Music and The Leica. Lumix M4/3 14mm.

There seems to be some connection between musicians and Leica cameras.  The two would seem to make odd bed fellows, since musicians have never been paid well for their efforts, - except, of course, for the megastars -, and Leicas have always been pricey cameras. 
This volume was given to me back in 1976 by my first music teacher. I had recently inherited two Leicas - which I still own and cherish -. My teacher, himself a Leica owner and very talented photographer, thought that his old 1951 edition of the Leica Manual would be of some use, and that I should have it.
A clean-up of the apartment in the last couple of weeks to make ready for having the windows replaced, brought some of my long-buried library to light, including this fascinating old book.  It starts out with a brief history of the Leica camera and its various lenses and accessories, and then progresses into chapters on such subjects as film development, print making, further sections on travel photography, portraiture, photographing children and pets, and the like. And last, but not least, and most fascinating to me: how to photograph musicians as they perform.  This chapter was written by Adrian Siegel, principal cellist of the Philadelphia Orchestra, at that time conducted by Maestro Eugene Ormandy.  Siegel goes on to describe how he was given his first Leica by Ormandy, and how he used his position in the orchestra to great advantage when photographing visiting soloists and conductors, including the unpredictable and irascible Arturo Toscanini. 
The design of Leicas follows a very German geist: beautifully made, the controls simple and logical, but this is not the point-and-shoot camera that we recognize today; one has to know what one is doing, and to anticipate the actions of the subject.  Siegel demonstrates his skill admirably.
My own connection between Leicas and music does not stop with this one volume, but that's a story for another Blip.