Cover

Acclaim for Norman Lebrecht’s

THE SONG OF NAMES

“Not just a brilliant first novel, but a brilliant novel— thought-provoking, lyrical and profound.”

—Judges for the Whitbread First Novel Award

“Norman Lebrecht’s award-winning first novel deals with two worlds he knows like few others—Jewish London and classical music. To call it an unusual story would be an understatement; it is an impressive achievement that grips the reader’s attention from beginning to end. It is the best novel on these two worlds that I have read in many a year.”

—Walter Laqueur, author of Generation Exodus: The Fate of Young Jewish Refugees from Nazi Germany

“Compelling humanity . . . deliciously caught. . . . Conjured with exceptional vividness.”

—The Evening Standard (London)

“The Song of Names vividly brought back to me the horrors of war-torn England, where I spent my childhood years. In spirit it is reminiscent of Dickens, and in temperament of Dostoyevsky and Isaac Bashevis Singer. Yet it is entirely unique as well as gripping—a masterpiece of a novel.”

—Ida Haendel, violinist and author of Woman with Violin

“Having judged Norman Lebrecht somewhat imperfectly through his trenchant, occasionally acerbic observations of my profession, I was surprised and delighted by his fastidious, sensitive and unvarnished tale of the life and times of a young musician. Such good writing.”

—Neville Marriner, founder, Academy of St. Martin in the Fields

“Assured. . . . Polished prose and an understanding of artistic imperatives underpin a strong Jewish history.”

—Daily Mail

“An unusually impressive first novel.”

—The Spectator

“Anybody who takes music seriously has been reading Norman Lebrecht for years—but who knew he was a novelist? What a pleasure to read a serious work of fiction with such deep underpinnings in history and aesthetics.”

—Tim Page, Pulitzer Prize–winning music critic, author of Dawn Powell: A Biography

About the Author

Norman Lebrecht

THE SONG OF NAMES

Norman Lebrecht is one of the most widely read modern commentators on music, culture, and politics. His Wednesday column in the Evening Standard (London) and on the Internet has been described as “required reading.” His BBC Radio 3 show, Lebrecht Live, attracts Web Listeners from Buenos Aires to Budapest. His many books include The Maestro Myth, When the Music Stops, Mahler Remembered, and Covent Garden: The Untold Story. The Song of Names is his first novel.

Also by Norman Lebrecht

Also by Norman Lebrecht

Mahler Remembered
The Maestro Myth
When the Music Stops
The Complete Companion to 20th Century Music
Covent Garden: The Untold Story
The Life and Death of Classical Music
The Game of Opposites
Why Mahler?

Dedication

For Beatrice, Myriam and Pauline

Chapter 1

1

Time Out

Swimming in a double-breasted suit against the Monday morning incoming tide, I feel a double misfit. The whole working world is flooding into town while I am heading out, and for no good reason. What is more, I am just about the only man on the forecourt in a respectable suit. Times have changed, and chinos are worn to work.