Listen free for 30 days
Listen with offer
-
The Ensemble
- A Novel
- Narrated by: Rebecca Lowman
- Length: 11 hrs and 37 mins
Failed to add items
Add to basket failed.
Add to wishlist failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
£0.00 for first 30 days
The Ensemble
Buy Now for £12.99
No valid payment method on file.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
Summary
A sweeping debut novel about four young musicians - a story of art, ambition, and love.
Brit is the second violinist, a beautiful and quiet orphan; the viola is Henry, a prodigy who's always had it easy; the cellist is Daniel, the oldest, the angry skeptic who sleeps around; and on first violin is Jana, their flinty, resilient leader. Together, they are the Van Ness String Quartet.
In The Ensemble, each character takes the spotlight and picks up the melody, from the group's youthful rocky start through to middle age, through both devastating failures and wild success. As they navigate heartbreak and marriage, triumph and loss, betrayal and enduring loyalty, they are always tied together - by career, by necessity, by the intensity of their art, by the secrets they carry together, and by choosing each other over and over again.
The Ensemble is a heart-skipping portrait of artistic ambition, friendship, and the tenderness of youth. With heart, clarity, and poignant understanding, Aja Gabel examines the relationships between trust, love, and the magical, messy world of making music.
Listeners also enjoyed...
![Elantris (3 of 3) [Dramatized Adaptation] cover art](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51txvtQZg7L._SL240_.jpg)
![The Count of Monte Cristo [Classic Tales Edition] cover art](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/61qIh7WPXVL._SL240_.jpg)
Critic reviews
"In Ms. Gabel’s terrifically entertaining debut, the frictions of long-term friendships are woven into the “webbed, collaborative endeavor” of the quartet. Their music doesn’t transcend the mess of living; it testifies to it." (The Wall Street Journal)
"Pitch-perfect." (People)
"Reminded me of Zadie Smith's Swing Time... The language that Gabel uses to describe both the pressures of prestige chamber orchestras and, simply, what it is to be a human in the world, is a work of art in and of itself. I found myself highlighting dozens of passages, marveling at just how impossibly relatable these people are... [I]t's the perfect form of escapism for me." (Entertainment Weekly)