Violinists in jeopardy

Michael Holme in Vikram Seth's "An Equal Music" & Min Kym in "Gone" are the musicians in question. Both books explore the rarified world of western classical music in some depth. But Seth's book is a novel written in sparkling language (he being a music-loving professional writer), whereas Kym is a professional violinist writing her auto-biographical work, straight from her heart.

A word about the classical western musical hierarchy: The highest slot belongs to the soloists, next to the chamber music (string quartet) players, next to the first violins in an orchestra & last the second violins in an orchestra. 

Michael Holme was not a child prodigy like Min Kym & when pressed too hard by his teacher to attain soloist status, failed & became a second violinist in a String Quartet. Min Kym was a child prodigy & straightaway rushed into the soloist's slot.

The highlights of Seth's book is the exciting, persistent search for the record of Beethoven's String Quintet in C minor in the record shops of London in the first portion of the book & the "musician's block" experienced by Michael in the latter part, leading to his playing in a "hack orchestra."

The peak points of Min Kym's life are the performing & recording of the Beethoven & Brahms Violin Concertos. However because of the negligence of her exploitative friend Matt, she loses her beloved Strad & the moorings of her life, & reduced to playing in String Quartets.

A big difference in the two books is the violin  used by Michael, (unaffordable to him)  loaned to him by the owner, was willed to him after her death & so came back to him beyond his expectations, whereas Min's stolen violin, though found again, was not restored to her, because she had accepted the insurance money & spent it. Heart breaking indeed.

But both the musicians pick up the pieces of their shattered lives & continue, though not at the dizzy heights of their early days. Both books are riveting reads for lovers of western classical music.