Inflight Reading

Written by Juergen L. Hemm
Published: September 11, 2008 at 10:11 AM [UTC]

Tuesday and Wednesday I was in Düsseldorf for some business meetings. Flying can actually be fun if one has interesting reading material for the waiting periods at the airport, in transit and while airborne.

This time, I choose Gidon Kremer's autobiographic "Zwischen Welten" (Between Worlds). As far as I know, it is only available in German. On top of being one of the best musicians/violinists around, Gidon Kremer is also a very gifted author.

"Zwischen Welten" describes his life while studying with David Oistrakh, what it is like to prepare and take part in international competitions as well as his eventual decision to leave the Soviet Union. He also gives us a peek at Gidon Kremer the man, his friends and love interests. Then again, we learn about his projects with several contemporary composers, well-known conductors and other instrumentalists.

A very enlightening and entertaining read - I am looking forward to the next installment of his autobiography as much as to his future recordings and concerts. Especially for an amateur violinist, it is very interesting to receive that kind of inside information about a professional's life.

From Karen Allendoerfer
Posted on September 12, 2008 at 10:07 AM

My husband is from Muelheim, and we always fly into Duesseldorf when we are visiting his family.

Earlier this year, there was a thread about a biography of Midori, called _Einfach Midori_, that was also only available in German. I've been looking for ways to improve my German (which is getting rusty by now), thanks for the recommendation!

From Pauline Lerner
Posted on September 12, 2008 at 9:09 PM

That book sounds so interesting. I wish I could read German.

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Inflight Reading

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