As an addendum to Eugene Drucker's talk on his novel, The Savior, I thought I would mention recent novels with musicians as protaganists.
Ian McEwan's On Chesil Beach, looks at the relationship of a young couple on the cusp of their wedding night. The merger of their lives is questionable as Florence, a violinist in an up and coming string quartet, envisions a different future than Edward, a student of history who will be working for her father's business.
Paul Adam's The Rainaldi Quartet, is a contemporary thriller where an elderly violin-maker, Gianni Castiglione, is suddenly murdered after dropping hints about a search for a rare and magnificent Stradivarius violin in Italy. The remaining members of his string quartet, who are a luthier, a priest and a police detective, search the countryside for this priceless, long-lost violin alongside the devious killer.
Margriet de Moor's The Kreutzer Sonata is a retelling of Leo Tolstoy's novella of the same name which was originally inspired by Beethoven's magnificent piece. Tolstoy's story in turn inspired Czech composer Leos Janacek to write a string quartet called Kreutzer Sonata. De Morr's tale of love and jealousy uniquely interweaves the music with the storyline.