva, Switzerland, December 1986
| The Art of Quartet Playing: The Guarneri Quartet in Conversation with David Blum Alfred A. Knopf, New York, 1986 Reprinted by Random House of Canada Limited, Toronto, 1986 "This is arguably the best book on the subject." |
"Each of the stories of these five remarkable musicians traces a journey in which musical and personal development are inseparable. A struggle is waged that eventually leads, often in unforeseen ways, to greater human and artistic fulfillment. In every case, success is measured in terms that are internal as well as external. -David Blum
Jeffrey Tate and David Blum: Photo by Sarah Blum, London, England, November 1992
Richard Goode and David Blum: Photo by Sarah Blum, San Francisco, June,1992
Josef Gingold: Photo by David Blum, Bloomington, Indiana, June, 1993
Birgit Nilsson and David Blum, Photo by Sarah Blum, West Karup, Sweden, June 1995
Yo Yo MA: reprinted from The Strad, January, 1988
Cornell University Press, Ithaca and London, 1999
"These five profiles give the clearest evidence of the central value of David Blum's writings about music during his all-too-short lifetime. The extraordinary sensitivity that he makes so clear in his conversations with Yo-Yo Ma, Jeffrey Tate, Josef Gingold, Richard Goode, and Birgit Nilsson gives evidence of a passion and a respect for beauty in music and the acknowledgment of the enormous discipline necessary to make a successful career, a career that is not only a few concerts in a period of time, but the dedication of a lifetime to a chosen commitment. I think music lovers and educators everywhere will be fascinated and truly informed by this book, as will anyone who wants to know how the quality of life in our time can be enriched." -Isaac Stern