The Cremona Violin

An eccentric old councillor, a daughter with a heavenly voice she must never use, and a priceless instrument he will not let her touch – The Cremona Violin is a haunting tale of music, love, and loss.

First published in 1818 in The Serapion Brethren and also known as Councillor Krespel, this poignant, uncanny story lingers on the mysterious bond between art and the human heart. Ernst Theodor Amadeus Hoffmann (1776 – 1822), born in Königsberg, East Prussia, was himself a gifted composer as well as a founding voice of German Romanticism, and few writers have written so movingly of music.