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El violín de Lev: una aventura italiana
La melodía del violín de Lev fascinó a Helena Attlee desde la primera vez que la oyó en un concierto; aquel viejo instrumento italiano que llevaba el nombre de su antiguo propietario ruso atesoraba una rica historia. Ávida por descubrir los detalles de su origen y el resto de secretos que albergaba su delicado cuerpo de madera, Attlee se dirigió a Cremona, la cuna del violín italiano y el punto de partida de un extraordinario viaje de fin inesperado. A través de talleres polvorientos, bosques alpinos, iglesias venecianas, lujosas cortes florentinas y remotos mercadillos rusos, «El violín de Lev» nos lleva del corazón de la cultura italiana a sus más lejanos confines. Una historia asombrosa de lutieres y científicos, príncipes y vagabundos, instrumentistas, compositores y viajeros, que es a la vez una conmovedora meditación sobre el poder de los objetos, de los relatos y de la música para crear culturas enteras y transformar la vida de las personas.
DE LA AUTORA DE «EL PAÍS DONDE FLORECE EL LIMONERO»
«Helena Attlee no sólo exhibe una prosa elegante y cautivadora sino una capacidad admirable para combinar la erudición con el ingenio».
The Times Literary Supplement
DE LA AUTORA DE «EL PAÍS DONDE FLORECE EL LIMONERO»
«Helena Attlee no sólo exhibe una prosa elegante y cautivadora sino una capacidad admirable para combinar la erudición con el ingenio».
The Times Literary Supplement
370 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2021
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474 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 45 reviews
May 6, 2024
This author is so engaging and now I want to go to Northern Italy and see the places she talks about in this book.
June 29, 2021
It was a night that she can still remember now, the full crowd, the warmth of the evening even though she was in Wales at the time. There came the moment in the concert where the violinist stepped up to play. The other instruments faded and the first notes flowed out from the strings.
When I heard the violin speak for the first time, with a voice powerful enough to open pores and unbuckle joints, and a shocking intimacy that left us all stupid with longing for emotions larger, wilder sadder and more joyful than we ever had known.
It became a memory and something precious in that very moment.
It was a bit of luck that after the concert they walked out and spotted the violinist. She went over to talk to him. He said that he had been told that the instrument had been made in Italy in the 18th century, but he had got it from a Russian and it is called Lev’s violin after the guy who had owned it before. He got it out of the case for her to see.
Expecting a pristine instrument, Attlee was surprised to see it worse for wear. Cradling it in her arms like a baby she realised that it carried the presence of everyone who had ever played it. He had been told that it was absolutely worthless when he had taken it to be valued. But surely a violin that was made in Cremona, home to the master craftsman, Stradivarius, and sounded like it did, must have a story behind it?
She thought about the concert and the sound of the violin a lot over the next few months, partly as the process of clearing her mother’s possessions meant that she wondered a lot about the stories that the things that we own have to tell us. As luck would have it she was offered work in Milan and that was really close to Cremona; she would go onto the town after to find out more about the history of the instruments made there.
It was the beginning of a journey that would take her from the workshops of that town and back into the past learning how they are made. She journeys high into the alps to see where the wood is sourced from and heads to Russia to meet Lev, the previous owner of the violin. Each of these helps her uncover a little more information about this particular instrument and the wider history of the various European diasporas that took the violins and the craft of making them all over the continent. She meets a modern-day luthier, Melvin Goldsmith who happens to make some of the best sounding violins mostly by not following conventional techniques. What would really tell her just what this violin that she had become a tiny bit obsessed with, is a dendrochronology check. Perhaps after that, it would reveal its secrets. Attlee was just about to find out.
It struck me that although people make things, things are very often the making of people
I really liked this, Attlee writes well and this has a strong coherent narrative as she follows the trail of Lev’s violin to north Italy and on into Russia gradually uncovering its history. I liked the blend of history, travel and memoir that has enough of each of them to balance it. If you have any interest in the history of music then you’d probably like this.
The violin is not laying broken in it’s case and there is a crowdfunded here to raise the money to have it rebuilt and restored so it can be heard once again. You can donate money here
When I heard the violin speak for the first time, with a voice powerful enough to open pores and unbuckle joints, and a shocking intimacy that left us all stupid with longing for emotions larger, wilder sadder and more joyful than we ever had known.
It became a memory and something precious in that very moment.
It was a bit of luck that after the concert they walked out and spotted the violinist. She went over to talk to him. He said that he had been told that the instrument had been made in Italy in the 18th century, but he had got it from a Russian and it is called Lev’s violin after the guy who had owned it before. He got it out of the case for her to see.
Expecting a pristine instrument, Attlee was surprised to see it worse for wear. Cradling it in her arms like a baby she realised that it carried the presence of everyone who had ever played it. He had been told that it was absolutely worthless when he had taken it to be valued. But surely a violin that was made in Cremona, home to the master craftsman, Stradivarius, and sounded like it did, must have a story behind it?
She thought about the concert and the sound of the violin a lot over the next few months, partly as the process of clearing her mother’s possessions meant that she wondered a lot about the stories that the things that we own have to tell us. As luck would have it she was offered work in Milan and that was really close to Cremona; she would go onto the town after to find out more about the history of the instruments made there.
It was the beginning of a journey that would take her from the workshops of that town and back into the past learning how they are made. She journeys high into the alps to see where the wood is sourced from and heads to Russia to meet Lev, the previous owner of the violin. Each of these helps her uncover a little more information about this particular instrument and the wider history of the various European diasporas that took the violins and the craft of making them all over the continent. She meets a modern-day luthier, Melvin Goldsmith who happens to make some of the best sounding violins mostly by not following conventional techniques. What would really tell her just what this violin that she had become a tiny bit obsessed with, is a dendrochronology check. Perhaps after that, it would reveal its secrets. Attlee was just about to find out.
It struck me that although people make things, things are very often the making of people
I really liked this, Attlee writes well and this has a strong coherent narrative as she follows the trail of Lev’s violin to north Italy and on into Russia gradually uncovering its history. I liked the blend of history, travel and memoir that has enough of each of them to balance it. If you have any interest in the history of music then you’d probably like this.
The violin is not laying broken in it’s case and there is a crowdfunded here to raise the money to have it rebuilt and restored so it can be heard once again. You can donate money here
November 14, 2023
Així, doncs, ¿què m'havia dut a emprendre aquell estrany viatge perseguint un violí atrotinat i la seva història? ¿Va ser el klezmer o l'instrument que el tocava? Mentre la música ens feia voltar per la sala, vaig comprendre que no ho sabria mai del cert.
July 15, 2021
SPOILER ALERT
This was a breezy and entertaining survey of the history of Italian violins - clearly this is a huge subject and this is a slim book, so not really a history. Attlee hears a striking violin played at a klezmer performance in Wales and becomes obsessed with figuring out what life it's had. Somehow it's had the idea attached to it that it was made in Cremona, so since she loves Italy anyway she sets off to find out about the great 16th and 17th century violin makers in that city. Since the violin ultimately made its way to Russia, she then surveys how violins traveled throughout Europe, whether moved by Nazis stealing them from Jews, or from Jews sneaking out of soviet Russia with their instruments hidden among clothes and household linens.
Attlee is a charming travel writer, with a gift for the personal interaction and the expressive turn of phrase. My problem with the book was just one, and here comes the spoiler, so don't scroll down if you don't want to know...
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The violin isn't Italian at all. Finally at the end as the instrument begins to fail its player (a busy orchestral violinist and freelance klezmer band member), she finds out what can be learned by dendochronological analysis, and the instrument is 19th century German, probably a Seidel. So the entire premise of the book is false, this violin has nothing to do with Italy. This left me feeling a little flat - the violin probably has stories, but we haven't heard most of them (it's likely the part about how violins were looted by the Nazis and then taken to Russia by the victorious army is applicable).
Despite the pedigree, or lack thereof, of any violin, what matters to player and hearer is what it sounds like and feels like, and this "worthless" German violin has a sound that launched a thousand ships. Because Attlee isn't a musician and, as she says, felt shut out of even appreciating music for much of her life, this point isn't made clearly enough, but to me it's overwhelmingly true. My violin is (possibly) from 19th century Bavaria and it isn't beautiful, but I'm not a collector, auctioneer, or connoisseur, so I don't care about anything except how it sounds. The value placed upon an instrument by those who do not play is kind of irrelevant.
This was a breezy and entertaining survey of the history of Italian violins - clearly this is a huge subject and this is a slim book, so not really a history. Attlee hears a striking violin played at a klezmer performance in Wales and becomes obsessed with figuring out what life it's had. Somehow it's had the idea attached to it that it was made in Cremona, so since she loves Italy anyway she sets off to find out about the great 16th and 17th century violin makers in that city. Since the violin ultimately made its way to Russia, she then surveys how violins traveled throughout Europe, whether moved by Nazis stealing them from Jews, or from Jews sneaking out of soviet Russia with their instruments hidden among clothes and household linens.
Attlee is a charming travel writer, with a gift for the personal interaction and the expressive turn of phrase. My problem with the book was just one, and here comes the spoiler, so don't scroll down if you don't want to know...
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
The violin isn't Italian at all. Finally at the end as the instrument begins to fail its player (a busy orchestral violinist and freelance klezmer band member), she finds out what can be learned by dendochronological analysis, and the instrument is 19th century German, probably a Seidel. So the entire premise of the book is false, this violin has nothing to do with Italy. This left me feeling a little flat - the violin probably has stories, but we haven't heard most of them (it's likely the part about how violins were looted by the Nazis and then taken to Russia by the victorious army is applicable).
Despite the pedigree, or lack thereof, of any violin, what matters to player and hearer is what it sounds like and feels like, and this "worthless" German violin has a sound that launched a thousand ships. Because Attlee isn't a musician and, as she says, felt shut out of even appreciating music for much of her life, this point isn't made clearly enough, but to me it's overwhelmingly true. My violin is (possibly) from 19th century Bavaria and it isn't beautiful, but I'm not a collector, auctioneer, or connoisseur, so I don't care about anything except how it sounds. The value placed upon an instrument by those who do not play is kind of irrelevant.
January 24, 2022
I think its possible that this book suffers from a case of the over-specialisms!
The story of Lev's Violin starts off well and I was completely drawn in and committed. The first few chapters are really interesting, lots of absorbing facts about Cremona (the supposed birthplace of quality violin making), the woodlands where they source the materials, the luthiers themselves. Attlee throws in a few personal observations about her journey round Italy which makes for good reading.
The middle section of the book gets a bit heavy into Italian history, aristocratic families ruling the area, churches etc and this is where my interest waned to be honest. I lost focus and ended up skim reading/skipping a few sections. The book then picked up again towards the end with discussion of Nazis stealing property from the Jews, the eastern European connection, folk music.
Overall a 3 star rating, but unless you're invested in the history of violin making, I'd give it a miss.
The story of Lev's Violin starts off well and I was completely drawn in and committed. The first few chapters are really interesting, lots of absorbing facts about Cremona (the supposed birthplace of quality violin making), the woodlands where they source the materials, the luthiers themselves. Attlee throws in a few personal observations about her journey round Italy which makes for good reading.
The middle section of the book gets a bit heavy into Italian history, aristocratic families ruling the area, churches etc and this is where my interest waned to be honest. I lost focus and ended up skim reading/skipping a few sections. The book then picked up again towards the end with discussion of Nazis stealing property from the Jews, the eastern European connection, folk music.
Overall a 3 star rating, but unless you're invested in the history of violin making, I'd give it a miss.
June 13, 2021
Interesting journey through the myths and legends of antique violins especially the ones crafted in Cremona and just what value means in the world of stringed instruments. My husband is a 'luthier' (though he prefers to be known as a stringed instrument maker, restorer and repairer and forget the fancy title) so I have a bit of an insight. He admires and appreciates a lovely instrument but has no truck with the pretensions and poppycock that all too often seem to swirl around this environment.
December 18, 2022
I loved the premise of this book: the author falls in love with the sounds eminating from this particular violin and resolves to learn everything she can about it's previous lives. That sets her off on a journey to Cremona, the Italian town famous for violin making and being the home of Stradavarius. From there, we go to Russia, chase down gypsies, ride boats down the Po River, in pursuit of all things violini! Good fun, and lots learned!
June 26, 2022
Classical music interests me; violins interest me; history interests me. But for some reason, I had a hard time getting this book to interest me. As with some of my recent reading, I would find other things to do rather than read, or I would start to read and find an excuse to put it down. How is it that the topic interested me, I found lots of interesting bits, and yet I never really got into the reading of it. Except for the end. The end -- the last two chapters -- definitely grabbed me and I didn't want to put the book down.
March 28, 2024
Aunque en el libro se intenta recorrer la vida que puede tener un "viejo" violín italiano desde el momento de la tala del árbol hace algunos siglos hasta nuestros días, encuentro algunos capítulos poco justificados y sin conexión entre ellos.
Sin embargo, no deja de ser interesante conocer los diferentes usos que se ha dado a este instrumento en diferentes países a lo largo del tiempo.
Sin embargo, no deja de ser interesante conocer los diferentes usos que se ha dado a este instrumento en diferentes países a lo largo del tiempo.
July 30, 2025
Una historia muy bien construida porque detrás de todas las referencias e investigaciones podemos conocer el mundo de los violines y su posición en la sociedad en aspectos políticos y sociales, a veces es pesado porque es mucha información pero me quedo con el valor de la información que tiene este libro.
September 3, 2025
Very illuminating and gentle - I would like to visit Cremona and also retrain as a luthier.
September 10, 2023
La historia del violín de Lev es la de una escritora en busca del origen de un instrumento musical con un sonido especial que perteneció a un músico ruso llamado Lev. La investigación es una excusa para viajar por el mundo, demostrar erudición y aprender sobre estos instrumentos, sobre su historia, su sonido, sus obras y el especial trabajo de su fabricación.
El libro sufre por ese yoismo tan moderno que lastran muchos ensayos recientes. Se mezclan datos e historias interesantes, relevantes y en muchas ocasiones fascinantes, con otros detalles personales sobre la investigación donde la autora nos explica donde duerme, qué come, si le gusta tal o cual ciudad o cuántas flores ve, o incluso el efecto emocional que esos datos o historias producen en ella, todos estos datos sumamente irrelevantes. De verdad, es el violín lo que nos interesa, no tu vida.
Después de 200 páginas de búsqueda por Cremona, contando como se hacían los violines italianos, los Amati, los Bergonzi, los Stradivarius; de explotar la historia del violín, las orquestas de las iglesias, las óperas, el destino de los judíos en Europa y el holocausto nazi, a la autora se le ocurre entrevistar al propio Lev y analizar el violín con un instrumento que data los violines por los anillos de su madera, desvelando así el aparente misterio.
Algunas reflexiones me parecen interesantes del libro. ¿Por qué un Stradivarius vale 1000 veces más que un violín moderno aunque este pueda sonar igual de bien o mejor? ¿De qué depende el valor de las cosas? ¿El violín lo debe tasar un tasador profesional, un historiador, un asesor financiero, un músico o un oyente? Y la música que nos conmueve ¿se debe al compositor, al intérprete o al instrumento?
El libro sufre por ese yoismo tan moderno que lastran muchos ensayos recientes. Se mezclan datos e historias interesantes, relevantes y en muchas ocasiones fascinantes, con otros detalles personales sobre la investigación donde la autora nos explica donde duerme, qué come, si le gusta tal o cual ciudad o cuántas flores ve, o incluso el efecto emocional que esos datos o historias producen en ella, todos estos datos sumamente irrelevantes. De verdad, es el violín lo que nos interesa, no tu vida.
Después de 200 páginas de búsqueda por Cremona, contando como se hacían los violines italianos, los Amati, los Bergonzi, los Stradivarius; de explotar la historia del violín, las orquestas de las iglesias, las óperas, el destino de los judíos en Europa y el holocausto nazi, a la autora se le ocurre entrevistar al propio Lev y analizar el violín con un instrumento que data los violines por los anillos de su madera, desvelando así el aparente misterio.
Algunas reflexiones me parecen interesantes del libro. ¿Por qué un Stradivarius vale 1000 veces más que un violín moderno aunque este pueda sonar igual de bien o mejor? ¿De qué depende el valor de las cosas? ¿El violín lo debe tasar un tasador profesional, un historiador, un asesor financiero, un músico o un oyente? Y la música que nos conmueve ¿se debe al compositor, al intérprete o al instrumento?
October 23, 2021
Interesting, though I would have preferred more “why do we get so attached to these things” and less travelogue. She ends the book with the fiddle sitting, broken, on her desk. Lev ended up getting a new one.
March 15, 2025
Helena Attlee heard a concert and found the violin so beautiful, she set off on a quest to find out about it. This is a lovely way to explore the history of violins and music, apart from their makers and all their possible players. The violin player she hears, called Greg, tells her that all of them in the orchestra know it as “Lev’s violin’ , who used to own the violin and played it for a long time, before he sold it to him. Attlee finds the violin beautiful , and is told it’s an ‘Old Italian’-violin parlance for a violin made in Cremona between the 16th to 18th Century, considered the Golden Age of violin making. Greg tells her, however, that he’s had his violin valued by a dealer who told him it was “worthless” and was probably a ‘church violin”. The violin as an instrument, gained prominence during the Renaissance through churches, where violin music was used as a substitute for chants, and as a quiet accompaniment for congregants to reflect. In a sort of virtuous cycle, churches then started giving violin lessons in orphanages run by them, and opening conservatories to train not just violinists but also composers for the violin, conductors and singers. The violin master at a cathedral was also a job opportunity that came about because of this, with violin virtuosos also having the opportunity to be ordained as priests, and having an assured job at the church-something that benefited one Antonio Vivaldi. Violins made for churches were usually violins that were what we would now call unbranded or generic-no maker’s mark, or owners stamp on it, which was what Greg’s beautiful violin was like. Attlee then visits places associated with the possible lives the violin could have had, starting at the Ashmolean, to see their beautiful Stradivarius and then to Cremona, with some lovely descriptions of the town filled with luthiers’ workshops. She writes of how violins’ lives began, with the wood from Alpine forests, and explores trade at the time, that also depended on the seasonal activities of the woodcutters, who were occupied with grazing their cattle on pastures in the summer, taking them back as soon it was autumn, and had the time to cut woods only during winter, also giving trees time to grow. The Hapsburgs restricted the numbers as well that could be cut, so the forests wouldn’t be depleted! I loved her descriptions of rolling huge logs down the hills and then lashing them together as logs to be floated down the river, all the way to Venice, and then to Cremona. It’s like something from a Grimm’s fairytale!
It's not all high brow and religious though-Attlee writes of the difference between “cultured music” and “popular music”(I’m translating very loosely from the original Italian here), and how the violin was widely used for the latter too. At weddings, at dances, sometimes during breaks on the field. Greg tells Attlee that Lev has told him he bought it off a Roma violinist at Rostov-on-Don, and Attlee sets off to explore the world of Roma traveling musicians, and more importantly, to write about their experiences during the Holocaust-an attempted genocide that really isn’t written about as much as it should be. Attlee writes of the theft of property and possessions during World War 2, perpetrated by the Nazis on Jewish people and the Roma , and muses on this being a possibly tragic backstory to Lev’s violin. She also writes of a delightful concert she goes to, part of a programme on unearthing the stories of the Roma genocide, by a Roma musician and lecturer, whose aim is to reclaim the music, and the people, from all the unsavoury associations and keep the musical traditions alive for a younger generation, who also should never forget the persecution of their ancestors. This was one of my favourite parts of the book, apart from the really moving part where she meets Lev. That’s another chapter in the violin’s story, with Lev being a Russian emigrant, who speaks of the customs inspections everyone had to undergo, when they were leaving Russia, and their one hope being the customs inspector looking away for a while, or going to talk to someone, when they could slip in valuables unnoticed-how the violin moved with Lev to New York, and then to Scotland, where he’s auditioned by Greg for the Scottish Opera, and becomes a part of that orchestra-bringing the reader back to the beginning where Attlee first heard the violin. It might be about a violin, but as all great narrative nonfiction aims, it’s also about all the things that go into it, from woodcutters, to church-funded orchestras, to an under-reported Holocaust and takes in dendrochronology along the way.
It's not all high brow and religious though-Attlee writes of the difference between “cultured music” and “popular music”(I’m translating very loosely from the original Italian here), and how the violin was widely used for the latter too. At weddings, at dances, sometimes during breaks on the field. Greg tells Attlee that Lev has told him he bought it off a Roma violinist at Rostov-on-Don, and Attlee sets off to explore the world of Roma traveling musicians, and more importantly, to write about their experiences during the Holocaust-an attempted genocide that really isn’t written about as much as it should be. Attlee writes of the theft of property and possessions during World War 2, perpetrated by the Nazis on Jewish people and the Roma , and muses on this being a possibly tragic backstory to Lev’s violin. She also writes of a delightful concert she goes to, part of a programme on unearthing the stories of the Roma genocide, by a Roma musician and lecturer, whose aim is to reclaim the music, and the people, from all the unsavoury associations and keep the musical traditions alive for a younger generation, who also should never forget the persecution of their ancestors. This was one of my favourite parts of the book, apart from the really moving part where she meets Lev. That’s another chapter in the violin’s story, with Lev being a Russian emigrant, who speaks of the customs inspections everyone had to undergo, when they were leaving Russia, and their one hope being the customs inspector looking away for a while, or going to talk to someone, when they could slip in valuables unnoticed-how the violin moved with Lev to New York, and then to Scotland, where he’s auditioned by Greg for the Scottish Opera, and becomes a part of that orchestra-bringing the reader back to the beginning where Attlee first heard the violin. It might be about a violin, but as all great narrative nonfiction aims, it’s also about all the things that go into it, from woodcutters, to church-funded orchestras, to an under-reported Holocaust and takes in dendrochronology along the way.
March 5, 2024
le Violon de Lev : Dans les pas des luthiers italiens signé Helena Attlee est un ouvrage érudit qui permet au lecteur attentif de découvrir le parcours possible voir probable de ce violon de Lev à la sonorité si particulière entendu lors d'un concert en Pays de Galles.
Helena Attlee va consacrer quatre années de sa vie à suivre la trace de cet instrument exceptionnel.. de Crémone à Rostov-sur-le-Don au sud de la Russie où ce violon fut acheté à un dénommé Lev semble être le parcours le plus probable , dans quelles mains est il passé, dans quels pays ? dans quel registre a t il été joué?
Beaucoup de possibilités sont évoquées l'occasion de retracer l'histoire du violon à travers l'Europe et à travers les siècles. Et ensuite il nous faut nous pencher sur la santé de l'instrument ..
Un essai très érudit sans doute un peu trop érudit pour la profane que je suis . J'ai appris beaucoup , récolté une multitude d'informations, mais me suis parfois sentie "larguée" . Cet ouvrage fort bien écrit, très structuré , historiquement très dense m'a été à mon grand regret difficile d'accès.
Un grand merci aux éditions Ombrages et à Babelio pour ce partage lors de la dernière masse critique non fiction.
Helena Attlee va consacrer quatre années de sa vie à suivre la trace de cet instrument exceptionnel.. de Crémone à Rostov-sur-le-Don au sud de la Russie où ce violon fut acheté à un dénommé Lev semble être le parcours le plus probable , dans quelles mains est il passé, dans quels pays ? dans quel registre a t il été joué?
Beaucoup de possibilités sont évoquées l'occasion de retracer l'histoire du violon à travers l'Europe et à travers les siècles. Et ensuite il nous faut nous pencher sur la santé de l'instrument ..
Un essai très érudit sans doute un peu trop érudit pour la profane que je suis . J'ai appris beaucoup , récolté une multitude d'informations, mais me suis parfois sentie "larguée" . Cet ouvrage fort bien écrit, très structuré , historiquement très dense m'a été à mon grand regret difficile d'accès.
Un grand merci aux éditions Ombrages et à Babelio pour ce partage lors de la dernière masse critique non fiction.
August 27, 2021
This is a breezy, light travelogue about Italy, Russia, England and a violin. The stops in the itinerary are bound by the construction stages of a violin, Lev‘s violin or „the Violin“, because Lev‘s violin could stand for any Italian string instrument. The tour begins in the Italian alps because this is where the wood for the instruments comes from and it ends in England after a dendrochronology test. It is a light entertaining read for anyone who would like to know something about the famous „Italians“. For an aficionado it offers some additional information and some interesting book references (I missed a bibliography but since it is not an academic work, it wasn’t necessary) but nothing extraordinary. Four stars because the book is well written and founded on genuine research, interest and the will to show to the less involved with music and string instruments that although complex the world of music is there for anyone willing to be discovered.
September 8, 2021
I loved the writing and the links with a whole range of unexpected items in the book. Helena Attlee had done a massive amount of research about violin making, some of which would seem strange to those who already know how violins are made. Despite this and her acknowledged lack of specific violin/fiddle knowledge, this book appealed to me and I was fascinated by her wish to find out about violins in general, all sponsored by having heard the sound. The detail about life in Italy is one of the things I particularly enjoyed, much as I had in ‘the land where lemons grow’. I suspect professionals in the string playing/making world might find it a little annoying or pedestrian in places, but overall, I loved it.
February 3, 2024
A very personal journey of discovery the author embarks on after hearing a violin played. One of those chance encounters in life that takes you on a new path - serendipity if you will. This is part historical narrative, travel log, exploration of the joy of classical music and how it is played, the joy and awe inspired in us by beautiful old objects, the universality of the violin. This story could apply to any violin originating in Europe as thousands of violins were made in Italy, Germany mostly, then disseminated throughout Europe and beyond. I enjoyed reading this, learnt a lot, have listened online to Lev himself and the man who was playing the violin when the author heard it. It's fascinating stuff and I love when history is made relevant and tangible.
August 7, 2024
An enthralling voyage of discovery tracing the history of a violin the author heard play at a concert. Being fascinated by the violin she contacts the owner who stated he purchased the violin who obtained it in Russia albeit it was an Italian violin
As a consequence she is determined to discover its ancestry which takes her initially to Cremona,Italy the home of violin makers since the sixteenth century and on to Alpine forests, Venetian churches, Florentine courts, Roma musicians and finally to Rostov flea markets in Russia.
A beguiling quest written with enthusiasm and passion. A refreshing unorthodox approach to history which unfortunately had an unexpected ending in more ways then one.
As a consequence she is determined to discover its ancestry which takes her initially to Cremona,Italy the home of violin makers since the sixteenth century and on to Alpine forests, Venetian churches, Florentine courts, Roma musicians and finally to Rostov flea markets in Russia.
A beguiling quest written with enthusiasm and passion. A refreshing unorthodox approach to history which unfortunately had an unexpected ending in more ways then one.
February 26, 2025
I loved learning about the rich and complex histories of violins and their provenance throughout centuries and across international borders. The combination of academia and narrative that Helena Attlee creates pulls you into her experience and doesn’t let you go. Some points in the book felt a little slow for me. I found myself in a reading rut in the middle of the novel, mostly because I often felt like I had to be in a specific headspace to really be able to appreciate the story of lev’s violin and the authors experience uncovering it. This is not a mindless read, I found that you get the most out of Lev’s violin when you’re able to fully devote your attention to the story, allowing yourself time and space to ponder the history and importance of violins throughout time.
October 10, 2023
Aquellas chicas llegaban al ospedale como criaturas abandonadas, envueltas en un fardo de mantas, pero tras muchos años de formación una niña abandonada con un violín litúrgico sin valor monetario en sus manos podía cambiar por completo su estatus social. Tomemos el caso de Mddalena Lombardini: como hija de una familia sin recursos no tenía ningún futuro y, sin embargo, después de estudiar en el Ospedale dei Mendicanti se convirtió en 1767 en una de las primeras virtuosas del violín del mundo. Así cambió el violín el destino de muchas de aquellas chicas, y cuando lo pienso tengo la impresión de que, aunque las personas crean cosas, muchas veces las cosas crean a las personas.
June 21, 2024
Una aventura italiana de como se forjó un elemento central de la historia musical europea. Un libro que manifiesta, que más allá de nombres propios, la cultura es colectiva, de cómo evoluciona y de cómo está sujeta a las leyes sociales y económicas. Un libro exquisito, aunque a veces falto de ritmo. Entremezcla lo particular y lo universal, lo personal y lo público en una historia de pérdidas y barbarie, reflejando aquello que decía Benjamin de que todo documento de cultura es un documento de barbarie.
February 21, 2025
When a woman hears the magical sound of Klezmer music coming from an old Italian violin she embarks on a voyage of discovery to establish its heritage and discover its voice.
This was the best kind of history, beautifully treading the line between historical accuracy and compulsive storytelling. It was the stories behind the music that really made it sparkle. This managed to capture my imagination in a way a dry history book might struggle to do. I would definitely recommend this as a light read for a keen violinist.
This was the best kind of history, beautifully treading the line between historical accuracy and compulsive storytelling. It was the stories behind the music that really made it sparkle. This managed to capture my imagination in a way a dry history book might struggle to do. I would definitely recommend this as a light read for a keen violinist.
February 19, 2025
Captivating, compelling, encompassing…!
Helena Attlee wrote about her quest wonderfully, full of passion, sentiment, and emotional power that made me feel I was taking the steps with her on her fantastic journey. As an amateur builder of stringed musical instruments, the book has certainly filled me with the desire to make the pilgrimage to Cremona and let the history seep in.
Thoroughly enjoyable; I’m only sad that it had to end.
Helena Attlee wrote about her quest wonderfully, full of passion, sentiment, and emotional power that made me feel I was taking the steps with her on her fantastic journey. As an amateur builder of stringed musical instruments, the book has certainly filled me with the desire to make the pilgrimage to Cremona and let the history seep in.
Thoroughly enjoyable; I’m only sad that it had to end.
January 26, 2022
I appreciated the hard work and devotion the author took to explore the world of violin making. I was gifted this book and was happy to read it, but I just didn't have the interest on this subject that would have made it easier for me to pay attention and really get into. I learned a lot, but this book was not one of my favorites.
August 12, 2022
Fantastic! A thoroughly absorbing account of tracing the history of a violin the author happened across through time and place, and for once the cover blurb is all justified. Written in an engaging style which makes the pages fly by.
I shall be checking out more of Helena Attlee's excellent writing.
I shall be checking out more of Helena Attlee's excellent writing.
August 10, 2023
Es ameno y ofrece muchísima información sobre los antiguos violines italianos. Está escrito con mecanismos periodísticos y eso es, quizá, lo que más me interesa, el ver cómo conjuga lo literario y lo informativo, cómo intercala partes que podrían provenir de una crónica o de un reportaje. Lectura de verano.
June 24, 2024
I really enjoyed this book. I don't think you have to be a fan of baroque music to appreciate it. The book is about a particular aspect of Italy's cultural history, but also about how the objects that come to share our lives work their peculiar magic.
The author is an amiable, dignified, placidly enthusiastic guide on an intriguing little journey.
The author is an amiable, dignified, placidly enthusiastic guide on an intriguing little journey.
February 9, 2025
Brilliant work on tracing back the origins of Lev's violin. Was it a Stradivarius or an Amati? What was it really? Attlee skillfully guides us into a turbulent love story for this fascinating instrument and its musicians.
A violin that survived several migrations from one continent to another and a very dark page of our history.
A violin that survived several migrations from one continent to another and a very dark page of our history.
August 20, 2023
Tiene la magia de los libros que encierran algo muy cercano a la obsesión. Pero una obsesión rigurosa y muy bien documentada. Fascinante lectura que se lee como una historia de aventuras y descubrimiento en diversas capas y ángulos.
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