A Devil to Play: One Man's Year-Long Quest to Master the Orchestra's Most Difficult Instrument

In the days before his fortieth birthday, London-based journalist Jasper Rees trades his pen for a French horn that has been gathering dust in the attic for more than twenty-two years, and, on a lark, plays it at the annual festival of the British Horn Society. Despite an embarrassingly poor performance, the experience inspires Rees to embark on a daunting, bizarre, and ultimately winning journey: to return to the festival in one year's time and play a Mozart concerto--solo--to a large paying audience. A Devil to Play is the true story of an unlikely midlife crisis spent conquering sixteen feet of wrapped brass tubing widely regarded as the most difficult instrument to master, as well as the most treacherous to play in public. It is the history of man's first musical instrument, a compelling journey that moves from the walls of Jericho to Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, from the hunting fields of France to the heart of Hollywood. And it is the account of one man's mounting musical obsession, told with pitch-perfect wit and an undeniable charm--an endearing, inspiring tale of perseverance and achievement, relayed masterfully, one side-splittingly off-key note at a time.

About the Author :
A journalist with two decades of experience, Jasper Rees has written for The Daily Telegraph, The Independent, the Evening Standard, and The Times. He lives in London.

Review :
"High Fidelity meets Touching the Void in the improbably heroic adventure of an amateur French horn player who quite literally blows himself back to life again. The middle-aged man's rueful riposte to all that self-deluding, chirpy chick-lit tripe, it is very very good, very very funny, and horribly true." - Bob Geldof "The strength and reach of Rees's enthusiasm carry the day. . . . A fine book." - Daily Telegraph (London) "A marvellous memoir of a year's obsession that should be read by anyone gripped by illogical compulsion." - The Economist "An appealing book, both for musicians and for those who abandoned music long ago after childhood battles with an instrument. . . . [A] humorous paean to a humble bit of brass." - Financial Times (London) "Rees is both a buoyant and impassioned writer. His language is fleet, efficient and full of detail. His horn fixation animates even a casual trip to the movies. . . . The scene of him standing onstage with the very horn he had played as a child gives off a gratifying, burnished glow." - San Francisco Chronicle "Reese records his journey with impeccable research and sharp wit, weaving together his first lessons as a youth with those of adulthood, all the while reliving the horn's along history in a musical and literary achievement." - Craig Brown, Booklist (starred review)