Unraveling Musical Myths is both honored and humbled by the kind praise bestowed upon it's pages by SiriusXM Radio Symphony Hall host and author Lauren E. Rico. Rico, author of the steamy,classical music infusedReverie series mentioned this blog on social media and via her monthly newsletters, distributed to her adoring fan base in an effort to keep her followers up to date with her latest publishing and recording efforts. In her November 2016 issue, she writes:
"If you're a classical music lover,
this awesomely cool website is a MUST!"
UPDATE (DECEMBER 2016): The sun continues to shine on Ms. Rico - who has recently announced she will be joining the hallowed ranks of WQXR public radio in New York come early January 2017 - this, in addition to announcing the development of an all-new novel to follow the Reverie trilogy!
Read more about these exciting developments below:
Today'sBook Review takes us behind the crimsoned veil of the classical music elite, revealing to the reader a vast and sordid demi-monde of debauchery, betrayal and carnal sin - ultimately triumphed by compassion, unyielding kinship and personal sacrifice. Unraveling Musical Myths is proud to introduce to the readerLauren Rico'sdebut novel,Reverie:
You will never hear the Cello Suites in quite the same way again:
"Here, in the darkness, it’s almost as if the cello and I are a single entity. I supplement the instrument’s delicate panels of wood, and tough lengths of gut string with my own flesh, blood, and breath. I inhale every phrase, and my entire body moves in a circular pattern, cello lovingly embraced between my knees. It takes me to places I don’t usually allow myself to go, places buried deep in the back of my mind. My mother lives here, in this place where the music brings me. She’s a young woman, not much older than I am now. I can see her pretty, fair face. She has freckles like me, and a head full of coppery curls. I imagine her leaning over me and tucking me in. She brushes the hair from my forehead and tells me to have sweet dreams. But they are not sweet at all. As my bow slices across the strings, I hear her and my father yelling through the night. I dig into the Bach harder, recalling the crash of objects hurled and the smack of a hand on someone’s face. Whose? I don’t know. My fingers move frantically now, recklessly. The music could break apart and shatter in an instant. But it doesn’t. It slows and begins the lament. The crying. Her tears. There it is. He slapped her, this time. The cello is a wordless voice, heaving and sighing with the weight of her sorrow. The bow carries my fear with it as it swings to each string in turn. They are so volatile. They cannot hold our fragile life together. It just spirals out of control, picking up speed again, until it reaches a fever pitch. Without warning, my hand slips across the D string, lurching forward and sending my bow flying across the room. It hits the floor with a sickening ‘thwack,’ returning me instantly to the tiny, pitch - black room in which I have lost myself once again.”
-Reverie, Lauren E. Rico, pp. 10-11
Bach’s famously haunting Prelude, much akin to it’s namesake, foretells of the cornucopia of raw emotions to come in author and SiriusXM radio host Lauren Rico’s debut novel “Reverie:” a soul-wrenching blend of hope, despair, passion, vitriol, tragedy and ultimately triumph over seemingly unshakable obstacles that sees our heroine Julia James free herself from the harrowing and confining shackles of abuse. Reverie’sis a dialogue all too common in modern society – James’ tragic story reads like a discourse on the mental and physical ramifications of years of generational abuse and shines a bright spotlight onto the torturous practice of “gas lighting:”a many-tiered form of emotional exploitation that sees it’s victim subjected to a systematic and lengthy process of forced memory distortion by a trusted and loved assailant, ultimately leading to the ‘patient’ (or in this instance, the ‘case subject’) questioning his or her own memory – and, in the ultimate coup de grâce for the abuser – leaving the victim questioning his or her own perception of abuse. Told in present time (with allusions to the protagonist’s past), Reverie takes us painstakingly through the private lives of budding master musicians, revealing the grit behind the "pomp," and the reality behind the "circumstance" of the perceived perfectionism commonly associated with classical music and with that of it’s practitioners, blending seamlessly the steadfast dedication and passion of rising within elite musical ranks and within social and intimately personal ones – revealing most expertly the fragility of man at his most vulnerable, and the unshakeable ability for the human soul to continue to seek love and triumph over any obstacle. James' story is a story for the mind, an exultation for the soul, and a powerful testament to mental health. A remarkable debut from an equally musically inclined author: Reverieis officially Rico’s first opus, and this review is simply raving!
Unraveling Musical Myths is proud to announce Lauren E. Rico’s arrival on the airwaves of New York’s most iconic public radio station for classical music WQXR 105.9 fm. Rico, who currently hosts SiriusXM’s Symphony Radio Hall is set to join WQXR’s esteemed ranks effective January 3, 2017 in the Tuesday to Friday midnight-5:30 am slot “Overnight Music.” Click the embedded player below, visit WQXR.org or download the mobile app to stay connected to this champion of the Classical Music cause.
Did You Know?
Lauren has recently expanded her growing empire with an impressive foray into the literary arts. Unraveling Musical Myths recently covered her first opus – one in a multi-part series – Reverie, to a raving review. Read it here. Rhapsody, the second book in the series, (available now for purchase) will be coming to Reviews by Rose here on Unraveling Musical Myths in the New Year. The third installment of theReverie series, Requiem, along with a recently announced all new novel “Solo”will follow in turn. Rico made the announcement for the commission of her fourth novel on Thursday, and the author of this blog – and undoubedtly Rico’s adording fanbase – could not be happier for this rising literary star! Congratulations, Lauren.
As of December 9th, 2016, I have officially completed (and then some) Goodreads'annualReading Challenge. What this years selection lacks in quantity (compared to my completed challenge in 2015) it more than makes up for in quality. Topping the list is Hermann Abert's "W.A. Mozart" by Yale University Press - a delicious monstrosityof a read - at a whopping 1515 full sized pages of ridiculously small print this tome was a delightful challenge to read front to back but well worth the effort - it's editor, the modern era's pre-eminent Mozart scholar (and fellow Canuck) Prof. Cliff Eisen recently unveiled a newly updated addendum in the form of a revised biography with the release of Deutsche Grammophon and Decca Records'Mozart 225that I am simply champing at the bit to read.. other fabulous highlights of my Goodreads 2016 Challenge included SiriusXM / WQXR classical radio personality and newly-minted author Lauren E. Rico's powerful "Reverie," by Harmony House Productions: a novel of sin, debauchery and ethereal beauty - words synonymous with the subject matter of Unraveling Musical Myths;and the recently released"Franz Liszt: Musician, Celebrity, Superstar"by Oliver Hilmes and Yale University Press: a salacious romp through the salons - and the boudoirs - of the world's first documented megastar to possess a groupie following. From music forbidden by Nazis to Johann Sebastian Bach's fateful encounter with the composer-kingFrederick the Great, my selections for the 2016 year cover all of the bases of ingenuity and idiocy, of struggles and triumph, and of both debauchery and astonishing beauty. Click the graphic above to review my Year in Books at Goodreads, and keep posted to Unraveling Musical Myths - I will be revealing an exciting surprise in the New Year.
HINT:It may have something to do with the book"I am currently reading"pictured above.
In the interim, enjoy a little Mozart: Papagena/Papageno duet, Die Zauberflöte
