Fabulous, fascinating read. I had no idea there was such a world and I was completely absorbed. Wonderful writing. I read this one fast and hope someone makes it into a movie. Kreston is obviously a woman of many talents. I really enjoyed this peek into the world of high-level musicians. When I think back over the story, I'm impressed at how I never felt alienated by a world I could never know, just captivated by a character and a story. Bravo.

Thanks to NEt Galley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review.

This has been one of the most riveting memoirs I have ever read – I finished it in three busy days.
Anthea Kreston takes us though her adventurous life in non-linear movements, sometimes sparkling, sometimes biting, always driven. I grew up surrounded by classical music in Berlin where the highest stage of her career would take Kreston, and until reading this book I thought it impossible to leave the path of highest level classical music to, say, play in a punk rock band or get a women's studies degree, but Kreston did it; letting us meet with her fascinating people and places, from her Chicago world fair inventor grandfather who gifts her an American violin that will play on stages with the likes of a Stradivarius, the famous Home Alone house so many associate with Holiday joy where she hid in terror of her abusive father, to Hilary Hahn as an eleven-year-old starting her earth-shattering career with no one but a guinea pig by her side and Yo-Yo Ma rediscovering the silk road with her.

In between she candidly both adores and criticizes the rigorous world of classical music and especially the strange sub scene of chamber music. It is utterly impressive how unapologetically she forged her own path as an unconventional violinist who also is a working mother, something many people still consider to be a professional death sentence. I especially appreciated how she highlights the persisting misogyny in the scene.

Crescendo is 4 and ½ stars for me for two reasons: one, as so many people she paints Germany in very broad and strangely critical brushes she applies to no other culture she encounters in her international life – that I found off-putting. And two, while the first 75% of the book flow beautifully together even through and because of the sudden jumps between her life stages, the last 15% feel rushed, a bit unformed. For example for all the build up on how she reaches the highest stages of her profession in playing with the Artemis quartet, there is very little on her actual time with them and nothing on why she decided to leave them.

If the last 25% had been worked on a bit more I think this would have been a perfect book – but as the rest is so wonderful I still give it a glowing 5 stars overall here, for her lively and rebellious tales and life in the strict world of classical music. One thing is for certain: if you are unsure whether to pick up this biography because classical music isn't really your thing: do yourself a big favor and pick it up because of that. You will rarely discover this fascinating world with such a colorful light on it as in this delightful book!

‘Crescendo’ is a very engaging memoir about one classical musician’s turbulent life and dazzling career; it is at once deeply personal but also self-aware, sometimes in a self-deprecating way. There are times where the author’s wit leads the book in a direction that feels like it uses humour as armour, which is a natural reaction given the sometimes overwhelmingly bleak reality of her health and trauma. As a musician, this memoir reads like looking into your own practice history; Anthea Kreston accurately writes the sheer dedication necessary to feel even half competent at your instrument.
The author places a lot of emphasis on her experiences living a quirky and unconventional lifestyle for a classical musician in Oregon and elsewhere in her 20’s, gliding over her familial legacy in classical music and society, not to mention her access to incredible resources in teachers, schools and instruments from very early on in life.
Overall, this was a very enjoyable reading experience and I would certainly recommend it!
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the advanced copy.