The Cello Player

by Michael Krüger, Andrew Shields (Translation)

The narrator of this wonderfully perceptive, highly entertaining tale of love and loss is a middle-aged German composer who writes serious avant-garde music, but makes a living writing theme music for television. When Judit, an ambitious young cello player from Budapest (whose mother was once the composer's lover and who may or may not be his daughter), shows up on his doorstep, he agrees to take her in while she studies at the conservatory in Munich.
Judit's presence evokes memories of a far different time for the composer, when life was about art and his biggest concern was finding a room for an afternoon tryst. When our protagonists set out for the composer's house in southern France, where he will finish his opera and she will master her instrument, it gradually becomes clear that this young woman is playing more than the cello. Funny, ironic, and oddly illuminating.

Genres: Music, Romance, Fiction

200 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2002

About the author

Michael Krüger ist ein deutscher Schriftsteller, Dichter, Verleger und Übersetzer. Er ist seit Juli 2013 Präsident der Bayerischen Akademie der Schönen Künste.

Reviews

[Federica Norberti · Rating 1 out of 5]

Non è che abbia capito molto questo libro. A partire dal fatto che parte della sinossi non corrisponde al vero: maschilista, aggressivo, ipocondriaco, ironico e sprezzante... non mi risulta nulla di tutto ciò. Ci vengono posti degli interrogativi che non trovano risposta. Judit è la sua figlia naturale? Qual è la vera motivazione dietro la permanenza di Judit? Non ho trovato risposta. Le relazioni, i rapporti, le intenzioni dei personaggi non sono chiari. Tutto questo mistero non viene risolto, tutto il libro sembra un viavai di ricordi, salti temporali e skiptime. Ad essere onesta, non credo di averlo capito. Sicuramente alcune riflessioni sono piacevoli.

[Rhonda · Rating 1 out of 5]

For a book that was only 200 pages, it took me forever to finish this.
In my humble opinion, The Cello Player had no rhyme or reason. I kept looking for some sort of plot, anything that would make this book interesting....alas I found nothing but a 50 year old man that seemed to be having a mid life crises and complained about life in general.
There were a few small parts of the book that had some interest, but in all the book was about 100 pages to long. Very boring. The only redeeming thing about this book was the cover, which is why a friend picked the book up for me.

[Claire · Rating 1 out of 5]

I have to admit, I got this book for free, and picked it mainly because its cover (beautiful) and title (I play the cello, too). But this book was disappointing. This book didn't have much of a plot, and nothing of significance really happened. Mainly, the characters sat around and discussed modernism in music, etc. Although the book alluded to painful and/or interesting experiences in the characters' lives, the book didn't go into detail about these events.

[Paula Dembeck · Rating 2 out of 5]

This short novel tells the story of Gyorgy, a middle-aged German composer who knows his best days are behind him. His reputation has waned and he now lives in a small apartment and makes his living by anonymously composing music for ordinary television dramas. He has accepted a commission to write an opera about Osip Mandelstam, a Russian poet who died in one of Stalin’s gulags, but cannot find a way to get started. He finds himself sliding downhill and just wants to be left alone to read in his small Munich apartment. Maybe some time soon he can stop thinking about that opera and try to get started on what he once imagined would be his best work.

Maria is a Hungarian singer Gyorgy met twenty years ago in Budapest while attending a music festival. She has asked him to take in her daughter Judit, a young cello player who is planning to study at the Music Conservatory in Munich. He agrees, and shortly afterwards, Maria’s twenty-year old daughter arrives at his doorstep and quickly moves in. However, it soon becomes clear that studying music is not in her plans and suddenly his small apartment is filled with her various relatives and friends, upsetting his routine. They infuriate him with their dismissive and condescending comments and make him feel irrelevant.

As the two negotiate a relationship what remains unclear to both Gyorgy and the reader is whether Judit is a result of the short but passionate affair he had with Maria so many years ago. If so, why has Maria sent Judit to him? Is it to remind them of their affair or punish him for the pregnancy? Whatever the reason, once Judit moves in, he cannot get rid of her and it appears she plans to stay permanently.

Judit looks very much like her mother did many years ago. It reminds Gyorgy of a different time in his life when he was much happier, a time when music was considered an art and was more appreciated. The passages where Gyorgy recalls his visits to Poland and Hungary, at that time still behind the Iron Curtain and filled with spies, informants and Marxists, are the most interesting sections of the novel.

Gyorgy decides to get away from the chaos created by Judit’s arrival and head to his small, rundown place in Southern France. It is quieter there and they can work. The two settle into a more domestic routine, but things remain unsettled. Judit is a temperamental young woman and the atmosphere remains tense, filled with frequent arguments and her tantrums. The days crawl on, Judit rearranges the furniture, he tends to the garden and they adopt a few animals. He finally manages to begin work on the opera, but the juxtaposition of their different realities keeps life awkward and uncomfortable.

Life deteriorates for Judit, she becomes paranoid and has a nervous breakdown. In the opening and closing chapters of the novel, it appears Gyorgy is attending her funeral, as he wonders whether he has been so engrossed in his own unhappiness, that he has missed this young woman dissembling before his eyes.

The narrative includes some colorful and eccentric characters and several comedic moments. However, the novel received mixed reviews from both readers and literary critics. Those favoring it found it witty and perceptive, while others found the pacing a problem and the plot slow, meandering and uninteresting. Some considered it “boring”, while others judged it “too long” despite the fact it was only 200 pages.

I found this novel a disappointment and would not recommend it to others.

[Piotr Kopka · Rating 2 out of 5]

Współczesny postawangardowy kompozytor, zbijający niezłe kokosy na tworzeniu muzyki do seriali telewizyjnych, staje w obliczu niesłychanego dylematu – czy piękna młoda dziewczyna, która się wprasza do jego mieszkania, może być przypadkiem jego córką? Nie jest to całkiem nieprawdopodobne, gdyż kompozytora łączył niegdyś z jej matką, olśniewającą węgierską artystką, bardzo intensywny romans. Jak poradzić sobie z tak dwuznaczną sytuacją – zwłaszcza, że wszyscy wokół uważają dziewczynę za młodziutką kochankę muzyka? Co gorsza, Judith robi wszystko, by podsycać erotyczne napięcie. Pełna humoru pikanteria – tak głosi cytowana na okładce niemiecka gazeta „Passauer Neue Presse”. Czy można się jej oprzeć?

Niestety, Wiolonczelistka Michaela Krügera zapowiada się nieźle, ale rozczarowuje pod każdym względem. Zapowiadanej na okładce pikanterii jest tyle, co na lekarstwo (są ukłony dla autora Lolity w relacjach bohatera z matką i córką, ale to tylko cień narracji Nabokova). Natomiast fabuła co chwila grzęznie w intelektualnych dysputach na temat muzyki współczesnej, literatury i kultury. W związku z czym powieść staje się trochę nudnawym rozliczeniem ze spuścizną pokolenia ’68 (tego paryskiego ’68) i pełną humoru pikanterię trafia szlag.

Recenzja ukazała się na: Literatura sautée

[Deborah · Rating 5 out of 5]

A delightful find. Translated from German so a nice reprieve from the usual novel formula. The main character's life is trodden upon by a cast of hysterical characters and events and he captures each moment and twist with a writing style that is so crafty and pithy that I found myself rereading entire sections just for the sheer pleasure of it. Otherwise a pretty short book. I love stumbling across 5-star treasures like this!

[Briynne · Rating 3 out of 5]

I admit I picked this one up becuase I thought the cover was pretty. It did turn out to be a pretty decent read, though. It wasn't a typical story, which I appreciated, but I also was all that effected by it.

[Marvin · Rating 1 out of 5]

After 50 pages, I quit this chaotic story of an amoral, failed composer, who's thoroughly unlikeable & uninteresting.