Lev's violin A story of music, culture, and Italian adventure

The divine sound Attlee heard emanating from a violin belied its battered appearance. Its owner maintained it had been made centuries ago, in Cremona, Italy, birthplace of Stradivarius violins. Yet an expert had pronounced the violin worthless. How had an Italian violin ended up with a Russian named Lev and then passed to Greg, its current owner, in Wales? A lifelong Italophile, Attlee latched on to the mystery and seized the opportunity to discover the violin's pedigree. Told in four "movements," the book traces the development of modern-day violins, tracking the source of the spruce and maple used and the craft needed to produce a finished product. She follows the rise (and fall, and rise again) of the violin in European culture through sacred and secular channels and in ospedale (orphanages) where children learned to play the instrument. There are intrigues aplenty featuring stolen goods, forged identities, and unscrupulous deals. From the night Attlee hears the first note to the journey's end, readers will enjoy her engaging social and cultural history of Italy and the violin.

Does the history and provenance of an object offer any insight into its nature, or the nature of human interaction with it? Attlee's answer seems to be…maybe. While listening to a concert in a small Welsh town, the author was struck by the sound of the titular violin, a centuries-old Italian instrument named for its original Russian owner. Attlee (The Land Where Lemons Grow) then embarked on a quest to discover the violin's origins. Her vividly detailed tour of violin making and selling, particularly in 17th-century Cremona, Italy, leverages her long-standing affection for and knowledge of Italy. Attlee revisits every aspect of violin making: the alpine spruce tree trunks, rolling down rivers, that provide the wood for the instruments; luthier workshops redolent of wood and varnish; and museum collections full of silenced antique violins. She explores the instrument's mystique, its pride of place in European music, and its appeal to musicians and collectors worldwide. The author's lengthy travels, however, seem unnecessary, as she gets most of her answers from luthiers and dendrochronologists. Nevertheless, it's a fascinating and beautifully told journey. VERDICT Lyrical and exquisitely detailed. For listeners and players of violin music and readers interested in the history of things.--Genevieve Williams, Pacific Lutheran Univ. Lib., Tacoma