The Prague Sonata

I’d like to share a music-themed novel I’ve just read. It is written by Bradford Morrow and covers the years before, during and after WW11 in Prague and concerns the fate of an old music manuscript of a three movement sonata bequeathed to a musician by her father. During the war, as the German forces approached Prague, she had to leave and, in order to preserve the piece of music, composer unknown, she divided it into 3 sections, hoping that after the war she would find the sections and unite the Sonata again. The story moves from New York and a pianist/musicologist who receives the middle movement and her search for the true owner. The provenance of the Sonata is finally revealed and a neat bit of musicology it turns out to be!

The book is very well-written and researched and I enjoyed it very much, while learning about the art of Musicology and the musical knowledge and skill needed to do it successfully. I also really, REALLY want to visit Prague!