Bravo, Encore!
An Excerpt
The author’s grandmother Lea Luboshutz with the acclaimed Soviet violinist, David Oistrakh, in Philadelphia during his inaugural tour of the U.S.
“My heartfelt congratulations to Thomas Wolf, who has created a truly special book filled with insightful information, delightful musical examples, and fascinating personal stories. ‘Bravo, Encore!’ is a significant achievement that illuminates classical music in irresistible and accessible ways.”
“In ‘Bravo, Encore!’ author Thomas Wolf takes us back to a bygone era of extraordinary music and musicians. His stories and history abound with wit—with his unique personality and an insider’s perspective on the personalities of multiple generations of musicians, their remarkable gifts, and their follies. A book not to be missed.”
INTRODUCTION
This is a book about memorable music that at one time was very popular. It was heard frequently in concert halls by enthusiastic audiences but today is, for the most part, much less frequently performed or entirely forgotten. It is also a book about the people who played this music—many of whom were members of my family, some quite famous in their day. The book will take you backstage and into musicians’ homes, providing an opportunity for you to come to know what it is like to live with this music and what it can offer in terms of useful lessons about life. If you have not been a devotee of classical music in the past, don’t worry—this book is for you just as much as it is for those who have spent their lives listening to such music. Whoever you are and whatever your background, I am confident that you will enjoy the stories, the musician portraits, and especially the wonderful musical gems, and that you will come to love them as I do.
The music I have chosen is weighted toward instruments that were played by the musicians in my family—most especially piano, violin, and cello. There are a couple of vocal works since I had an aunt who was an opera singer. There is also a smattering of works for flute and for harp—since I spent my career playing flute and I had a sister-in-law who played the harp. But truth be told, that repertoire is far more limited, while one could write a dozen books like this one and still not exhaust the remarkable show pieces for piano, violin, and cello—alone or in combination.
To guide your listening, I have developed play-lists of the works I have chosen and indicated some recorded performances that I particularly like. There are various ways you can access the music and the specific performances. One way is to follow my playlist on either or both of two online sharing platforms—Spotify (audio only) and YouTube (audio and video)—and to access individual works either through the QR codes or the links that I have provided. These will allow you easily to find the works and the performers. At the time of this writing, you can listen to music on either Spotify or YouTube for free. (For more tips on the listening platforms and to find the playlists, go to the Appendix: Additional Information Regarding Listening). I have sometimes selected contrasting performances of the same piece—for example, an historically significant early recording on one and a modern recording on the other. In some cases, I chose one selection with orchestral accompaniment while the other features piano accompaniment if both versions were commonly played. And then there are cases where two musicians may have dramatically different interpretations of the same work—where both, in my view, are very special. For those who are curious, listening to both versions of each piece that I offer (and others you may find on your own) should be particularly enjoyable. The pieces are short (some under two minutes), so listening to more than one version will not take long.
Though my selections are limited to Spotify and YouTube, there are other ways you can listen. The internet offers several platforms that include recorded examples of the works I have chosen. Also keep in mind, that as technology advances, it may well be that the links and codes I offer here will no longer be active. That is why in every case I have provided the composer along with the full title, opus number, key, movement and performers or other pertinent details that will help you find the works in question in whatever way you find most convenient. You may not find the specific performances I have chosen, but the music itself is timeless, so your ability to listen to it should not be time-limited.
To musicians who may be embarking on this journey with me, I hope you will consider adding some of these compositions to your concert repertoire if you have not done so already. The works need not be used only as encores. Musicians have built many of them into their regular programming. Either way, I have seen them thrill audiences on countless occasions and I am sure you will not be disappointed.
And to concert presenters out there, if there are pieces here you particularly like, see if you can get performers to add them to their programs. Alternatively, I have developed live concerts presentations featuring superb musicians playing these works, and the events are enhanced with storytelling and projected historical photographs. As of the time of this writing, you can learn more about these programs at thomaswolfauthor.com/events-booking.
And now, let’s get started.
Thomas Wolf
2026
❧
Bravo, Encore! —
A Personal Playlist of Forty Classical Showpieces
and the Stories of Those Who Played Them
by Thomas Wolf
$29.95 U.S. print | $9.99 ebook
Hardcover: 176 pages
40 color photographs
QR codes
Publisher: Peter E. Randall Publisher
Publication date: April 6, 2027
Language: English
ISBN: 9781963714371
Soon available where all fine books are sold. Pre-order now.