The German violinist, violist and composer Friedrich Hermann (1828–1907) spent the six decades of his adult life teaching at the Leipzig Conservatoire and, although his works include a symphony, a string quartet and numerous other chamber pieces for strings, by far the largest part of his output is pedagogical in nature. But he pumped his teaching pieces full of imagination, as the studies here demonstrate. Even though the twenty Miniatures published in 1881 are intended for student violinists, many of them are tiny tone-poems intended both to engage the attention of their players and challenge their techniques – and their mix of poetry and humour should also appeal to adult listeners.

Noted for ‘balancing passion with precision’ and ‘intrepid’ leadership, the violinist Abigail Karr holds Bachelor and Master of Music degrees from the Shepherd School of Music at Rice University in Houston, studying violin with the late Sergiu Luca, and a degree in historical performance from The Juilliard School. She appears with many ensembles, including the Handel and Haydn Society of Boston and Tempesta di Mare of Philadelphia. An active chamber musician, she is the founder and director of Gretchen’s Muse, a chamber ensemble dedicated to historically informed performances; she was also a founding member of the Rosetta String Trio, which also has a commitment to historical performance. Her solo and chamber-music performances have drawn praise from such publications as Toronto Now magazine, The New York Times and The Boston Musical Intelligencer.