---
product_id: 435568753
title: "Complete Cello Technique"
brand: "diran alexanian"
price: "$211172"
currency: COP
in_stock: true
reviews_count: 5
url: https://www.desertcart.co/products/435568753-complete-cello-technique
store_origin: CO
region: Colombia
---

# Complete Cello Technique

**Brand:** diran alexanian
**Price:** $211172
**Availability:** ✅ In Stock

## Quick Answers

- **What is this?** Complete Cello Technique by diran alexanian
- **How much does it cost?** $211172 with free shipping
- **Is it available?** Yes, in stock and ready to ship
- **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.co](https://www.desertcart.co/products/435568753-complete-cello-technique)

## Best For

- diran alexanian enthusiasts

## Why This Product

- Trusted diran alexanian brand quality
- Free international shipping included
- Worldwide delivery with tracking
- 15-day hassle-free returns

## Description

Complete Cello Technique

## Images

![Complete Cello Technique - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/81b5R3qKsKL.jpg)

## Customer Reviews

### ⭐⭐⭐ 







  
    Liebhaber
  
  

*by A***M on Reviewed in Germany on 22 March 2018*

Nur etwas für Liebhaber. Mein Lehrer liebt diese Schule, mir ist dies zu textlastig, schwarz-weiss und altbacken.  Aber die Techniken werden sehr gut erklärt

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 







  
  
    Terrific!
  

*by P***R on Reviewed in the United States on 31 October 2012*

To me, reading this book's contents is like looking into a window into the very familiar past of cello-ology. As a pupil descendent of Alexanian, by way of David Soyer, I found this book fascinating, helpful, full of answers/reminders to questions long forgotten about and refer back to it quite often, if now only to "feel" my last teacher again (Soyer). This book is not for beginner cellists. I highly recommend it, though, for anyone teaching cello to beginners, intermediates and college level students. I don't know any of my professional cellist colleagues, no matter who their stream of teachers were, who would not benefit from this read. Knowledge is power, even if, and sometimes particularly if, the ideas are opposite your own.Amazon... thanks for exemplary service ALWAYS.

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐ 







  
  
    "Classic" but questionable
  

*by C***5 on Reviewed in the United States on 28 August 2010*

I have been wanting to buy this book for years, and I finally ordered it a few weeks ago. After it came in I read most of it within a short time, to compare its principles to the ones I have developed over time and to find answers to some of my as yet unanswered questions. I found the book interesting, disappointing, occasionally challenging and anyway a necessary read, in that order. As to the latter, due to the connection between Casals and Alexanian, I felt and still feel that any cellist should read it in the same way that one should read David Blum's Casals and the Art of Interpretation. The book is certainly one of the most systematic attempts to assemble and describe a good technical approach to the violoncello, a notoriously difficult instrument. However, I personally think that at this point it no longer stands the test of time for a number of reasons. The translation, first of all, is clumsy and often wrong - that speaks for itself. Then there is that preaching tone, so often met in cello tutors, warning students about insurmountable difficulties, indispensable eons of study, and the related crime and punishment dynamic, with the flames of hell awaiting anyone who has not done the right things. Then there is an approach that is, in my opinion, linguistically wrong and dysfunctional. The book seems to expect the novice to the cello to already know the whole of musical language and to be utterly fluent in it. This is shown in the way concepts and matters which are traditionally tricky to learn and master (notation, sight reading, harmonics, etc.) are presented: the writer seems blissfully unaware that a beginner is a beginner, and seems bent on making each and every explanation as tortuous and complex as he can. Then there is no transition between the usual exercises in the first two or three positions, based solely on the physical shape of the cello fingerboard and with no musical content to speak of, and references to the masterpieces of the cello repertory such as the various concerti a few dozens pages later on. Nothing in between in the shape of studies or as advice and information as to what to study and practise before one "gets there" (to the war horses of the repertory I mean). Then there are technical drawings which are dysfunctional at two levels: firstly, they simply are not all that clear, nor their values is to be taken from granted as regards deriving knowledge from them in absence of a teacher; secondly, they reinforce one of the ever-present problems of instrumental teaching, the misconception that by looking at the nuts and bolts and at the movements of the various parts of the body involved one learns how to play music. Again, this is profoundly dysfunctional (very much like trying to learn phonics in order to learn a foreign or second language) and by itself it is dysfunctional: it will not work, and it can easily engender additional and long-lasting problems. Then there is another classic predicament: Alexanian's hands. His hands were, by all account as stated by David Gerben in the Foreword, very large. Watch out! How many 'teachers' have I met who are blissfully oblivious that there is a logical and legitimate relationship between the respective sizes of interacting parts? There are simple ways, based on key technical requirements on the cello, to select an instrument that is appropriate for a pair of hands. None of this troubles Alexanian who seems to naturally base the whole of left-hand technique on the (uncommonly) large size of his hands. What are the good sides, then? There are many good things if one is prepared to dig them out, turn them over for inspection, try them out, and analyze them critically. I personally think that the technical approach envisioned by Alexanian compresses cello technique into a limited technique, limited because it is solely based on the idiomatic features of the instrument. I would remind the potential reader of this review that there have been great cellists (Luigi Silva being one, for instance) who intelligently questioned certain traditionally "cellistic" approaches to the cello. Again, there is in the book a large shortcoming: the idea that one can speak of a single, one-size-fits-all cello technique. That, I am afraid, is a great didactic misconception and Casals himself constitutes historical and artistic proof that individual techniques are not only possible but necessary, and if explored to the full can lead to great artistic achievement. Having said all this (but I could say much more) I paradoxically recommend the book for those who are genuinely interested in exploring a multitude of technical approaches. On the one hand, if you are enjoying a positive and fruitful teacher this book is quite unnecessary; on the other hand, here is a window into a particular world the knowledge of which, in my opinion, still matters.

---

## Why Shop on Desertcart?

- 🛒 **Trusted by 1.3+ Million Shoppers** — Serving international shoppers since 2016
- 🌍 **Shop Globally** — Access 737+ million products across 21 categories
- 💰 **No Hidden Fees** — All customs, duties, and taxes included in the price
- 🔄 **15-Day Free Returns** — Hassle-free returns (30 days for PRO members)
- 🔒 **Secure Payments** — Trusted payment options with buyer protection
- ⭐ **TrustPilot Rated 4.5/5** — Based on 8,000+ happy customer reviews

**Shop now:** [https://www.desertcart.co/products/435568753-complete-cello-technique](https://www.desertcart.co/products/435568753-complete-cello-technique)

---

*Product available on Desertcart Colombia*
*Store origin: CO*
*Last updated: 2026-02-21*