Hey, it's NPR's Book of the Day. I'm Andrew Limbaugh. Today, we've got two books about the

weird and thrilling and gripping world of classical music. Now, I'm not trying to be funny when I say

that either. In a minute, we'll hear from a violinist, Jessica Chiquetto Hindman, who somehow

found herself playing in an orchestra that did a whole

tour of fake performances to an unknowing audience. But first, Brendan Slocum has written a mystery

thriller set in the world of classical music. His protagonist, Ray, is a black man playing violin.

And he's dealing with all of the issues that that scenario offers

when his rare and expensive violin is stolen.

And Slocum tells M.Pier's Asma Khalid that this is more than just the story

of a black man navigating racism in a stuffy, uptight subculture.

But it's about the deeper question of who gets to make a career playing music.

Amaro Glass. On this American life, we tell real life stories, really good ones.

My mother said, I'm sorry that you weren't here because Father Sager was here visiting, and he found a very nice orphanage for you.

And I said, but I'm not an orphan.

Surprising stories in your podcast feed, This American Live.

Brendan Slocombe remembers that moment, that classical music just clicked for him.

The first piece of classical music that I heard was Mozart, Symphony No. 40.

My music teacher, Ms. Holmes, when I was in third grade, she said, you can always tell

it's Mozart by this little song. It's a bird. It's a plane. It's a Mozart. And for some reason, that just stuck with me.

And I thought that was the greatest thing in the world.

I was like, what is going on?

What kind of music is this?

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