The Dounis Collection: Eleven Books of Studies for the Violin.The Dounis Collection: Eleven Books of Studies for the Violin, by Demetrius Dounis. Carl Fischer (65 Bleeker St., New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of , NY 10012), 2005. 303 pp. $28.95. Carl Fischer has rendered an important service to the string pedagogy world with the recent publication of The Dounis Collection, compiling in one book, 12 of Demetrius Dounis's most influential works, including The Artist's Technique Violin Playing and The Violin Players' Daily Dozen, and nine additional volumes, some of which were no longer easily available. Unlike Ivan Galamian Ivan Alexander Galamian (January 23, 1903–April 14, 1981) was one of the most influential violin teachers of the Twentieth Century. He was born in Tabriz, Persia, to Armenians from Russia, but his family soon emigrated to Moscow, Russia. , the teaching career of Dounis consisted, for the most part, of giving master classes and helping mature professional musicians solve problems in their playing, rather than developing prodigies or holding an appointment at a major conservatory. Therefore, his recognition as one of the most influential pedagogues of the 20th-century has been belated. Among his disciples are the well-known cello teacher George Neikrug and the late violist, William Primrose William Primrose (August 23, 1904 - May 1, 1982) was a Scottish violist and teacher, probably the best known viola player of his and all time. Primrose was born in Glasgow and studied violin there and, later, at the then Guildhall School of Music in London. and among his students were concertmasters of major orchestras, including Joseph Silverstein Joseph Silverstein (born March 21, 1932) is an American violinist and conductor. He was born in Detroit and studied with his father, who was a public school music teacher. . Dounis (1886-1954) was born in Greece, received a degree in medicine from the University of Vienna History The University was founded on March 12, 1365 by Duke Rudolph IV and his brothers Albert III and Leopold III, hence the additional name "Alma Mater Rudolphina". After the Charles University in Prague, the University of Vienna is the second oldest university in Central , had a brief career as a concert violinist, and then returned to Greece, where he was a violin professor at the Salonika Conservatory and wrote many of his pedagogical ped·a·gog·ic also ped·a·gog·i·cal adj. 1. Of, relating to, or characteristic of pedagogy. 2. Characterized by pedantic formality: a haughty, pedagogic manner. works. He later settled in the United States United States, officially United States of America, republic (2005 est. pop. 295,734,000), 3,539,227 sq mi (9,166,598 sq km), North America. The United States is the world's third largest country in population and the fourth largest country in area. . Extreme efficiency and simplicity are the emphasis in Dounis's teachings: efficiency of body motion (he analyzed all the motions required to play the violin, long before the word "ergonomics" became a common term in our vocabulary), efficiency of practice (there are many time-saving, technical problem solvers in his works) and above all, mental efficiency (the concept that the training of the mind is paramount). Having used the works of Dounis in my own playing and teaching, I heartily welcome this collection of his works and hope that more string teachers will discover his wisdom. Reviewed by Karen Clarke, Tallahassee, Florida. |
|
||||||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion