A devil to play

Shortly before turning forty, London journalist Jasper Rees sets aside his writing and takes up a French horn that has sat untouched in his attic for over two decades. He joins the annual festival of the British Horn Society almost on impulse, and although his first public showing goes badly, it sets him on an odd and demanding path. His new goal is to return a year later and perform a Mozart concerto alone before a sizeable paying crowd.

The book follows his attempt to master an instrument often considered the hardest to play well, and one of the most nerve-racking to perform in front of others. Rees also traces the horn's long past, from its ancient ancestors to its appearances in modern popular music and in Hollywood films, showing how a hunting tool became a concert instrument.

It is a midlife memoir about a man whose fascination grows into an obsession. Readers who enjoy lighthearted accounts of taking up a difficult skill later in life, or who are curious about the horn itself, will find much here.