Author Description

"I am grateful to have had a life full of music," is how John Hsu ends this memoir that documents his long, successful career. Born in China, he received his early musical training in Shanghai in the 1940's with Jewish émigrés from Europe. Leaving China in 1949, just as the Communists were taking over the country, he came to the U.S. for college. After receiving his Master's degree from the New England Conservatory (which awarded him an Honorary Doctorate in 1971), he joined the faculty of Cornell University, where he taught for 50 years.While teaching cello as his primary responsibility at Cornell, Hsu learned to play the viola da gamba and had an acclaimed career specializing in the difficult French solo repertoire. He is the editor of the complete instrumental works of Marin Marais, the most prolific composer of the time. In 2001 the French government conferred on Hsu the Chevalier de l'ordre des arts et des letters for his concerts, recordings and edition of French music.An accomplished performer on the viola da gamba, the cello, and the baryton, he became a conductor along the way, leading the Apollo Ensemble (a period instrument orchestra he founded) in Haydn symphonies and the Cornell Symphony Orchestra in works from the 18th to the 20th centuries. After retiring from Cornell in 2005, he guest-conducted the Vivaldi Project Ensemble and became Artistic Director and Conductor of the Atlanta Baroque Orchestra. Told in short chapters, full of anecdotes, copiously illustrated, this memoir will be of interest to anyone curious about the development of the period instrument movement, the viola da gamba, Jews in China during the war, Haydn baryton trios, or the life of an extraordinary musician who captivated audiences for decades with his artistry, expressiveness, and eloquence.