The Passion of Tasha Darsky

Natasha Darsky, “the most famous violinist since Paganini,” lights an erotic fire under every piece of music she plays, telling each composer’s story in a singularly sensuous way. The daughter of a renowned art dealer in New York City, Tasha grew up in a world where artistic achievement was the highest value and her father’s opinion determined the rise and fall of many an artist. Her prodigious musical talent, discovered when she is a girl, blossoms at Harvard, where she begins to compose music. She is soon swept up in a passionate love affair with Jean Paul, a young composer whose innovative music is hailed as revolutionary. Under Jean Paul’s shadow, Tasha abandons her dream of writing music and turns toward performance. Channeling the frustration and muted fury of this choice into her playing, she creates a sexually charged sound that packs concert halls around the world year after year. Her young daughter, Alex, follows in her celebrated footsteps, but it is Alex’s talent as a composer that brings mother and daughter together—and tears them apart in ways Tasha could hardly have anticipated.

THE PASSION OF TASHA DARKSY draws readers into the glamorous and competitive world of classical music, capturing its harsh demands and its magical power to move performers and audiences alike. With rare mastery, Yael Goldstein Love offers a sweeping tale of female ambition, unflinchingly rendered in all its danger, confusion, and passion.

YAEL GOLDSTEIN LOVE's fiction and nonfiction have appeared in national magazines and anthologies. She lives in Princeton, New Jersey.