5 comments about The Cello of Mr.O (Picture Puffin).

1. This story takes place during wartime. Fathers and brothers have left to fight. Only women, children and the elderly are left to struggle in this war bisieged area. The story is told from a little girl's point of view. I enjoyed this book so much that I couldn't wait to share it with my second grade students. They were shocked by the living conditions and very touched by this book. I highly recommend this touching story for children and adults!



2. Although The Cello of Mr. O is well-written and beautifully illustrated, it is not a normal picture book. It has a rather disturbing setting - a modern, war-torn city, filled with rubble and under almost constant attack - a theme that is extremely challenging for the average early reader, and an episode that is rather poignant if not downright sad.

   The narrator tells of her life in a an unnamed city, where bombs fall every night. Her father is off fighting in the mountains. Her family has no fuel for heat - she worries that, if something does not change before the next winter, they will have to burn their books and furniture to keep warm - and subsist on Red Cross aid delivered by truck. She says that she is "almost always afraid" and "almost always angry." She and her friends hide much of the time; one of their few childish pleasures is exploding bags in front of the apartment belonging to the crabby and reclusive Mr. O, a cellist.

   Things get worse in the city after the aid truck that makes deliveries is destroyed; no more deliveries can be made because the trucks are too much of a target. Mr O responds by entering the square in the open and playing his cello at the time when the aid truck would have come - the narrator describes his cello, a special and beautiful object made via the cooperation of people all over the world. Mr. O's playing brings hope to the city, but then his cello is destroyed, just as the truck was. Mr. O does not give up; instead, he continues playing in the same place and at the same time, only now he must use a harmonica.

   Although the author tells this story very well, the essential components remain disturbing and tragic - as, I'm sure, she intended. Parents should review this book before reading it to their children, and it is probably not suitable for most children under 8 to read by themselves. Anyone who shares this with a child should be prepared for difficult questions and, from more sensitive kids, either tears or nightmares.

   However, this book would make an excellent companion to a classroom unit on war, particularly with middle or high school students. The author does an excellent job of conveying the emotions and life of a child caught in a modern war, and convincingly protrays an act of courage and strength and all it represents. Adults also stand to gain a great deal from the book. I only wish that it was not presented as standard early-reader fare; it is not, on any level.




3. Mr. O! You have inspired us with your courage and peaceful spirit. Our love of the cello has grown deeper as has our ability to be touched by the warmth and depth of its song. The Cello of Mr. O is a touching story of the affect that one man and his music had upon a community torn apart in war. Mr. O showed courage and wisdom (and a bit of national pride) as he played his cello in the public eye daily, even in the midst of shelling and the turmoil of war. A young girl tells the story. Her life is unpredictable. Her father is away. Her family has to stand in line for water. She plays with her friends under the stairs and pulls pranks on her neighbor, Mr. O. Yet, as she watches the old man she realizes his talent and becomes familiar with what becomes his predictable appearance on the street with his cello. It calms and entertains the girl and those around her. And his commitment to this community service continues even after the shelling destroys his cello. This is an inspirational story. Touching.



4. This book was above my almost-four-year-olds head, but I can see the positive educational impact it might have for older children in a classroom setting - perhaps children learning about life in war-torn countries.

   The illustrations are beautiful and the story is bittersweet - there's war going on all around the poor narrator and the future is so frightening and uncertain. A neighbor - a cellist - makes a brave move to brighten the lives of his neighbors - just a little bit - and help make them feel less afraid.

   I'd recommend this book for mid-level gradeschoolers and be prepared to discuss this further with them, using current/recent events for examples.




5. I work as an elementary school librarian and this is one of my very favorite anti-war books. It has such a powerful message about doing what you can to stand up for what's good in people.
   It's a great book about heroism, by the way, and about people looking out for each other. I use it with children from ages 7-10. A great discussion starter. This is a book I thrust into everyone's hands. Read it to your kids!

No comments about Mel Bay Easy Solos for Beginning Cello, Level 1.

No comments about Stringbuilder Book 1 for Cello (Belwin Course for Strings).

No comments about Muller Rusch String Method for Class or Individual Instruction Violin-viola-cello-bass Book 1 Lessons 1-30.

2 comments about Cello Solos: (EFS 40) (Cello).

1. I am an adult intermediate level cello student (appr. early HS equivalent). I bought this book for fun, and now my teacher assigns me a piece each week to work on. It is refreshing to actually work on lyrical solo pieces to take a break from the scales and etudes.
   
   Although these seem like a break from the etudes, you still have lots of building and learning material here. They make shifting exercises fun for example.
   
   Plus, it comes with a full piano accompaniement that is so useful for students to play with to check intonation.
   
   My teacher also uses the book to play along on the cello for accompaniement for the same purpose (works really well for the Handel Largo since the bass line in the piano score functions as continuo part for a second cello). Great tunes from opera, symphony, etc. This is a fun book to play from.
   
   One downside is the suggested fingerings. While most make sense, some are sort of silly in the goal to avoid the dreaded random open string. My teacher changes the fingerings when she assigns me a new piece. However, anyone on a level to play these pieces will recognize there are alternative fingerings and can adapt to their own use.



2. The Cello Solo book is good, but the cello part that is above the piano part is hard for me to read. My cello teacher said that I should have gotten a seperate cello part. That is the reason I was inquiring about the Cello book. I would like to get the seperate cello part

2 comments about Mel Bay J. S. Bach: Six Unaccompanied Cello Suites Arranged for Guitar (Book & CD).

1. This book is a terrific adaptation of the Bach unaccompanied cello suites for guitar, and is a great value. Author Steven Yates supplies a guitar arrangement of each suite, which is followed by the same suite represented in "pseudo-grand staff" (original cello line on top and adaptation in bottom staff) so one can reference how the guitar version derived from the original. The overlay is admittedly in very small type, but it is really an added bonus to get the original cello lines as well. The music is followed by a useful and interesting set of chapters with commentary on historical context, procedures for arranging such pieces for modern guitar, style, interpretation, etc. All in all, I can't think of what more you could want from a book of this nature. Highly recommended.



2. I like Stanley Yates. I think hes a fantastic player and educator. I really like the sections of the book that go into great detail about transcribing Bach for guitar. I also like how at the end of each suite there is a dual staff comparison of the original cello and guitar versions of all the pieces. The problem is none of them are in the original cello keys which to me defeats the purpose of a cello/guitar comparison score. Furthermore, Yate's key choices for these suites are kind of a cop out in my opinion. Cello suite #1 in C seems very weak and anyone thats every played or heard it in D Major would most likely agree thats the key for guitar. Also Yates version of Cello suite #3 in G Major rather than A major was a bad choice. Luckily I have arrangements in the latter keys for both which I prefer.
   
   Also #6 is missing key bass voicings which you will miss if you've ever heard anyone else play it on guitar or better yet cello. All in all a good bargain and its hard to find all 6 suites for guitar much less in one book so you could do alot worse and certainly pay alot more if purchased separately.

5 comments about Relax and de-Stress: Rest, Re-Balance, and Replenish with Classical Music for Healing.

1. I use this tape in my massage practice and the people seem to like very much and I find they seem to relax easier.



2. "The music will help slow your heart rate, deepen your breathing, and move your brainwaves in the direction of calmness. Think of this CD as an acoustical balm for your nervous system to be played whenever you feel the need for peace, stillness, and tranquility." - From the liner notes
   
   The hurried pace of overcommitted lives and manic striving is a breeding ground for stress and disease. Stress hormones bathe our delicate nervous system resulting in the fight-or-flight response once reserved for survival, resulting in fatigue, fuzzy thinking and irritability.
   
   Fortunately, there are wonderful stress-reduction products out on the market like Dr. Andrew Weil's Music for Self-Healing: Relax and De-Stress. Joshua Leeds, an expert in psychoacoustics, has designed this CD to soothe the body's primary pulses--heart rate, brainwaves, and breathing rate.
   
   In a sonic progression spanning 60 minutes, Leeds has selected and re-arranged instrumental compositions by renowned composers expressly for inducing the relaxation response. By arranging the musical selections so that each piece is progressively slower in tempo and simplified in melodic complexity, gentle healing sounds can relieve an overtaxed nervous system.
   
   With lovely performances by the Apollo Chamber Ensemble, the Relax and De-Stress CD features the piano, cello, and oboe arranged by Leeds with four psychoacoustic techniques in mind:
   
   1. Resonance - The impact of one vibration upon another
   
   2. Entrainment - A natural process whereby heartbeat, breath and brainwaves speed up or slow down to match an external rhythm
   
   3. Auditory Pattern Identification - Passive hearing techniques designed to relieve the mind of the tendency to "work" to figure out musical patterns
   
   4. Beauty - Resolution between dissonance and consonance found in harmonies, melodies, and performances
   
   Here are the eleven musical pieces found on the Relax and De-Stress CD:
   
   * Aria Lento by Bach
   * Reverie by Debussy
   * Concerto for Oboe and Strings Sarabande (with nature sounds) by Corelli-Barbirolli
   * Arioso from Cantata No. 156 - Bach
   * Intermezzo Op. 116 No. 4 in E Major - Brahms
   * Concerto for Oboe K. 314, Adagio non troppo by Mozart
   * Cello and Piano Sonata in G Minor, Op. 65 Largo by Chopin
   * Sonata Andante transcribed from Cello Suite No. 3 by Marcello
   * Sonata in A Major D959 Andantino by Schubert
   * Winter, Largo from The Four Seasons by Vivaldi
   * Meditation by Moussorgsky
   * Theme from Largo of "The New World Symphony" by Dvorak
   
   I've listened to Dr. Andrew Weil's Music for Self-Healing: Relax and De-Stress several times and find it to be very relaxing. Aesthetically speaking, these aren't musical selections I'd put in my stereo to listen to for pleasure, yet I can tell a measurable difference in both my mood and bodily state after I begin listening to this CD.
   
   In fact, I'm listening to Relax and De-Stress right now and I'm noticing that my breathing has deepened and slowed--and that tension in my shoulders and neck seems to have melted away.
   
   If you're looking for a soothing CD to put in the stereo after work or perhaps to listen to while you make dinner or get ready for bed, I can recommend with confidence the Relax and De-Stress compilation arranged by Joshua Leeds.
   
   (Note: Although the Amazon.com description says "audiobook", it is NOT. This is a psychoaucoustically arranged musical CD WITH sixteen pages of liner notes.)
   
   Janet Boyer, author of The Back in Time Tarot Book: Picture the Past, Experience the Cards, Understand the Present (coming Fall 2008 from Hampton Roads Publishing)



3. "The music will help slow your heart rate, deepen your breathing, and move your brainwaves in the direction of calmness. Think of this CD as an acoustical balm for your nervous system to be played whenever you feel the need for peace, stillness, and tranquility." - From the liner notes
   
   The hurried pace of overcommitted lives and manic striving is a breeding ground for stress and disease. Stress hormones bathe our delicate nervous system resulting in the fight-or-flight response once reserved for survival, resulting in fatigue, fuzzy thinking and irritability.
   
   Fortunately, there are wonderful stress-reduction products out on the market like Dr. Andrew Weil's Music for Self-Healing: Relax and De-Stress. Joshua Leeds, an expert in psychoacoustics, has designed this CD to soothe the body's primary pulses--heart rate, brainwaves, and breathing rate.
   
   In a sonic progression spanning 60 minutes, Leeds has selected and re-arranged instrumental compositions by renowned composers expressly for inducing the relaxation response. By arranging the musical selections so that each piece is progressively slower in tempo and simplified in melodic complexity, gentle healing sounds can relieve an overtaxed nervous system.
   
   With lovely performances by the Apollo Chamber Ensemble, the Relax and De-Stress CD features the piano, cello, and oboe arranged by Leeds with four psychoacoustic techniques in mind:
   
   1. Resonance - The impact of one vibration upon another
   
   2. Entrainment - A natural process whereby heartbeat, breath and brainwaves speed up or slow down to match an external rhythm
   
   3. Auditory Pattern Identification - Passive hearing techniques designed to relieve the mind of the tendency to "work" to figure out musical patterns
   
   4. Beauty - Resolution between dissonance and consonance found in harmonies, melodies, and performances
   
   Here are the eleven musical pieces found on the Relax and De-Stress CD:
   
   * Aria Lento by Bach
   
   * Reverie by Debussy
   
   * Concerto for Oboe and Strings Sarabande (with nature sounds) by Corelli-Barbirolli
   
   * Arioso from Cantata No. 156 - Bach
   
   * Intermezzo Op. 116 No. 4 in E Major - Brahms
   
   * Concerto for Oboe K. 314, Adagio non troppo by Mozart
   
   * Cello and Piano Sonata in G Minor, Op. 65 Largo by Chopin
   
   * Sonata Andante transcribed from Cello Suite No. 3 by Marcello
   
   * Sonata in A Major D959 Andantino by Schubert
   
   * Winter, Largo from The Four Seasons by Vivaldi
   
   * Meditation by Moussorgsky
   
   * Theme from Largo of "The New World Symphony" by Dvorak
   
   I've listened to Dr. Andrew Weil's Music for Self-Healing: Relax and De-Stress several times and find it to be very relaxing. Aesthetically speaking, these aren't musical selections I'd put in my stereo to listen to for pleasure (even though they're pleasant), yet I can tell a measurable difference in both my mood and bodily state after I begin listening to this CD.
   
   In fact, I'm listening to Relax and De-Stress right now and I'm noticing that my breathing has deepened and slowed--and that tension in my shoulders and neck seems to have melted away.
   
   If you're looking for a soothing CD to put in the stereo after work or perhaps to listen to while you make dinner or get ready for bed, I can recommend with confidence the Relax and De-Stress compilation arranged by Joshua Leeds.
   
   Janet Boyer, author of The Back in Time Tarot Book: Picture the Past, Experience the Cards, Understand the Present (coming Fall 2008 from Hampton Roads Publishing)



4. I love this cd. It is wonderfully relaxing. After listening a few times, your body relaxes almost automatically. It is very soothing. I play it at night to help me go to sleep, and first thing in the morning. Worth the money.



5. Wow, this artfully designed musical collection truly does what it says - the psychoacoustics technic really works! Carefully selected classical pieces and soft instrumentation make this an absolute delight to listen to.
   
   However, what I originally purchased this for was to have some relaxing ambient background music to play while I'm working - and this definitely does NOT work - it's too relaxing! The songs are specifically ordered to be gradually slower and softer, and I can't get through half the songs before I want to take a nap. So for daytime ambience, I don't recommend it. If you're looking for a late-night wind-down or a cure for insomnia, I could not recommend it more highly. You'll be ready for sweet dreams in snoozeville by track 11, no drugs required!

1 comments about Complete Cello Technique: The Classic Treatise on Cello Theory and Practice.

1. This is a very detailed book that I found too heavy for me. I like to go through the pages a little faster without so much thinking. If I have a very technical question I do pull this book out and try to understand what that have to say about it.

No comments about Norton Recorded Anthology of Western Music, Concise Version (6 Compact Discs).

1 comments about Great Romantic Cello Concertos in Full Score.

1. Three great cello concertos are included in this edition, with perhaps the Dvorak concerto being the best ever written for the instrument.

   Dover's edition is put together well. Clear printing, score lays flat, and once again, how can you beat the price? Recommended for anyone that loves these concertos and wants to learn more about them.