The Violin with Human Strings and Other Tales of Musical Madness

Antonio Ghislanzoni (1824-1893), though primarily remembered today for writing the libretto for Verdi’s Aida, was one of the most interesting Italian authors working in the latter half of the nineteenth century. Closely associated with the Scapigliatura movement, many of his items of fiction have strong elements of the fantastic, including two of the four offerings in the present collection, which is the first book of his to appear in English, translated by Brendan and Anna Connell. This quartet of tales, the protagonists of which are a violinist, a pianist, a trumpet player, and a singer, are by turns horrific, humorous, bizarre, and touching, and bring to the modern reader some of the small masterpieces of one of Italy’s great writers, who is certainly deserving of renewed recognition.