The long awaited Sassmannshaus method “Early Start on the Double Bass” is now here. At last students of the largest instrument in the string family can make use of this tried and tested method for beginners, developed by Egon Sassmannshaus for the other string instruments and applied here to the double bass by Holger Sassmannshaus and J. Peter Close. This method will meet the needs of the growing number of young bass students. “Early Start on the Double Bass” encompasses everything that one would expect from a Sassmannshaus method: an easy start, progression at a suitable rate, many cross-references to the other string instruments, songs and scales in different positions from early on, as well as many duets. Lively and colourful illustrations by Charlotte Panowsky complete the edition. For more than three decades “The Sassmannshaus Tradition” has been the household name for excellence in beginner string methods in German-speaking countries. The English editions for violin, viola and violoncello, which were introduced to the international market in 2008, have proven to be very successful, particularly in the United States. Kids to the Bass! While children learning other string instruments can start as early as the age of four, the appropriate age to begin the double bass is approximately eight (possibly even six); this allows for a faster progression than on the other string instruments, and the method consists of only three volumes. The first volume will be published separately in an English and a German edition; the following two volumes will have German and English text in each book. Original compositions by Boguslaw Furtok enrich the volumes. - Based on the tried-and-tested Sassmannshaus methods for violin, viola and cello - Volume 1: Separate editions in German and English - Volumes 2 and 3: Bilingual, German/English editions - Moderate increase in difficulty - Position playing, duets - Includes new original compositions to B. Furtok - Volume 3 with piano accompaniments to 7 pieces The authors Holger Sassmannshaus is a double bass player with the Niederrheinische Sinfoniker in Mönchengladbach/Krefeld. He also teaches the double bass and performs with several other ensembles. J. Peter Close is a teacher for violoncello and double bass in Munich.

Bags Of American Folk For Viola is an introduction to the wonderful world of traditional American music – favourite tunes passed down from one generation to the next many from the early pioneer days. Written by renowned string teacher and author Mary Cohen and suitable for students of grades 1-2 standard this collection has been carefully selected to include music of many different styles and moods.

Judith Weir: My Piano Quartet (2000) is part of an extended series of works for piano and strings which I have written over the last twenty years - although I didn¹t know it was going to be a series when I wrote the first of these works Music for 247 Strings in 1980. During this period it has been far more usual for composers to write for mixed wind and string ensembles. But I continued (and still continue) to be fascinated by the potential of strings and piano; particularly the chance to write for the instruments as soloists or as a group and often to use both these options simultaneously.String Parts.Premiered July 2000 at the Cheltenham Festival by the SchubertEnsemble.Piano Score available: CH61794