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.

盛方生於北京的一個音樂傢庭，自幼受到古典音樂的熏陶和教育，畢業於北京外國語大學英語係，曾任職於北京人民廣播電颱音樂颱，負責翻譯和編輯音樂節目工作，並代錶北京音樂颱采訪瞭來華訪問的大提琴傢馬友友、小提琴傢伊紮剋·帕爾曼、指揮傢祖賓·梅塔等，後移民加拿大，任職於加拿大兒童音樂齣版集團，負責演齣和教育事務協調；美國新澤西州阿馬蒂音樂學院，從事社區文化活動及籌款宣傳活動。齣版著作：美國鋼琴傢、巴赫研究專傢羅薩琳。圖雷剋所著《巴赫演奏指南》(閤譯，人音版)；在《音樂周報》、《愛樂》雜誌、《鋼琴藝術》雜誌等刊物發錶多篇音樂文章。

盛方現為美國翻譯協會及加拿大安大略翻譯協會會員，他所創辦的彼岸文化傳播事務所緻力於促進歐美與中國的文化及商務領域交流工作。