A rapturous, witty, and passionate memoir ... Violin Dreams is not only the story of a man becoming an artist, its a history of twentieth-century music. John Guare, Tony Awardwinning playwright Arnold Steinhardt, for more than forty years an international soloist and the first violinist of the Guarneri String Quartet, brings warmth, wit, and fascinating insider details to the story of his lifelong obsession with the violin, that most seductive and stunningly beautiful instrument. His story is rich with vivid scenes: the terror inflicted by his early violin teachers, the sensual pleasure involved in the pursuit of the perfect violin, the charged atmosphere of high-level competitions. Steinhardt describes Bachs Chaconne as the holy grail for the solo violin, and he illuminates, from the perspective of an ardent owner of a great Storioni violin, the history and mysteries of the renowned Italian violinmakers. Violin Dreams includes a remarkable CD recording of Steinhardt performing Bachs Partita in D Minor as a young violinist forty years ago and playing the same piece especially for this book. A conversation between the author and Alan Alda on the differences between the two performances is included in the liner notes.

盛方生于北京的一个音乐家庭，自幼受到古典音乐的熏陶和教育，毕业于北京外国语大学英语系，曾任职于北京人民广播电台音乐台，负责翻译和编辑音乐节目工作，并代表北京音乐台采访了来华访问的大提琴家马友友、小提琴家伊扎克·帕尔曼、指挥家祖宾·梅塔等，后移民加拿大，任职于加拿大儿童音乐出版集团，负责演出和教育事务协调；美国新泽西州阿马蒂音乐学院，从事社区文化活动及筹款宣传活动。出版著作：美国钢琴家、巴赫研究专家罗萨琳。图雷克所著《巴赫演奏指南》(合译，人音版)；在《音乐周报》、《爱乐》杂志、《钢琴艺术》杂志等刊物发表多篇音乐文章。

盛方现为美国翻译协会及加拿大安大略翻译协会会员，他所创办的彼岸文化传播事务所致力于促进欧美与中国的文化及商务领域交流工作。