This is a truly compelling tale.
Anna Maria della Pieta grows up in the Ospedale della Pieta, a famous orphanage which encourages their girls to engage with their intellect, the arts and, most importantly, music. Anna is a child prodigy, her talent as a violinist and then a composer is unparalleled. When she is taken under the wing of none other than one of the world’s most famous composers, Antonio Vivaldi, Anna believes she is on her way to stardom.
As Anna’s talent grows, she finds herself prioritising music over friendship, sleep, and even food. Yet, the world of classical music is darker than it first appears. From Vivaldi taking credit for Anna Maria’s compositions to him arranging for the orchestra to perform an entirely different concerto to the one she had prepared, Anna Maria realises that she will have to fight for her place on the stage and for her place in history.
Harriet Constable’s debut is as invigorating as it is inspiring and it is an impressive piece of historical fiction. Constable explores what it must have been like for Anna Maria as an orphan, to grow up with no known relatives and to have such a determination to leave a mark on the world. As a reader I don’t tend to enjoy novels from a child’s perspective; however, watching Anna Maria grow into a young woman determined to see beyond the confines of gender and prove her talent and worth was incredibly moving. Finishing the book my biggest question is, how much has the classical music industry really changed?
Review by Helen.
The Instrumentalist was published on 15/08/24 by Bloomsbury.
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