By Laurie Niles: Superstar violinist Joshua Bell is once again the subject of a children's book: The Dance of the Violin, written by Kathy Stinson and illustrated by Duan Petricic.
Released today, this is Bell's second appearance in a children's book, the first being The Man With the Violin, released a year ago by the same author and illustrator, retelling the story of Bell's famous busking experement in a Washington D.C. Metro station 10 years ago.
The Dance of the Violin tells a different story: about a time in Bell's youth when he messed up so badly at a competition that he had to stop and start all over again. Bell, a young student, learns about an international competition to be held in Kalamazoo, Michigan. Against his teacher's advise, he chooses to play a piece that is very difficult. He practices a great deal but finds himself very nervous. When he is called to play at the competition, he makes one mistake, then another, then falls apart completely and stops playing. For a moment he is angry and frustrated, but then he regains his composure and asks to start over again. This time everything falls in place, and he plays quite well, riding a wave of wonderful music-making to the end.
The book is based on a real-life episode in Bell's life, when at age 12, he performed at the Stulberg International String Competition. That year, despite the flub, Bell placed third, playing Edouard Lalos Symphonie Espagnole. The following year he returned and won the competition.
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