Instrumental

Concert pianist James Rhodes, a British musician, tells the story of how classical music kept him going through a childhood and young adulthood marked by abuse, mental collapse and addiction. As a frightened teenager he replayed Rachmaninov obsessively, and while confined to a psychiatric ward he came across a Bach Adagio that reached him when little else did. Those pieces, together with an unexpected encounter with a stranger, set him on the path to the concert stage.

The writing is frank and direct, and it is often funny, with a dry, dark humour that persists even in the bleakest passages. Rhodes makes no attempt to soften his experiences.

Alongside his own story, the book explains how classical music is put together and sketches the lives of several major composers. Its central argument is that music can change people's lives, and the author sets out why he believes this.