Baroque Cello Revival

Paul Laird is Associate Professor of Musicology at the University of Kansas.

• Chapter 1 List of TablesChapter 2 AcknowledgmentsChapter 3 IntroductionChapter 4 1. In Search of the Baroque CelloChapter 5 2. The SoloistsChapter 6 3. The PioneersChapter 7 4. The New GenerationsChapter 8 5. The Baroque Cello...FoundChapter 9 BibliographyChapter 10 IndexChapter 11 About the Author

Although Laird has been a performer, teacher, and musicologist for decades, he tells us that the genesis of this book was YoYo Ma's initial flirtation with Baroque cello in 1999. The author says, 'If a cellist as famous as Ma wish to play the instrument, then surely it had arrived at a significant point in its revival.' If Ma was the spark, Laird has certainly done his part to fan the flames with this celebration of 'cello culture.' Indeed, the book is something of an ethnography; starting with a discussion of historical prototypes and bows, it continues with 46 interviews of cellists, separating the sections into 'Soloists, Pioneers, and the Generation.'...His last chapter, 'The Baroque Cello...Found,' pulls together interview, background, narrative, and author's perspective to provide a refreshing, rather quirky glimpse into a formerly unlit corner of the early music community that charmed this reader, and may charm you, as well.