1. Background
2. The Books
3. Reviews
4. Quotes
5. Other Noteworthy Quotes
6. Performers of Minsky’s Music
7. Minsky’s Performances and Seminars
8. Curriculums Using Minsky’s Music
9. Other Compositions
10. Sellers of Minsky’s Music
11. Buy Minsky’s Music
12. Book Minsky
13. World Premiere Opportunity!
14. Recordings of Minsky’s Music
15. Corrections
16. Updates

Aaron began his musical life as a rock guitarist but was always interested in classical composition. At the age of fifteen he decided to become a rock cellist, but he knew that, in order to really be successful, he first had to become an established classical cellist. He started cello lessons in his sixteenth year, practicing intensely for the next eight years, graduating with a Masters Degree from the Manhattan School of Music. After the grueling years of conservatory study, and a season with the Philharmonic Orchestra of Caracas Venezuela, Aaron was finally ready to go back to his original goal of inventing an new style of cello playing. Since there was no method available for learning popular styles of cello playing, Aaron set about creating his own method to teach himself. Each piece was based on a different popular style and each incorporated different techniques, but there was one thing that they all had in common: Aaron would not include a piece in his method unless it made him smile! He only hoped that others would feel the same joy.

Having completed his first book, "Ten American Cello Etudes", he began to look for a publisher. His first call was to a well known commercial classical music publisher. He entered into a conversation with their representative which went as follows:

Aaron - Hello. I've just completed a set of cello etudes combining American popular music with classical technique.
Rep. - If you look at our catalog, you will notice that we haven't published a cello etude in over a hundred years.
Aaron - Yes, I did notice. That's why I'm calling!
Rep. - Well, we're very happy with David Popper, thank you. (Popper was the great etude writer of the last century).
Aaron - I'm very happy with David Popper too, but don't you think, after a hundred years, it might be time for something new?
Rep. - Well, you can send it in if you want, but I can tell you right now it won't even be looked at for at least three years.
Aaron - Thank you very much.

Fortunately, his next call was to Oxford University Press, which had the foresight to see the influence that this book would have!

Below you will find pictures and explanations about each of Minsky's books, published by Oxford University Press. The books are listed in order of publication from first to last.

Please click on the images below to enlarge them!

From Judaic Concert Suite:
The Judaic Concert Suite combines two elements from the traditional cello repertoire. One element harks back to Ernest Bloch, well known for his short works for cello and piano based on Jewish themes. This suite, however, is for solo cello, and with its robust sound and use of counterpoint of chords, it is also in the tradition of the Bach Cello Suites. What is new is the use of modern melodies and rhythms and the way the three movements form a unified whole, musically and spiritually.

Musical Journal (Incorporated Society of Musicians), England:
"Aaron Minsky has done a brilliant job with his Ten American Cello Etudes...This collection is for the advanced cellist who is able to tackle demanding techniques and complex rhythmic structures simultaneously!...I continue my exploration of these Ten American Etudes with vigour."

The Strad, England:
"Young students may find these much more enjoyable to practice than the standard etudes. The technical issues addressed in the book are indeed an eclectic supplement to traditional study."

Strings Magazine, USA:
"The etudes are unique in applying traditional cello techniques to vernacular American themes; we enthusiastically recommend them to teachers whose students have an ear for rock, jazz, and folk idioms - who does not? - and want to bring them to life on the cello."
(See article about the etudes, written by Aaron Minsky, Fall 1988.)

American String Teacher, USA:
"I was greatly impressed by Minsky's cello etudes published a few years ago. These Young American Ensembles are reminiscent of the Americana musically portrayed in the cello etudes...Minsky has a gift for composing in a fun, contemporary style that is also pedagogically sound."

Sheet Music, England:
"Ensemble training for young string players is made easy with this series of three volumes."

These quotes are from letters sent to Oxford University Press or Aaron Minsky.

Janos Starker, legendary concert cellist, professor at Indiana University:
"I find these etudes excellent, innovative, intelligent, useful and amusing. I will advise its use wherever I can."

David Johnstone, English concert cellist, living in Spain:
"There are a number of works for the cello which, although not apparent in their time, have changed the course of cello writing or at the least have had a telling influence on the next generation of cello literature. We all know about the Bach Six Suites...the concerto of Dvorak...the Kodaly Solo Sonata...the Prokofiev Sinfonia Concertante...And now we come to AARON MINSKY. Maybe at the moment less known than his renowned predecessors I predict that his work for cello may well assume a similar importance."

David Wells, concert cellist, professor at New England Conservatory of Music and Hartt School of Music, formerly at Manhattan School of Music:
"...Three Concert Etudes continue in the same delightful form as his earlier Ten American Cello Etudes. They present new techniques, some of which I have never seen before, and they have rhythmic patterns which will be challenging and useful to young players."

Donald McInnes, concert violist, professor at University of Southern California:
"They (Three American Pieces) represent a "slice" of American style that we do not have in the solo viola repertoire...Without question, I will try to incorporate them into my performance plans. In addition, they will be useful in assigning to my students here at the University of Southern California and elsewhere."

Boris Pergamenschikov, Russian concert cellist, professor at Musikhochschule, Koln, Germany:
"I believe that the new generation of cellists must pay attention to the American popular music using these pieces. I'd like to include the etudes by Mr. Minsky in my teaching and solo repertoire."

Dr. Susan Tephly, professor at Marshall University, West Virginia:
"I plan to use Minsky's Young American Ensembles collection with my string class...I am familiar with Minsky's Ten American Etudes and applaud his ability to expose musicians of all ages to contemporary American music in non-threatening ways. (Recently I programmed several of the etudes from that collection as encore selections on my own recital and received positive audience response to the pieces!) The Young American Ensembles have the same appeal while, to the delight of instructors and audiences alike, sharing American music with younger players, too!"

Diane Harrington Roscetti, associate professor at University of Maine:
"I intend to use it (Ten American Cello Etudes) in my university cello studio."

The following performers have sent concert programs to Oxford or directly to Aaron:

David Johnstone, concert cellist and principal cellist of the Pablo Sarasate Orchestra, has been performing Minsky etudes in dozens of concerts all over Spain. (See his quote above) He has also made a CD of Minsky's "Ten American Cello Etudes".

Lawrence Stomberg, cello professor at Oklahoma State University, mentioned below for recording Minsky's "Ten American Cello Etudes" has also been performing them. Concerts include Oklahoma State University, and St. Cloud University, Minnesota.

Patricia McCarty, violist, Silver Medal Geneva International Competition, soloist with many top orchestras, recordings with Nonesuch and Northeastern, faculty at Boston Conservatory.

Arno Van Kerkoff, associate principal cellist, Cape Town Philharmonic, and Sarah Acres, Cape Town Symphony Orchestra, performed Minsky's "Three American Cello Duets" in Cape Town, South Africa. (Program forwarded by ASCAP.)

John Graham, violist,  professor at Eastman School of Music, University of Rochester.

Marilyn Harris, cellist, winner of Mu Phi Epsilon Competition, toured the United States playing Minsky pieces in concerts and broadcasts.

Daryl Silberman, violist, performed one of Minsky's Three American Pieces at the Southern California Viola Society. The wife of the ex violist of the Turtle Island String Quartet, Danny Seidenberg, Ms. Silberman reported, "We're big fans of yours".

Erica Boras, principal cellist with Rudolf Nureyev and Friends, the Bolshoi Ballet, Berlin Opera Ballet, cellist with New Jersey Symphony and others.

Craig Hultgren, commissioner of modern cello works, Alabama Symphony member and former principal cellist with the National Symphony Orchestra of Panama and the Savannah Symphony Orchestra.

Racheli Galay-Altman, Israeli cellist, opened a concert with pieces from Ten American Cello Etudes, at Tel Aviv University.

Doreen Da Silva, cellist, performed a Minsky unpublished etude during her recital at Hochshule Fur Musik, Wurzburg, Germany. Ms. Da Silva reported that the piece made a stone faced German audience break out in laughter and applause!

Melanie Baker and Matt Fenner, students of Daniel Kazez at Whittenberg University, Springfield, Ohio, performed "The Fiddlers" from, "Pacific Northwest Suite". (Program forwarded by Professor Kazez.)

Elaine Bossong, a student of Gail Heppen at Hicksville Middle School in Long Island, New York, performed the Minsky etude, "Broadway" in a school recital. Ms. Heppen reports that she also plays cuts from Von Cello CDs for her students "to broaden their outlook".

Many other impressive performers play Minsky's music but haven't forwarded programs. Check the Links page of this site for links to their pages.

First World Cello Congress, University of Maryland, performance
Night of the Living Cello, Knitting Factory, NYC, performance
New Directions Cello Festival #1, Knitting Factory, NYC, performance and workshop
Ithaca Suzuki Institute, Ithaca College, Ithaca, NY, performance and classes
New Directions Cello Festival #4, University of Connecticut, performance and workshop
Music Publishers Association of the U.S., 100th Anniversary Concert, Lincoln Center, NYC
NYSSMA Winter Music Conference, Monticello, NY, seminar for music teachers
Interactive Music XPO, John Lennon Songwriting Contest Booth, Javits Convention Center, NYC
World Cello Congress III, Towson University, Maryland, performances at the Yamaha booth
New Directions Cello Festival #6, University of Connecticut, performances at the Yamaha booth
Maine Music Educators' Association, seminar for music teachers
Sixth American Cello Congress, University of Maryland, performances at the Yamaha booth
NYSSMA Summer Music Conference, Albany, NY, clinic and conducting of the Directors' Orchestra in a performance of Minsky's Pacific Northwest Suite
ASTA/NSOA Festival, Jersey City, New Jersey, gave two clinics for the American String Teachers' Assoc.
Maine Music Educators' Association, two seminars this time!

The Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music, United Kingdom, Professional Diploma, solo cello and viola. (See Links page.)
NYSSMA, New York State School Music Association, level 2, cello duets.
A Guide To The Standard Cello Repertoire, by concert cellist Jeffrey Solow.
ASTA,The American String Teachers' Association. (See Links page.)

Film Composition: Dream City (produced by Steven Seigal) winner of the Silver Award for Experimental Film and Video, winner of the Jury Award in the New York Exposition of Short Film and Video.
Video Composition: So, You're Having A Baby (produced by the TRY Theatre Company) winner of two Nova Awards.
Theater Composition: A dozen shows for the TRY Theatre Company, some of which have made national tours.
Popular Song Contests: Two Certificates of Merit in the Billboard Song Contest. Finalist in other contests.
Hundreds of Popular Songs: Over a dozen volumes of songs are copyrighted. New songs continue to be written.

Oxford University Press, NYC (See links.)
Patelson's, famous music store near Carnegie Hall.
Frank's Music, another well known classical music store in Manhattan.
Shar, a major music catalog.
ITE, Ithaca Talent Education, a major supplier of Suzuki books and materials.
Diefes & Mikolajeski, music dealer to upstate New York schools.
New Directions Cello Association, sells Minsky's music from their web site and at their festivals. (See links.)

I plan to sell my music books from this site. In the meantime, if you would like to purchase books see the links or click the following link to send an e-mail with your request to Oxford University Press: music@oup-usa.org.

If you would like to have Minsky give a seminar, masterclass, performance, workshop, or do a residency at your institution (colleges, schools, festivals, adult education classes, corporations, conferences) please e-mail me with the details.

For many years this part of this page began like this: To the best of my knowledge, my "Three Concert Etudes for Unaccompanied Cello" has yet to receive it's world premiere by a major concert cellist in a major concert hall in a major city! One famous cellist (who will remain anonymous) told me that the piece was too difficult for him! Actually his words were, "As Pablo Casals used to say, I think I'm a little too old for that". I don't think he was referring to technique, because, even though the music is very challenging, this cellist has exceptional technique. I think he was referring to the popular idioms involved and the fact that in the finale the cellist must strum the cello with a guitar pick and sing while tapping both feet! Personally, I don't think age has anything to do with it. It just requires a desire to play the cello in a whole new way and to have a lot of fun while doing it! If any major concert cellist is willing to take up the challenge to give this piece the premiere it deserves, please e-mail me. I will advertise the concert on this site (and other sites) and I will certainly come to the performance!

************

I am happy to announce that the World Premiere of Three Concert Etudes finally occured on March 29th, 2004, performed by David Johnstone, principal cellist of the Pable Sarasate Orchestra, at the Auditorio del Conservatorio Superior de Musica de Navarra, Spain! In that same program, which Mr. Johnstone titled Bravo Minsky!, he also gave the world premiere of my Judaic Concert Suite, as well as performing my Ten American Cello Etudes. He was interviewed on Spanish public radio, and recieved several positive newspaper reviews.

Although Navarra, Spain is not a major city and the venue was not a world renowned concert hall, Johnstone's performance certainly qualifies as the world premiere, as far as I know. HOWEVER, other cellists should not feel bad. There is still the opportunity for national premeires! If you are a cellist who wants to be the first to perform any of my works in your country, please email me at the address above. I will try to make the performance, but at the very least, I can offer you support and publicity. In the case of Bravo Minsky!, Oxford University sent a set of books to the university for audience members to review. And I sent out a concert announcement on my email list, mentioned it on the guestbook, and sent publicity items to many other sites and email lists. So, by all means, please take advantage of this great opportunity!

The first approved public recording of Minsky's etudes has been released (year 2001). The Ten American Cello Etudes are on a CD called, The American Cello, which includes works by Minsky, Crumb, Siskind and Sessions. The performer is Lawrence Stomberg of Oklahoma State University. May this be the first of many recorded releases of the published music of Aaron Minsky!

The second approved public recording of Minsky's etudes has been released (year 2004). The Ten American Cello Etudes are on a CD called, Virtuoso Pop Classic and Jazz Classic Music, which includes music by Minsky, Joan Baez, The Beatles, and others. The performer is David Johnstone, of the Pablo Sarasate Music Conservatoire of Navarra, Spain. In this CD Johnstone takes a few slight liberties with the music. These were done with the permission of the Aaron Minsky, who has said that he wants his music to be a springboard to innovation and creativity!

The third approved public recording of Minsky's etudes has been released (year 2005). Truckin' Through the South is on a CD called, Cello Exam Pieces, Grade 8, released by ABRSM Publishing in conjunction with Oxford University Press. The performer is prominent English cellist, Sebastian Comberti. Minsky's etude is performed on Disc 3, along with the music of Bloch, Debussy, Hindemith, Shostakovitch and other famous composers.

The forth approved recording of Minsky's music has been released (2006). The "Judaic Concert Suite" for solo cello is on a CD called, "Rhapsody Judaica". The performer is Russian cellist, Natalia Timofeyeva, who currently lives in the United States. It is on the Marquis Music label, located in Canada, and available in many countries as well as the internet.

As careful as I have been to write down my music accurately, there are some mistakes in my published music from Oxford University Press. Here follows a list of pieces which contain mistakes and their corrections (as well as some updates):

Ten American Cello Etudes -
A) Sailing Down the River: p.11, line 5, meas. 4 - option: replace the eigth rest with another eigth note (f & d)
B) The Flag Waver: p. 13, line 7, meas. 1, beat 2 - the Bb should be an Ab
C) An American in France: p. 14, line 6, meas. 5 - the G should be a G#

Three American Cello Duets -
Way Out West: p. 10, line 2, meas. 2, and line 3, meas. 1 & 3 - the Bb's should be B naturals
p. 11, line 1, meas. 4, part II - the tenor clef D should be a C

Three Concert Etudes -
A) Etude #1, original title: The Burning Heart
B) Etude #2, original title: Sinai Sunset
C) Etude #3, original title: Mulatta
p. 9, line 3, meas. 3 - I invented the bow harmonic and the sign for it (which looks like a bow with the harmonic sign, the circle, over it)

Three American Pieces -
The Flag Waver: p. 7, line 7, meas. 1, last beat - the A# grace note should be A natural

Young American Ensembles -
A) Violins and Guitars -
1. Lazy Day Skip: p. 1, meas. 1 & 9 - first note, down bow, meas. 6 & 14 - two up bows on first two notes (f's)
2. Foundation Rock: p.2, meas. 1 - start down bow, p. 3, meas. 19 - start down bow, p. 3, meas. 32, top line - rhythm should be quarter note, eigth note, quarter note, eigth note
3. Rock Line: p. 11, meas. 1,5,9,13 - start down bow, meas. 4,8,12,16 - lift bow after last note
4. Chugging Along: asterik should read - optional bowing (delete: "bowing for staccato or bouncing bow)

B) Violas -
1. same corrections as Violins and Guitars

C) Cellos and Basses -
1. same corrections as Violins and Guitars, plus the following:
2. Lazy Day Skip: p.1, meas. 1, part 2, notes 3 & 4, cellos play top, basses play bottom, meas. 3, part 2, notes 1 & 2, cellos play top, basses play bottom (that way the cello plays all open strings and the bass plays all open strings except for the note C)

Pacific Northwest Suite -
Guitars I and II -
The Fiddlers: p. 3, last meas. top line, delete the low G

Judaic Concert Suite -
Entrance of the Bride and Groom: p. 4, meas. 125 - the four quarter notes should be four half notes (with tremelo as indicated)

Updates - To see what has been happening since August, 1999, go to Updates. To read a detailed article about the background behind Minsky's etudes and ensembles, go to Immortality. To read an article about the spiritual background of Judaic Concert Suite go to Spiritual. If you have reviewed, seen a review, perform, teach, list, or sell Minsky's music; or if you would like to comment on the pieces, please email him. Let him know if you would like to be added to the above lists.

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