The Conductor
juli 2012 · Bloomsbury Publishing
E-bok
304
Sidor
reportBetyg och recensioner verifieras inte Läs mer
Om den här e-boken
The Conductor reads like a proper up-all-night page-turner, but it also goes deeper than that, conveying the extraordinary life-saving properties of music, and hope' – Bella Bathurst.
The story of how Shostakovich and one valiant orchestra created a defining moment in the siege of Leningrad is a gripping testament to the life saving power of music.
June 1941: Nazi troops surround the city of Leningrad, planning to shell and starve the people into submission. Most of the cultural elite is evacuated, but the famous composer Shostakovich stays behind to defend his city.
That winter, the bleakest in Russian history, the Party orders Karl Eliasberg, the shy, difficult conductor of a second-rate orchestra, to prepare for the task of a lifetime. He is to conduct a performance of Shostakovich's Seventh Symphony – a haunting, defiant new piece, which will be relayed by loudspeakers to the front lines.
Eliasberg's musicians are starving, and scarcely have the strength to carry their instruments. But for five freezing months the conductor stubbornly drives on his musicians, depriving those who falter of their bread rations. Slowly the music begins to dissolve the nagging hunger, the exploding streets, the slow deaths... but at what cost? Eliasberg's relationships are strained, obsession takes hold, and his orchestra is growing weaker. Now, it's a struggle not just to perform but to stay alive.
The story of how Shostakovich and one valiant orchestra created a defining moment in the siege of Leningrad is a gripping testament to the life saving power of music.
June 1941: Nazi troops surround the city of Leningrad, planning to shell and starve the people into submission. Most of the cultural elite is evacuated, but the famous composer Shostakovich stays behind to defend his city.
That winter, the bleakest in Russian history, the Party orders Karl Eliasberg, the shy, difficult conductor of a second-rate orchestra, to prepare for the task of a lifetime. He is to conduct a performance of Shostakovich's Seventh Symphony – a haunting, defiant new piece, which will be relayed by loudspeakers to the front lines.
Eliasberg's musicians are starving, and scarcely have the strength to carry their instruments. But for five freezing months the conductor stubbornly drives on his musicians, depriving those who falter of their bread rations. Slowly the music begins to dissolve the nagging hunger, the exploding streets, the slow deaths... but at what cost? Eliasberg's relationships are strained, obsession takes hold, and his orchestra is growing weaker. Now, it's a struggle not just to perform but to stay alive.
Om författaren
Sarah Quigley is a New Zealand-born novelist, poet and critic. She has a D.Phil. in Literature from the University of Oxford, and has won several awards for her writing. Since winning the Creative New Zealand Berlin Writers Residency in 2000, Quigley has been based in Berlin.
Betygsätt e-boken
Berätta vad du tycker.
Läsinformation
Smartphones och surfplattor
Installera appen Google Play Böcker för Android och iPad/iPhone. Appen synkroniseras automatiskt med ditt konto så att du kan läsa online eller offline var du än befinner dig.
Laptops och stationära datorer
Du kan lyssna på ljudböcker som du har köpt på Google Play via webbläsaren på datorn.
Läsplattor och andra enheter
Om du vill läsa boken på enheter med e-bläck, till exempel Kobo-läsplattor, måste du ladda ned en fil och överföra den till enheten. Följ anvisningarna i hjälpcentret om du vill överföra filerna till en kompatibel läsplatta.
