Heifetz as I Knew Him

Heifetz as I Knew Him
Author: Ayke Agus
Publisher: Hal Leonard Corporation
Total Pages: 264
Release: 2005
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 9781574671216

For the last 15 years of Jascha Heifetz's life, Ayke Agus was his closest companion. She came to him as a violin student in his master class at the University of Southern California, but he singled her out when he heard her play the piano. She became his private accompanist and ultimately his assistant and confidante. A sensitive and astute observer, Agus takes up where previous biographers left off; her book is a loving yet unblinking portrait of an aging master by his disciple.

Jascha Heifetz

Jascha Heifetz
Author: Galina Kopytova
Publisher: Indiana University Press
Total Pages: 504
Release: 2013-11-13
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 0253010896

Notoriously reticent about his early years, violinist Jascha Heifetz famously reduced the story of his childhood to "Born in Russia. First lessons at 3. Debut in Russia at 7. Debut in Carnegie Hall at 17. That's all there is to say." Tracing his little-known upbringing, Jascha Heifetz: Early Years in Russia uncovers the events and experiences that shaped one of the modern era's most unique talents and enigmatic personalities. Using previously unstudied archival materials and interviews with family and friends, this biography explores Heifetz's meteoric rise in the Russian music world—from his first violin lessons with his father, to his studies at the St. Petersburg Conservatory with the well-known pedagogue Leopold Auer, to his tours throughout Russia and Europe. Spotlighting Auer's close-knit circle of musicians, Galina Kopytova underscores the lives of artists in Russia's "Silver Age"—an explosion of artistic activity amid the rapid social and political changes of the early 20th century.

One Big Thing

One Big Thing
Author: Phil Howard Cooke
Publisher: Thomas Nelson
Total Pages: 209
Release: 2012-07-16
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1595554858

Named by Washington Post as one of the top five business books for 2012. One Big Thing is about finding out what you were born to do with your life and how to use it to revolutionize your business or ministry—and change the world. In a complex, multi-layered world, it’s more difficult than ever to get your voice heard and to accomplish your dreams. To stand out today, you need to cut through the clutter and get noticed. Making that happen means to focus on the one thing in your life that drives you, inspires your passion, and separates you from the pack. For everyone who’s been pulled in different directions, born with multiple abilities, or just wondered what to do with their lives, this is the answer. Phil Cooke helps you not only discover that one big thing, but also teaches you the secrets of making an unforgettable impact with your life. Named by Washingon Post as one of the top five business books for 2012. Stop being average at so many things, and become extraordinary at One Big Thing. What were you born to accomplish with your life? One Big Thing will help you discover what you were born to do and allow it to revolutionize your business, your ministry, and your life. In today’s distracted, digital culture, it’s harder than ever to identify your calling, get your voice heard, and achieve your dreams. To stand out and communicate your ideas and message, you need to cut through the clutter and get noticed. Making that happen means focusing on the one thing that drives you, inspires your passion, and separates you from the pack. If you’ve ever felt pulled in different directions or wondered what to do with your varied talents and interests, Phil Cooke will teach you the secrets of living a life-on-purpose that rises above the noise and leaves a lasting mark on the world.

A World Without You

A World Without You
Author: Beth Revis
Publisher: Penguin
Total Pages: 386
Release: 2016-07-19
Genre: Young Adult Fiction
ISBN: 1101627840

What would you do to bring back someone you love? After the unexpected loss of his girlfriend, a boy suffering from delusions believes he can travel through time to save her in this gripping new novel from New York Times bestselling author Beth Revis. "A story that’s both heartbreaking and hopeful." —Publishers Weekly, starred review “Revis’s account of grief, loss, first love, and anguish, presented through a lens of mental illness, is a must-read.” —VOYA, starred review “A heartrending, beautifully complex look at mental illness, life, and loss. I tore through the pages, and, days later, this story still has a hold on me.” —Alexandra Bracken, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Darkest Minds series and Passenger Seventeen-year-old Bo has always had delusions that he can travel through time. When he was ten, Bo claimed to have witnessed the Titanic hit an iceberg, and at fifteen, he found himself on a Civil War battlefield, horrified by the bodies surrounding him. So when his concerned parents send him to a school for troubled youth, Bo assumes he knows the truth: that he’s actually attending Berkshire Academy, a school for kids who, like Bo, have "superpowers." At Berkshire, Bo falls in love with Sofia, a quiet girl with a tragic past and the superpower of invisibility. Sofia helps Bo open up in a way he never has before. In turn, Bo provides comfort to Sofia, who lost her mother and two sisters at a very young age. But even the strength of their love isn’t enough to help Sofia escape her deep depression. After she commits suicide, Bo is convinced that she's not actually dead. He believes that she's stuck somewhere in time — that he somehow left her in the past, and now it's his job to save her. Not since Ned Vizzini’s It’s Kind of a Funny Story has there been such a heartrending depiction of mental illness. In her first contemporary novel, Beth Revis guides readers through the mind of a young man struggling to process his grief as he fights his way through his delusions. As Bo becomes more and more determined to save Sofia, he has to decide whether to face his demons head-on, or succumb to a psychosis that will let him be with the girl he loves.

Tenth of December

Tenth of December
Author: George Saunders
Publisher: A&C Black
Total Pages: 289
Release: 2013-01-03
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1408837358

The prize-winning, New York Times bestselling short story collection from the internationally bestselling author of Lincoln in the Bardo 'The best book you'll read this year' New York Times 'Dazzlingly surreal stories about a failing America' Sunday Times WINNER OF THE 2014 FOLIO PRIZE AND SHORTLISTED FOR THE NATIONAL BOOK AWARD 2013 George Saunders's most wryly hilarious and disturbing collection yet, Tenth of December illuminates human experience and explores figures lost in a labyrinth of troubling preoccupations. A family member recollects a backyard pole dressed for all occasions; Jeff faces horrifying ultimatums and the prospect of Darkenfloxx(TM) in some unusual drug trials; and Al Roosten hides his own internal monologue behind a winning smile that he hopes will make him popular. With dark visions of the future riffing against ghosts of the past and the ever-settling present, this collection sings with astonishing charm and intensity.

Michael Rabin

Michael Rabin
Author: Anthony Feinstein
Publisher: Hal Leonard Corporation
Total Pages: 284
Release: 2005
Genre: Music
ISBN: 9781574671094

"In a brief moment in time, Michael Rabin left an indelible impression on the world of classical music. His few recordings survive on the Columbia, EMI, and Angel labels, and he holds the distinction of recording, at age twenty-two, all the Paganini caprices, in the process setting the standard by which subsequent violinists would be judged."--BOOK JACKET.

Leadership Without Easy Answers

Leadership Without Easy Answers
Author: Ronald A. Heifetz
Publisher: Harvard University Press
Total Pages: 361
Release: 2009-07-01
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 0674038479

The economy uncertain, education in decline, cities under siege, crime and poverty spiraling upward, international relations roiling: we look to leaders for solutions, and when they don’t deliver, we simply add their failure to our list of woes. In doing do, we do them and ourselves a grave disservice. We are indeed facing an unprecedented crisis of leadership, Ronald Heifetz avows, but it stems as much from our demands and expectations as from any leader’s inability to meet them. His book gets at both of these problems, offering a practical approach to leadership for those who lead as well as those who look to them for answers. Fitting the theory and practice of leadership to our extraordinary times, the book promotes a new social contract, a revitalization of our civic life just when we most need it. Drawing on a dozen years of research among managers, officers, and politicians in the public realm and the private sector, among the nonprofits, and in teaching, Heifetz presents clear, concrete prescriptions for anyone who needs to take the lead in almost any situation, under almost any organizational conditions, no matter who is in charge, His strategy applies not only to people at the top but also to those who must lead without authority—activists as well as presidents, managers as well as workers on the front line.

Gone

Gone
Author: Min Kym
Publisher: Crown
Total Pages: 240
Release: 2017-04-25
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 0451496094

The spellbinding memoir of a violin virtuoso who loses the instrument that had defined her both on stage and off -- and who discovers, beyond the violin, the music of her own voice Her first violin was tiny, harsh, factory-made; her first piece was “Twinkle Twinkle, Little Star.” But from the very beginning, Min Kym knew that music was the element in which she could swim and dive and soar. At seven years old, she was a prodigy, the youngest ever student at the famed Purcell School. At eleven, she won her first international prize; at eighteen, violinist great Ruggiero Ricci called her “the most talented violinist I’ve ever taught.” And at twenty-one, she found “the one,” the violin she would play as a soloist: a rare 1696 Stradivarius. Her career took off. She recorded the Brahms concerto and a world tour was planned. Then, in a London café, her violin was stolen. She felt as though she had lost her soulmate, and with it her sense of who she was. Overnight she became unable to play or function, stunned into silence. In this lucid and transfixing memoir, Kym reckons with the space left by her violin’s absence. She sees with new eyes her past as a child prodigy, with its isolation and crushing expectations; her combustible relationships with teachers and with a domineering boyfriend; and her navigation of two very different worlds, her traditional Korean family and her music. And in the stark yet clarifying light of her loss, she rediscovers her voice and herself.

Conducting Business

Conducting Business
Author: Leonard Slatkin
Publisher: Amadeus Press
Total Pages: 375
Release: 2012-07-01
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 1476821321

(Amadeus). Conducting an orchestra is something that is seen as well as heard, but it is quite misunderstood when it comes to knowing what this person actually does for a living. This most mysterious of jobs is brought to life for the music lover as well as for the aspiring maestro in a book by Leonard Slatkin. Drawing on his own experiences on and off the podium, Slatkin brings us into the world of the baton. He tells tales of some of the most fascinating people in the musical world, including Frank Sinatra, Leonard Bernstein, and John Williams. He takes the reader to the great concert halls and orchestras, soundstages in Hollywood, and opera pits around the globe. Mr. Slatkin recounts his controversial appearance at the Metropolitan Opera, his creation and direction of summer music festivals, and a shattering concert experience that took place four days following 9/11. Life in the recording studio and on the road as well as health issues confronting the conductor provide an insider's glimpse into the private world of public figures. Covering everything from learning how to read music to standing in front of an orchestra for the first time, what to wear, and how to deal with the press, Conducting Business is a unique look at a unique profession.