Uta Ruscher

Fiorenza Dal Violin Uta Ruscher

VENICE, 1747. In the baby-bin of the foundling home lies a half-dead infant. Like all the others she is first of all branded. Then she is baptized and given the name Fiorenza. After an attack of deafness the 9-year-old child wants only one thing: to play the violin. Tutored by Anna Maria, Antonio Vivaldi's star pupil, she becomes a virtuoso violinist. Yet Fiorenza not only wishes to perform but also to compose, an exclusively male privilege. Through her marriage she is able to escape the foundling home. She becomes famous in all of Europe until her destiny catches up with her. Fiorenza ventures a fresh start and composes her first opera. Years later she returns to Venice and reveals Anna Maria's secret. A novel about music, sounds and noise. An attempt to perceive and describe the world acoustically.