"Ray McMillian loves playing the violin more than anything, and nothing will stop him from pursuing his dream of becoming a professional musician. Not his mother, who thinks he should get a real job, not the fact that he can't afford a high-caliber violin, not the racism inherent in the classical music world. And when he makes the startling discovery that his great-grandfather's fiddle is actually a priceless Stradivarius, his star begins to rise....

Of the many books written about the violin, none offers the breadth and scope of this renowned reference. First published in 1925, it remains unsurpassed as a source of essential information on all aspects of the instrument. It traces the evolution of technique from the 1800s onward, in addition to examining the violin's construction and manufacture, listing American and European makers, and offering a biographic section on chamber music ensembles....

Who would want to kill Tomaso Rainaldi, an elderly, unassuming violin-maker in the quiet Italian city of Cremona? For his friend and fellow violin-maker Gianni Castiglione, the murder is as mysterious as it is shocking. Rainaldi had few possessions, no enemies and little money. No one – least of all the police – can fathom a motive for murdering him. All he really had was an obsessive love of violins and an encyclopedic knowledge of them. But...

Simple text describes violins, how they are made, and how they are played.