The Mozart Question by Michael Morpurgo

This author generally writes for children but, as his well-known tale War Horse demonstrates, his stories are loved by adults too.
The Mozart Question, a little hardback edition illustrated by Michael Foreman is one of my favourites. Paolo Levi, a world-famous violinist, grew up in Venice. Throughout his childhood his parents kept a dark secret. The violinist unfolds their story to a young reporter and, for the first time, reveals the answer to the Mozart Question he has never answered till now.
The sight of a small boy listening to a busker near the Accademia Bridge in Venice inspired the writer to develop his story. As the horrors of Auschwitz are revealed Mozart’s sublime music takes on a sombre tone. But in time it soars again to fly free. The violinist tells the reporter:
"At my fiftieth birthday concert in London I shall be playing Mozart, and I shall be playing it on Mama’s violin, and I shall play it so well that he will love it, they will all love it, wherever they are."
This story captures the atmosphere of Venice, one of my favourite cities, as much as others that have caught my attention over the years: The Wings of the Dove, Miss Garnett’s Angel, Don’t Look Now. It is a mysterious, compelling place that draws me back time and again.