"Despite her training as a master violinist, Rebekah Carrington was denied entry into the Nashville Philharmonic by young conductor Nathaniel Whitcomb, who bowed to public opinion. Now, with a reluctant muse and a recurring pain in his head, he needs her help to finish his symphony"--

In a shadowy antiques shop in Rome, violinist Julia Ansdell happens upon a curious piece of music--the Incendio waltz--and is immediately entranced by its unusual composition. Full of passion, torment, and chilling beauty, and seemingly unknown to the world, the waltz, its mournful minor key, its feverish arpeggios, appear to dance with a strange life of their own. Julia is determined to master the complex work and make its melody heard. Back home...

"Los Angeles Times" columnist Steve Lopez shares the story of his relationship with Nathaniel Ayers, a homeless violinist who captured his attention playing a two-stringed instrument on Skid Row, discussing his attempts to help Ayers--once a promising student at Juilliard--reclaim the life he was forced to give up following a mental breakdown.

"Good Omens meets The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet in Ryka Aoki's Light From Uncommon Stars, a defiantly joyful adventure set in California's San Gabriel Valley, with cursed violins, Faustian bargains, and queer alien courtship over fresh-made donuts. Shizuka Satomi made a deal with the devil: to escape damnation, she must entice seven other violin prodigies to trade their souls for success. She has already delivered six. When Katrina Nguyen,...

Britta Lindquist must choose between the love of her life, Yuri Belikov, or a coveted first chair violin position offered by the English conductor, Brenton Maltese.

In one devastating night, violin prodigy Etta Spencer loses everything she knows and loves. Thrust into an unfamiliar world by a stranger with a dangerous agenda, Etta is certain of only one thing: she has traveled not just miles, but years from home. And she's inherited a legacy she knows nothing about from a family whose existence she's never heard of. Until now. Nicholas Carter is content with his life at sea, free from the Ironwoods-a powerful...

"This powerful and moving novel from the New York Times bestselling author of A Long Petal of the Sea weaves together past and present, tracing the ripple effects of war and immigration on one child in Europe in 1938 and another in the United States in 2019. Vienna, 1938. Samuel Adler was six years old when his father disappeared during Kristallnacht-the night their family lost everything. Samuel's mother secured a spot for him on the last Kindertransport...

Violinist Michael Holme, practicing a challenging work of Beethoven's with his quartet, the Maggiore, is made nostalgic by the music for his lost love, Julia McNicholl, who he met while studying in Vienna, and when he happens to spot her on a London bus, their mutual passion flares anew.

Manhattan art dealer Sera James watched her world crumble at the altar two years ago, and her heart is still fragile. Manhattan art dealer Sera James watched her world crumble at the altar two years ago, and her desire for distraction reignites a passion for a mysterious portrait she first saw as a young girl: a painting of a young violinist with piercing blue eyes. Sera crosses paths with William Hanover, and together they slowly unravel the story...

At the annual Edinburgh International Festival, six unique individuals are brought together by their dreams of fame, success, love, and happiness, and as they each follow their destinies, their lives are forever changed.