2024/106: The Instrumentalist — Harriet Constable

2024/106: The Instrumentalist — Harriet Constable

He lifts his arms. They lift their instruments.
A curl of red from the violins, a spiral of gold from the cellos.
And his face instantly drops.
Because this is not what he planned. This is not what he expected at all. [loc. 4840]

As a baby, Anna Maria della Pietà is deposited at the Ospedale della Pietà by her sex-worker mother. Like her mother, Anna Maria 'sees' colours. She is a naturally gifted musician, and attracts the attention of the music master, who agrees to teach her. (His full name is not given in the text, but he is Antonio Vivaldi.) Anna Maria grows up determined to make a name for herself, sacrificing everything -- especially friendship -- for her ambition to be a famous composer.( Read more... )