Indivisible by Four by Arnold Steinhardt.

One of the most pleasing and entertaining books I've read in ages. It is a story (there are potentially four of them) of the Guarneri String Quartet. A lovingly written telling of the violinist's education, the events that lead to the formation of this long-lived quartet, and Steinhardt's view of their life as a quartet. So many familiar names of musicians, jokes, music festivals, descriptions of beloved pieces of music made it especially enjoyable. Early on, he describes with great enthusiasm two of my favorite pieces of music -- the Schubert double cello quintet and the Beethoven string quartet (I know it as #14, but now perhaps I've learned to think of it as Opus 130). His description of other pieces -- the Smetana quartet, among others, makes me want to listen to them, book in hand.