LOST SECRETS OF MASTER MUSICIANS
Nonfiction
Se eking perfection LOST SECRETS OF MASTER MUSICIANS
A Window Into Genius
By David Jacobson
449 pp. SFIM Books Reviewed by Alan Goodman This is a most curious book. Indeed, the author, David Jacobson, is the founder and the director of a music school, the San Francisco Institute of Music. His life, as described in some careful detail, has been spent in a vigorous and determined pursuit of violin perfection. The ultimate goal? Becoming a soloist, playing like past masters such as Heifetz, Millstein and Horowitz. Mr. Jacobson, a man who has obviously given thorough consideration for the several basic disciplines of music, appears to hold much of the current state of music in various degrees of contempt. The writing is clear, straightforward, and engaging. The book presents unvarnished opinion on the subject of classical music – the state of performance, pedagogy, the role of soloists, orchestral playing, auditioning, the necessity for conductors, technical thou...