Embarking on a journey to the open sea is already challenging per se, but going headfirst when you know the task ahead is far greater than anything you have faced before requires a considerable dose of recklessness. The Violoncello School, Op. 65, by Justus Johann Friedrich Dotzauer (1783–1860), published in 1824, is much more than a stormy sea or an iceberg on a chilly night: it is a gargantuan, mythological creature from a forgotten past. It comprises over 150 pages of technical text adorned ...