Sarah Landenwich Weaves Music, Mystery, and Memory in “The Fire Concerto”

The Fire Concerto by Sarah Landenwich

Author Sarah Landenwich has debuted with The Fire Concerto, an extraordinary work of fiction, filled with grace and eloquence revolving around the emotional lyricism of the 19^th century Romantic music period. This Louisville, Kentucky resident trained as a classical pianist from an early age before becoming a writer and educator. There are heartbreaks, mysteries, misunderstandings, thefts, falsehoods to uncover and wrongs to right in a tangled web of multiple generations of interrelated composers and pianists. Present-day protagonist Clara Bishop is forced out of her reclusive comfort zone following the death of her difficult former piano instructor. She plunges into an unaccustomed role of forensic investigator of musical scores that can reveal to an expert musician a composer’s true identity with the same assurance as fingerprints at a crime scene.

A Pianist’s Journey from Music to Mystery

Clara travels to Warsaw, Poland from her home in Austin, Texas to conduct in-depth research in the museum held archives of fictional world-renowned composer Aleksander Starza, a long dead distant relative. Clara pursues clues hidden in 19^th century compositions, uncovering notations made in margins by a mysterious hand not belonging to the composer as well as correspondence searching for works hinted at but as yet undiscovered. Ultimately she is on a mission to seek recognition for Constantia Baranowska Pleyel, a brilliant but forgotten 19^th century classical pianist and composer whose work remained unacknowledged after she was condemned as a murderer to a life sentence in an insane asylum.

Clara Bishop was a child prodigy pianist; a wunderkind who performed professionally from an early age winning international competitions. Her parents prudently saved and invested her considerable earnings allowing her to purchase a charming bungalow when she relocated to Austin. A decade ago, at age 20, she was about to perform Starza’s The Fire Concerto at the annual Warsaw festival held in his honor.  This piece was his most difficult composition and had been adopted as the signature piece of her piano teacher, Madame Zofia Mikorsa. Consequently, Clara’s performance of it was a declaration of independence; a bold move that could be perceived as an affront to her mentor. Salt was rubbed into the wound when permission was granted to Clara from the Museum Foundation allowing her to use Starza’s original score. Tragedy struck when a fire broke out in the concert hall which soon grew to an inferno. Thinking only of the historic musical work in her dressing room, Clara raced downstairs and became trapped when she was unable to open the stuck door. Had it been locked? Was Madame vindictive enough to flee the scene and not attempt to rescue her? Fortune smiled when a backstage worker summoned the fire brigade downstairs risking his own life. The severe burns he suffered were  not as horrific as those sustained on the young woman’s face, arms and hands that effectively ended her promising career as an adult performer. She was unjustly vilified for the destruction of the original composition and had not played a single note on the piano since the tragedy. Clara had been beautiful but now permanently bore the duality of a Janus mask with one profile retaining serene loveliness and the other hideously scarred.

A Story of Loss, Secrets, and Second Chances

Clara Bishop, needing distance from her parent’s comfortable Chicago home, took charge of the trust fund containing her earnings and moved to vibrant Austin which bears the motto “Live music capital of the world” but was not noted for a preponderance of classical pianists. She reasoned few there would recognize her name or former occupation. Clara found gainful employment as a bartender at The Andromeda Club, a place that was shabbily but cleanly elegant with vintage décor, classic cocktails and a piano bar. She refrained from making suggestions when the pianist fumbled notes, never revealing that although she might not be able to perform at concert level she could easily teach others to play. She became friends with the gay owner Julian but rebuffed and sustained approaches from customers. She preferred the companionship of books and Bingo, her aging Saint Bernard to a social life.

After a decade of silence, she received a written invitation comprised of just three typewritten lines, the first being “Final Concert of Zofia Mikorsa” followed by the date, time and the admonition that the invitation must be shown at the door. The only personal note was: “Come”; a command from the demanding teacher who had dominated her childhood and teen years. Obeying, Clara purchased a smart new outfit and flew from the comforting warmth of Austin to cold, rainy Chicago with a growing sense of foreboding as the taxi neared Madame’s large home in Hyde Park. She was unfamiliar with most of the house as students were restricted to the foyer, hallway and the galley with its museum worthy collection of rare instruments on display behind glass next to the Steinway and Bösendorfer pianos all presided over by an imposing portrait of Aleksander Starza glaring down.

Rediscovering Forgotten Genius

Madame had been a student to Jozef Zamoyski, Starza’s star pupil, at the Warsaw Conservatory prior to WWII while Clara could claim actual kinship to the renowned composer. She was surprised to see a row of five white chairs instead of a room crowded for a recital. There were four other attendees including Madame Zofia’s latest prodigy, Jean-Luc Girard about age 10 and her former fellow student, past arch rival Tony Park. Clara usually took top honors in recitals with Tony in second place but in the years since her tragic accident, he had achieved superstardom with sold-out world-wide tours. A frequent guest pianist with international philharmonic orchestras, he had instructed at Juilliard and was currently teaching at Northwestern in order to be closer to his widower father.

The small group was stunned to learn Madame was giving a very different performance that night for she was dead from cancer but had managed to keep this essential detail from the press. Her attorney entered the room to announce bequests to the former students. The gifted youngster Jean-Luc received the rosewood Steinway. Violinist Alan Feldman received the lavish gift of Madame’s stringed instrument collection including one made by Stradivarius’ rival luthier Giuseppe Guarneri Del Gesu which brought an incredulous gasp from music historian Gretchen Vandermeer. Gretchen was to have the entire remaining collection of historical instruments while Anthony Park was the recipient of Madame’s personal library including all musical scores, manuscripts and her own scholarly works including their rights. After these munificent bequests, it seemed altogether puzzling when Clara Bishop was handed an unadorned wooden box containing an antique metronome.

The attorney further informed the assemblage they were merely stewards with limited custody of these items; these were not outright gifts as they could not be sold but must eventually be handed down to the next generation of musicians or scholars.

The metronome, which proved to be faulty, purportedly belonged to the composer Aleksander Starza and serves to launch Clara on a new life brimming with renewed purpose and determination. Her trip to Warsaw, financed by Tony Park, provides her with a mission to give forgotten musician, composer, and convicted murderer of Starza long over-due credit for her contributions to his works while uncovering her brilliant and long forgotten compositions. Enjoy the experience of this exquisite work of literary fiction. Sarah Landenwich has imbued her fictional characters with vibrant life and realistic passion in The Fire Concerto. What an admirable beginning for thisrecently published first-time novelist! Bravo!