If you already know all of this stuff, by all means skip it; it's just here as a resource. The underworld of classical music isn't something a lot of people know a lot about, and I thought it'd be cool to use this as an opportunity to give out a little information to enhance the story just a little bit more… enjoy!

Chapter 21

Bassoon: The original term for the bassoon is "fagotto", which literally translates into "stick of wood." And a bassoon is just that. It's a very long, thin wood wind instrument from the double reed family. A double reed is simply two reeds put together. If you've ever played in a band, you'll know about single reeds and double reeds… it's also fairly easy to look up. Contrabassoons are even cooler, check those out as well… talk about 'the brown note'….

Valse Triste by Jean Sibelius: The Valse Triste was originally written for Järnefelt's play Death, and in fact accompanies a deathbed scene. It's simply a sad, slow waltz.

Don Juan by Richard Strauss: Don Juan (opus 21) was Strauss's first and most successful tone poem. It inaugurated a series of tone poems, all of which keep their hold on standard repertoire: Tod und Verklärung (1889), to a program by Ritter; Till Eulenspiegel (1894); Also sprach Zarathustra (1896) (also known as the opening theme to 2001: A Space Odyssey); Don Quixote for cello and orchestra (1897), perhaps his most profound orchestral work; Ein Heldenleben (1898), which translates into "A Hero's Life"- it's an autobiographical piece.

Double Concerto for Violin and Cello by Johannes Brahms: This concerto was Brahms' last concerto, as well as his final composition using the orchestra. He had promised his friend, the cellist Robert Hausmann a solo concerto, but had never gotten around to writing such a work. Also, he had recently had a falling-out with his long-time colleague, the violinist Joseph Joachim, who felt that Brahms had sided with Joachim's ex-wife during their recent divorce proceedings. Through the balm of one composition, Brahms hoped to soothe three souls: Joachim's, Hausmann's, and his own.

Tone Poem: A programmatic piece of orchestral music. Usually accompanies a story or tall tale. Basically, it's exactly what it says it is: a tone poem.

Luthier: (n) a craftsman who makes stringed instruments.

Varnish: Varnish is basically the color on an instrument. It's usually oil based and you lacquer it on the wood to 1) protect the wood, and 2) to give it color and character.

Flame: The flame is the variations in the wood. If you look at a stringed instrument you can see the sort of stripes across the wood where it goes from light to dark; that's the variations in the grain of wood that reflect the light. It's called the flame. Each piece of wood has a unique flame. Maple is the most common.

Tailpiece: On any of the stringed instruments. The tailpiece is the dark triangular shaped piece of wood that holds the strings at the bottom of the instrument.

Violin Concerto by Jean Sibelius: The Violin Concerto in D minor by Jean Sibelius is his opus 47. It premiered in 1904 in Helsinki. Sibelius withheld this version from publication and made substantial revisions. The new version premiered in 1905, in Berlin, with Richard Strauss conducting and Karel Halir as soloist. The initial version was noticeably more demanding on the virtuosic skills of the soloist and has been resurrected in recent years for some special interest recordings. The revised version is considered one of the world's most important concertos. Jascha Heifetz is generally considered to have resurrected the concerto, which he considered one of the great concertos in the violin literature.

Cadenza: A cadenza is the point in a concerto where the solo instrument is featured by itself completely. The orchestra or accompaniment cuts out, and the soloist will usually do a virtuosic variation on the main theme, showing off their greatest ability.

Scroll: That curly circular thing at the top of a violin (or viola, cello, or bass)

Claudio Abbado: Claudio Abbado was born in Milan in 1933. He studied the piano at the Milan Conservatory with his father Michelangelo Abbado, and went on to study conducting with Swarowsky at the Vienna Academy of Music. He won the 1958 Koussevitsky Competition (Koussevitsky was a famous conductor and bassist), establishing him in Italy, and then won the 1963 Mitropoulos Prize, after which he rapidly became known internationally as an orchestral and opera conductor. I have several records of the Mahler Symphonies under his baton- they are truly extraordinary…

The Ring Cycle by Richard Wagner: A four opera cycle (more than 16 hours long) that tells the tale of the Norse Gods and the original Ring of Power. The third opera is the source of the famous "Ride of the Valkarys" which has been proven to cause a 50percent increase in likelihood of a car accident if you listen to it while driving. If you're really interested in The Ring Cycle, read The Nibelungenlied… it'll explain it better than I can…

A/N: Oh, and I actually have listened to the complete Ring Cycle in one sitting- it's most excellent…Cheers!