The following titles will shortly be available from Toccata Press. Please visit the site again soon to check for availability.

SHOSTAKOVICH RECONSIDERED

At last available in paperback – being published on the very centenary of Shostakovich’s birth, 25 September.

£24.50 - Click on cover for more details.

"a splendid celebration of this sublime musician"The Guardian
"devastating" The Daily Telegraph
"It’s very rare to come across a book that’s so readable." BBC
"one of those 'indispensable' books on your shelf" DSCH Journal
"an immense torrent of facts"Helsingin Sanomat
"a useful collection of essays and documents"The Economist
"holds the attention to the end"The Times Literary Supplement
"formidable wealth of data" American Record Guide

ADOLF BUSCH: THE LIFE OF AN HONEST MUSICIAN
Tully Potter

Royal octavo ~ c800pp ~ profusely illustrated ~ Index
ISBN 0 907689 50 7; c. £60.00 (hd)

This is the first-ever full-length biography of the German violinist and composer Adolf Busch (1891–1952). Leader of the legendary Busch Quartet, Adolf Busch was for many the finest violinist of his day. This monumental publication chronicles the first part of his life, from his earliest days as a child prodigy in Westphalia, his meteoric career as one of Germany's most thoughtful and expressive musicians, his friendship with Max Reger and other composers, his foundation of the Busch String Quartet, the concert tours which established a loyal following in Britain, Italy and elsewhere, his refusal to perform in Nazi Germany, to his emigration to the United States. Appendices examine Busch as a teacher, his career in the recording studio, his playing of the viola, his compositions, and much more. Two CDs present a selection of unpublished Busch performances and another of his compositions. Tully Potter has been working on his biography for quarter of a century now, and his massive labour-of-love will rank along the late Peter Heyworth's Klemperer biography as one of the classics of its kind.